2003 FIAT BARCHETTA ABS

59
AIRBAG PASSENGER SIDE
(where fitted)
The passenger side airbag was de-
signed and calibrated to protect a per-
son wearing seat belts.
When fully inflated, the bag will fill
most of the space between the dash-
board and the passenger. Manual deactivation
The passenger side airbag can be de-
activated if it is absolutely necessary to
carry a child in the front passenger
seat.
Turn the specific switch fig. 77
which can be reached by opening the
passenger side door with the ignition
key. The switch has two positions:
1 - Passenger side airbag on: (posi-
tion ON
P) instrument panel warn-
ing light off. Do not carry children on
the front seat.
2 -Passenger side airbag off: (posi-
tion OFFF) instrument panel warn-
ing light on. A child can be carried on
the front seat with a suitable restraint
system.
The instrument panel warning light
Fwill stay on until the passenger
side airbag is reactivated.
SEVERE DANGER:
if the car has a front
airbag on passenger side, do not
place the child seat on the front
seat.
WARNING
fig. 77
P5S10010m

74
– Keep a greater safety distance from
the cars in front of you than during
daylight hours: it is hard to judge how
fast other cars are going when all you
can see are their lights.
– Make sure the headlight beams are
properly positioned: if they are too
low, they reduce visibility and are hard
on the eyes. If they are too high they
can dazzle other drivers.
– Only use main-beam headlights
when you are driving outside the city
and when you are sure they do not an-
noy other drivers.
– If the headlights are on full, dip
them in good time to prevent dazzling
other drivers coming in the other di-
rection.
– Keep all lights clean.
– Be careful of animals crossing the
road when driving in the country.DRIVING IN THE RAIN
Rain and wet road surfaces spell dan-
ger.
All manoeuvres are more difficult on
a wet road because the friction of the
wheels on the tarmac is greatly re-
duced. This is why braking distances
are much longer and roadholding is
lower.
Here is some advice to follow if it is
raining:
– Reduce speed and keep a greater
safety distance from the cars in front.
– If it is raining particularly heavily,
visibility is also reduced. In these cas-
es, switch on the dipped headlights
even if it is still daylight so you can be
seen more clearly by other drivers.
– Do not drive through puddles at
speed and hold on tightly to the wheel:
a puddle taken at speed can make you
lose control of the car (“aquaplaning”).
– Move the ventilation controls to
the position for demisting the win-
dows (see the “Getting to know your
car” section), to avoid visibility prob-
lems.– Periodically check the condition of
the windscreen wiper blades.
DRIVING IN FOG
– If the fog is thick, do not start out
on a journey unless you absolutely
have to.
If driving in mist, blanket fog or when
there is the danger of patches of fog :
– Keep the speed down.
– Turn on the dipped headlights, rear
foglights and front foglights, if fitted,
even during the day. Do not drive with
your headlights at full-beam.
IMPORTANTOn stretches of
road with good visibility, switch off
your rear foglights; the brightness of
these lights could annoy the people
travelling in the cars behind.

75
– Remember that fog also means the
tarmac is wet and therefore manoeu-
vres of all kinds are more difficult and
stopping distances are longer.
– Keep a good distance from the cars
in front of you.
– As far as possible, avoid spurts of
speed or sudden deceleration.
– Do not overtake other vehicles if
you can help it.
– If you are forced to stop your car
(breakdown, limited visibility etc.) try
to stop off the road. Then turn on the
hazard lights and, if possible, the
dipped headlights. Rhythmically sound
the horn if you realise another car is
coming.
DRIVING
IN THE MOUNTAINS
– When driving downhill, use the en-
gine brake by engaging a low gear so
as not to overheat the brakes.
– Under no circumstances should
you drive downhill with the engine off
or with the car in neutral, let alone
with the ignition key out.– Drive at a moderate speed without
cutting corners.
– Remember that overtaking while
going uphill is slower and therefore re-
quires more free road. If you are be-
ing overtaken while driving uphill,
make it easier for the other vehicle
to pass.
DRIVING ON SNOW OR ICE
Here are some tips for driving in
these conditions:
– Keep your speed down.
– Use chains if the roads are covered
in snow (refer to the “Snow chains”
paragraph in this section).
– Mainly use the engine brake and
under all circumstances avoid braking
sharply.
– When braking in a car not fitted
with ABS, avoid the wheels locking by
varying the pressure you exert on the
brake pedal.
– Do not accelerate suddenly and
avoid swerving.– In the winter, even apparently dry
roads may have icy patches. Be care-
ful therefore when driving over
stretches that do not get much expo-
sure to the sun or that are lined by
trees and rocks where ice might not
have melted.
– Keep a good distance from the ve-
hicles in front.
– Do not remain for long periods in
deep snow with the engine running as
the snow could force the exhaust gas-
es into the passenger compartment.
DRIVING WITH ABS
ABS is a braking system that essen-
tially offers two advantages:
1)It prevents wheel lock-up and
consequent skidding in emergency
stops, particularly when the road does
not offer much grip.
2)It makes it possible to brake and
steer at the same time so you can
avoid unexpected obstacles and direct
the car where you want while braking.
The extent to which this can be done
will depend on the physical limits of
the tyre's sideways grip.

