2003 FIAT BARCHETTA run flat

71
GEAR USE
To engage the gears, press down
the clutch and put the gear lever into
one of the positions shown in the
diagram infig. 2(the diagram is also
on the gear lever knob).
IMPORTANT The car can be put
in reverse only when it has com-
pletely stopped moving. With engine
running, before engaging the reverse,
wait at least 2 seconds with clutch
pedal completely pressed down to
prevent damage and grating of gears.
Do not drive with your
hand resting on the gear
stick as the force exerted,
even if only slight, could lead to
premature wearing of the gear-
box internal components.
fig. 2
P5S00679m
SAFE DRIVING
In designing the Fiat barchetta, Fiat
has made every effort to come up with
a car able to provide driver and pas-
senger with top-class levels of safety.
Nevertheless it is always the behaviour
of the person at the wheel that de-
termines road safety.
Below you will find some simple tips
to help you travel in safety under dif-
ferent conditions. You will no doubt
be familiar with many of them already
but it will be useful to read them all
carefully.
You must push the clutch
pedal fully down to change
gear properly. It is therefore essen-
tial that there is nothing under the
pedals: make sure mats are lying
flat and do not get in the way.
WARNING

105
JUMP STARTING
See “Jump starting” in this chapter. 2)Connect the battery terminals to
the charger.
3)Turn on the charger.
4)When you have finished, turn the
charger off before disconnecting the
battery.
5) Reconnect the cables to the bat-
tery posts. Make sure the polarity is
correct.IF THE BATTERY
IS FLAT
First of all, read the “Car mainte-
nance” chapter for the steps to be tak-
en to avoid the battery running down
and to ensure it has a long life.
RECHARGING THE BATTERY
You are advised to recharge the bat-
tery slowly for a period of approxi-
mately 24 hours at a very low amper-
age. Charging for too long could result
in the battery being damaged.
Proceed as follows:
1) Disconnect the electrical system
terminals from the battery posts.
IMPORTANTIf the car is fitted
with an electronic car alarm, use the
remote control to turn the alarm off
with the remote control and deacti-
vate the system by turning the emer-
gency key to “OFF” (see the “Elec-
tronic alarm” in the “Getting to know
your car” section).
The liquid in the battery is
poisonous and corrosive.
Do not let it touch the skin or eyes.
Recharging the battery should be
done in a well-ventilated area and
away from naked flames or possi-
ble sources of sparks: explosion and
fire risk.
WARNING
Do not attempt to recharge
a frozen battery. Thaw it
first otherwise it could explode. If
the battery froze, make sure the in-
ternal elements are not broken
(short-circuit risk) and that the cas-
ing is not cracked (risk of spilling
the poisonous and corrosive fluid).
WARNING

109
IF AN ACCIDENT
OCCOURS
– It is important to keep calm.
– If you are not directly involved in
the accident stop at least ten metres
away from the accident.
– If you are on a motorway, do not
obstructing the emergency lane with
your car.
– Turn off the engine and turn on the
hazard lights.
– At night, illuminate the scene of the
accident with your headlights.
– Act carefully, you must not risk be-
ing run over.
– Mark the accident by putting the
red triangle at the prescribed distance
from the car where it can be clearly
seen.
– Call for rescue making the infor-
mation you give as accurate as you
can. On the motorway, use one of the
special column-mounted emergency
phones.– In pile-ups on the motorway, par-
ticularly when the visibility is bad,
there is a high risk of other vehicles
running into those already immobile.
Get out of the vehicle immediately and
take refuge behind the guard rail.
– Remove the ignition keys of the ve-
hicles involved.
– If you can smell petrol or other
chemicals, do not smoke and make
sure all cigarettes are extinguished.
– Use a fire extinguisher, blanket,
sand or earth to put out fires no mat-
ter how small they are. Never use wa-
ter.IF ANYONE IS INJURED
– Never leave the injured person
alone. The obligation to provide as-
sistance exists even for those not di-
rectly involved in the accident.
– Do not congregate around the in-
jured person.
– Reassure the injured person that
help is on its way and will arrive soon.
Stay close by to calm him/her down
should they panic.
– Unfasten or cut seat belts holding
injured parties.
– Do not give an injured person any-
thing to drink.
– Never move an injured person ex-
cept in the following cases.
– Pull the injured person from the
car only if it risks catching fire, is sink-
ing in water, is likely to fall from a
height or similar. Do not pull his/her
arms or legs, do not bend the head
and, as far as possible, keep the body
flat.