2005 Alfa Romeo 156 change time

5
THE SYMBOLS USED IN THIS BOOKLETThe symbols illustrated in these pages show the subjects which should,
in particular, be closely studied.
This indicates the correct procedures
to be followed to prevent
the vehicle from damaging
the environment. Warning: partially or
fully ignoring these rules may lead
to serious injury.Warning: partially or fully ignoring these
rules may lead to serious damage
being caused to the vehicle which, in some
circumstances, may cause forfeiture of the
warranty cover.
PERSONAL
SAFETY
PROTECTING THE
ENVIRONMENT
VEHICLE
SAFETY
The texts, illustrations and specifications given in this booklet refer to the vehicle at the time of going to press.
As part of our ongoing striving to improve our products, Alfa Romeo may introduce technical changes
during production, therefore the specifications and fittings may be altered without prior notice.
For details on this subject, please apply to the manufacturer’s sales network.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR48
fig. 70
A0B0373m
STEERING WHEEL
LEVERSThe devices and services controlled by the
levers on the steering wheel can only be ac-
tivated when the ignition key is in the MAR
position.LEFT-HAND LEVERThe left-hand lever controls the external
lights except the foglamps and the rear fog-
light.
When the external lights are switched on
the various controls located on the dash-
board are illuminated.
The sidelights will come on if the ignition
key is in the PARKposition, regardless of
the position of the knurled ring.Lights switched off (fig. 68)
When the pointer on the knurled ring is op-
posite the symbol O, the external lights are
switched off.
Sidelights (fig. 69)
The sidelights are switched on by turning
the knurled ring from Oto
6.
The
3
warning light on the instrument
panel will come on at the same time.
Dipped-beam headlights (fig. 70)
These are switched on by turning the
knurled ring from
6
to 2
.Main-beam headlights (fig. 71)
When the knurled ring is in the
2
posi-
tion, the headlights can be changed from
dipped-beam to main-beam by pushing the
lever towards the dashboard (stable posi-
tion). The
1
warning light will come on
on the instrument panel.
To return from main-beam to dipped-beam,
once again pull the lever towards the steer-
ing wheel and then release.
fig. 68
A0B0371m
fig. 69
A0B0372m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR49
Flashing (fig. 72)
The headlights are flashed by pulling the
lever towards the steering wheel (unstable
position) regardless of the position of the
knurled ring. The
1
warning light on the
instrument panel will come on at the same
time.
WARNINGOnly the main-beam lights
are flashed. To avoid penalties, follow lo-
cal regulations.Direction indicators (fig. 73)
Moving the lever to the stable position will:
up - engage the right-hand direction indi-
cators.
down - engage the left-hand direction in-
dicators.
One of the warning lights (
R
or
E) will
come on on the instrument panel at the
same time.
The lever is returned to its home position
automatically and the indicators are
switched off when the steering wheel is
straightened.WARNINGIf you wish to signal a rapid
change of direction involving only a mini-
mum movement of the steering wheel, the
lever can be moved up or down without
clicking (unstable position). When released
the lever will return to its home position.
fig. 73
A0B0376m
fig. 71
A0B0374m
fig. 72
A0B0375m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR51
“INTELLIGENT WASHING” FUNCTION
Pulling the lever towards the steering
wheel (fig. 76) (unstable position) oper-
ates the windscreen washer.
Keeping the lever pulled, with only one
movement it is possible to operate the
washer jet and the wiper at the same time;
indeed, the latter comes into action auto-
matically if the lever is pulled for more than
half a second.
The wiper stops working a few strokes af-
ter releasing the lever; a further “cleaning
stroke” after a few seconds completes the
wiping operation.Rain sensor
(for versions/markets where
applicable) (fig. 77)
The rain sensor (A), fitted only on cer-
tain versions, is an electronic device com-
bine with the windscreen wiper which has
the purpose of automatically adjusting the
number of wipes during intermittent opera-
tion, to intensity of the rain.
All the other functions controlled by the
right-hand lever remain unchanged.
The rain sensor is activated automatically
moving the right-hand lever to position (B-
fig. 74) and it has a range of adjustment
that gradually varies between wiper sta-
tionary (no wiping) when the windscreen is
dry, to wiper at first continuous speed (con-
tinuous, slow) with heavy rain.Turn ring (F-fig. 75) to set the rain sen-
sor sensitivity level:
■■
= low sensitivity
■■■
= medium ensitivity
■■■■
= high sensitivity.
Operating the windscreen washer with the
rain sensor activated (lever at position B)
the normal washing cycle is performed at
the end of which the rain sensor resumes its
normal automatic function.
Turning the ignition key to STOPthe rain
sensor is deactivated and the next time the
engine is started (MAR position) it will not
be reactivated even if the lever has remained
in position (B). In this case to activate the
rain sensor, simply move the lever to (A)
or (C) and then back to (B).
fig. 76
A0B0374m
fig. 77
A0B0012m