76
Here are some suggestions which
may help you to keep the running
costs of your vehicle down and low-
er the amount of toxic emissions re-
leased into the atmosphere.
GENERAL
CONSIDERATIONS
Car maintenance
The overall state of the car is an im-
portant factor which has a marked in-
fluence over fuel consumption and dri-
ving comfort and on the life span of
your car. For this reason care should
be taken to maintain your car by car-
rying out the necessary checks and
regulations in accordance with the
specifications given in the Scheduled
Maintenance Programme (see sec-
tions... spark plugs, idle, air filter, tim-
ing).
CONTAINING RUNNING COSTS
AND POLLUTION
Tyres
Tyres should be checked at least
every four weeks: if the pressure is
too low fuel consumption increases as
the resistance to the rolling movement
of the tyre is greater. In this state, tyre
wear is increased and car handling suf-
fers which will affect safety.
Unnecessary loads
Do not travel with too much luggage
stowed in the boot. The weight of the
vehicle (especially when driving in
town) and its trim greatly affects con-
sumption and stability. To get the most out of ABS:
– During emergency stops or when
grip conditions are poor, you will feel
a slight pulsation on the brake pedal.
This is the sign that the ABS is in ac-
tion. Do not release the brake pedal
but continue to press so as not to in-
terrupt the braking action.
– ABS prevents the wheels from
locking but it does not increase actu-
al grip conditions between tyre and
road. Therefore, even if your car is fit-
ted with ABS, respect the safety dis-
tance from the car in front of you and
keep your speed down when driving
into bends.
– ABS serves to increase the con-
trollability of the car, not to enable you
to go faster.

80
In order to be sure you are not
exceeding the maximum towing
weight you have to take into account
the trailer’s fully laden weight,
including accessories and personal
luggage.
Do not exceed the speed limits for
towing a trailer in the country you
are driving in. In any case, do not
exceed the top speed of 100 km/h. SNOW CHAINS
Keep your speed down
when snow chains have
been fitted to the
wheels. Avoid potholes, steps
and pavements, and do not
drive for long stretches on
snow-free roads, otherwise you
risk damaging the tyres, suspen-
sion and steering.
The use of snow chains is regulated
by the legislation in force in the
country the car is driven in.
The chains may only be applied to
the drive wheel tyres (front wheels).
Check the tautness of the chains
after driving some twenty to thirty
metres.Do not use snow chains with
195/55 R15 (84V) or 195/45 R16
(80V) tyres as the chains are likely to
interfere with the plastic wheelarch-
es.
Use only low-profile chains with
185/55 R15 (81H) tyres: maximum
height off the wheel 12 mm
IMPORTANT As the spare
wheel is small, it is not possible to fit
snow chains to it. If a front tyre is
punctured, first exchange a rear
wheel with the spare tyre and then
change the flat tyre with the rear
wheel thus removed. This way there
will be two ordinary wheels at the
front and the snow chains can fitted.
The ABS system which
may be fitted to the vehi-
cle will not control the trailer
braking system. Great care should
therefore be taken when driving
on slippery road surfaces.
WARNING
Under no circumstances
modify the car's braking
system for trailer braking control.
The trailer's braking system must
be completely independent of the
car's hydraulic system.
WARNING

103
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40
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20
15
60
30
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40
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30
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20
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30
30
Loads
Protected device Ampere Fuse number - Location
Ignition switch
Airbag
Fiat CODE
Fiat CODE
Door locking system
Door locking receiver
Door lock geared motors
Sound system power
ABS
Manual climate control system
Horn
Electric window winder system
Electric window winders
Electric window winder geared motors
Windscreen washer motor
Windscreen washer pump
Mirror adjustment device
Radiator fan (versions with heater)
Radiator fan (low speed) (versions with manual climate control system)
Radiator fan (high speed) (versions with manual climate control system)
Injection system 6-fig. 33
13-fig. 30
4-fig. 33
6-fig. 33
5-fig. 33
13-fig. 30
fig. 31
12-fig. 30
7-fig. 33
5-fig. 30
11-fig. 30
5-fig. 33
5-fig. 33
fig. 31
10-fig. 30
10-fig. 30
13-fig. 30
3-fig. 33
3-fig. 33
2-fig. 33
4-fig. 33

121
Oil consumption is ex-
tremely low: if it needs
topping up after travelling
only a short while, have the sys-
tem checked for leaks at a Fiat
Dealership.
fig. 6
P5S10044m
The level of the fluid in the reservoir
must not exceed the MAXmark.
If you need to add fluid, only use the
type classified DOT 4. You are advised
in particular to use TUTELA TOP 4
with which the braking system was
originally filled. BRAKE FLUID fig. 6
From time to time check the instru-
ment panel warning light by pressing
the reservoir cover (with the ignition
key at MAR): instrument warning pan-
el light xshould come on.
On versions fitted with ABS, the
brake fluid reservoir is positioned as
shown in fig. 6; while on versions
without ABS, the reservoir is posi-
tioned lengthwise.
Make sure the highly
corrosive brake fluid does
not drip onto the paint-
work. If it does, wash it off im-
mediately with water.
Make sure the power steer-
ing fluid does not come in-
to contact with the hot parts of the
engine as is catches fire very easi-
ly.
WARNING

122
IMPORTANT Brake fluid is hy-
groscopic (meaning it absorbs humid-
ity). This is why the fluid should be
changed more frequently than shown
in the Service Schedule if the car is
mainly driven in areas with a high per-
centage of humidity in the air.AIR CLEANER
REPLACEMENT fig. 7
Unscrew knob A, remove the cap
and pull out the filter element Bto be
replaced.
Have the filter element replaced at
a Fiat Dealership.
fig. 7
P5S00719m
Brake fluid is poisonous
and very corrosive. In the
event of accidental contact, wash
the effected part with water and
mild soap and rinse. If the fluid is
swallowed, call a doctor immedi-
ately.
WARNING
The symbol πon the con-
tainer indicates synthetic
type brake fluid distinguishing it
from the mineral kind. Using min-
eral type fluids damages the special
rubber braking system gaskets be-
yond repair.
WARNING