2003 FIAT PALIO AUX

74
If the engine begins to “lose its
smoothless” when travelling, continue
your journey but reduce the demands
you are making on the engine and go
to a
Fiat Dealership as soon as you
can.
When the instrument panel fuel re-
serve warning light comes on, fill up as
soon as possible. A low level of fuel
can cause an uneven supply of fuel to
the engine with the inevitable increase
in the temperature of the exhaust gas
and serious damage to the catalytic
converter.
Never run the engine with one or
more spark plugs disconnected, even
for testing purposes.
Do not warm up the engine by letting
it idle for a while before moving off un-
less the outside temperature is very low
and, even in this case, only do so for less
then 30 seconds.Do not install other heat shields and
do not remove those already fitted to
the catalytic converter and exhaust
pipe.
Do not allow anything to be sprayed
onto the catalytic converter, lambda
sensor and exhaust pipe.
Ignoring the above rules
may lead to fire.
The catalytic converter
develops high tempera-
ture during normal oper-
ation. Do not park the car on
grass, dry leaves, pine needles or
other flammable material: fire
hazard
LOOKING AFTER EMISSION
CONTROL DEVICES
The correct use of pollution control
devices not only ensures respect for
the environment but also has an effect
on the car’s performance.
Keeping these devices in good con-
dition is therefore a fundamental rule
for driving that is easy on your pock-
et and on the environment too.
The first step to take is to follow the
Service Schedule to the letter.
Use only unleaded petrol.
If you have trouble starting, do not
keep turning the ignition key for long
periods. Be especially careful to avoid
bump starting the car by pushing, tow-
ing or rolling downhill: these are all
manoeuvres that can damage the cat-
alytic exhaust. Use an auxiliary battery
for start-ups only (see “Starting with
auxiliary battery” in the chapter “In an
emergency”).
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81
JUMP STARTING
If the battery is flat, you can use an-
other battery to start the engine. Its ca-
pacity must be the same or slightly
greater than the flat battery (see “Tech-
nical Specifications”).
Proceed as follows
fig. 1:
1)Connect positive terminals +of
the two batteries with a jump lead.
2)With a second lead, connect the
negative terminal (
–) of the auxiliary
battery and to an earth point E
on the
engine or the gearbox of the car to be
started.
IMPORTANTDo not directly
connect the negative terminals of the
two batteries: sparks could ignite the
flammable gas from the battery.
3)Start the engine.
4)When the engine has been start-
ed, remove the leads reversing the or-
der above.
If the engine fails to start after a few
attempts, do not keep turning the key
but have the car seen to at a
Fiat
Dealership
.
fig. 1
P4E01470
This starting procedure
must be carried out by
expert personnel; if it is
not done correctly it can cause
very intense electrical discharges.
In addition, the fluid contained in
the battery is poisonous and cor-
rosive. Avoid contact with skin
and eyes. You are also advised
not to put naked flames or light-
ed cigarettes near the battery
and not to cause sparks.
Under no circumstances
should a battery charger
be used for the emer-
gency procedure: it could dam-
age the electronic systems and in
particular the ignition and injec-
tion control units.
To avoid damages to the
car electric system, care-
fully follow the instruc-
tions of the cable manufacturer.
The cables must have a sufficient
diameter and must be enough
long to allow that the cars touch
each other.
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IMPORTANT If the sound system
or car alarm systems are not installed
correctly, they can interfere with the
working of the electronic control
units.
Modifications or repairs
to the electrical system
carried out incorrectly
and without bearing the features
of the system in mind can cause
malfunctions with the risk of fire.
120
ELECTRONIC
CONTROL UNITS
When the car is being used normal-
ly, special measures are not necessary.
The following instructions must be
followed very carefully however, if you
work on the electrical system or
where emergency starting is neces-
sary:
– Never disconnect the battery from
the electrical system while the engine
is running.
– Disconnect the battery from the
electrical system if you are recharg-
ing it. Modern battery chargers can
discharge voltage up to 20 V.
– Never perform emergency star-
tups with a battery charger. Always
use an auxiliary battery (see “Startup
with auxiliary battery” in “In an emer-
gency” chapter).– Be particularly careful when con-
necting the battery to the electrical
system. Make sure that the polarity is
correct and the connection is efficient.
After reconnecting the battery, the in-
jection/ignition control unit will need
to readapt its internal parameters.
Therefore, the car’s performance may
change slightly during the first few kilo-
meters.
– Do not connect or disconnect the
terminals of the electronic units while
the ignition key is at
MAR.
– Do not check polarity through
sparking.
– Disconnect the electronic units if
you are electrically welding the car
body. Remove the units if tempera-
tures exceed 80°C (special operations
on the bodywork etc.).
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134
SUSPENSIONS
FRONT
Independent wheel, MacPherson-
type with lower wishbones anchored
to an auxiliary cross bar.
Coil springs and double action shock
absorbers.
Anti-roll stabiliser bar.
REAR
Torsion axle coil spring.
Stabiliser bar and telescopic dual ef-
fect shock absorber.
BRAKES
SERVICE AND EMERGENCY
BRAKES
Front: disc-type with floating calliper.
Rear: drum and self-centering shoes.
Cross-over hydraulic circuit control.
Vacuum brake booster: 9”.
Four channel ABS system with four
sensors.
Automatic take-up of clearance due
to friction lining wear.
Brake distributor proportioning valve
working on the hydraulic cricuit of the
rear brakes.
HAND BRAKE
Controlled by a lever, it works me-
chanically on the rear brakes.
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