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR54
Turn the ring (B) to (–) to lower the speed
memorised.
Each time the ring is actuated (B) the
speed increases or lowers by about 1.5
km/h.
Keeping the ring turned the speed changes
continuously. The new speed reached will
be maintained automatically.
The RCLbutton (C) resets the memorised
speed.
WARNINGTurning the ignition key to
STOPor the ring (A) to OFF, the speed
memorised is cleared and the system is
switched off.
The ring (A) can be constantly left to ON
without damaging the device. However, we
suggest to disconnect the device when it is
not used, turning the ring to OFF, to avoid
fortuituous speed memorisations.
TO MEMORISE THE SPEEDMove the ring (A) to ONand take the car
to the required speed normally. Turn the ring
(B) to (+) for at least three seconds, then
release it. The car speed is memorised and
it is therefore possible to release the accel-
erator pedal.
The car will continue to travel at the mem-
orised constant speed until one of the fol-
lowing condition takes place:
– pressing the brake pedal;
– pressing the clutch pedal;
– if the VDC, ASR system cuts in;
– with Selespeed or Q-System transmis-
sion if a gear is changed.
WARNINGIn the case of need (when
overtaking for instance) acceleration is pos-
sible simply pressing the accelerator pedal;
later, releasing the accelerator pedal, the car
will return to the speed memorised previ-
ously.
TO RESET THE MEMORISED
SPEEDIf the device has been disengaged for ex-
ample pressing the brake or clutch pedal,
the memorised speed can be reset as fol-
lows:
– accelerate gradually until reaching a
speed approaching the one memorised;
– engage the gear selected at the time
of speed memorising (4
th, 5
thor 6
thspeed);
– press the RCLbutton (C).

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
138
HEADLIGHT CORRECTOR (fig. 121)
If the car is fitted with xenon headlights,
beam aiming is electronic and therefore con-
trol (A) on the mask near the steering col-
umn is not present.
The headlights should be aimed correctly
depending on the vehicle load.
The control (A) on the plate at the side of
the steering column can be moved to four
positions corresponding to the vehicle loads
given below:
position 0: 1 or 2 people occupying front
seats, full fuel tank, on-board equipment pre-
sent;
position 1: 5 people on-board;fig. 121
A0B0240m
HAND BRAKE
(fig. 122)
The hand brake lever is located between
the two front seats.
To operate the brake when the vehicle is
“stationary”, pull the lever (A) upwards un-
til the required braking action is obtained.
When the ignition key is in the MARpo-
sition, the
x
warning light will come on on
the instrument panel.
fig. 122
A0B0288m
position 2: 5 people on-board, luggage
compartment full (50 kg approximately);
position 3: Driver and 300 kg in luggage
compartment.
Check the positioning of
the headlight beams every
time you change the load to be car-
ried.
WARNING

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
140
For 2.5 V6 24V versions and Diesel ver-
sions, to engage reverse gear (R), it is nec-
essary to wait for the car to be stationary,
then raise the ring under the grip (with the
fingers of the same hand holding the lever).
After engaging reverse gear, release the
ring. It is not necessary to raise the ring on
the lever when shifting from reverse to an-
other gear.WARNINGReverse gear can only be en-
gaged with the vehicle completely stopped.
With the engine running, before engaging
reverse gear it is necessary to wait for at
least 3 seconds with the clutch pedal fully
pressed, to avoid grating and the possibil-
ity of damaging the gears.Do not drive with your
hand resting on the
gearshift lever, since the
applied pressure, though slight,
may, with the passing of time,
damage parts inside the gear.
To change gear smoothly,
the clutch pedal must be
fully depressed. Therefore, there
should be no hindrances under the
pedal unit. Make sure that any
mats are well laid and do not in-
terfere with the pedals.
WARNING

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
175
COMPENSATION FOR TILT(fig. 169)
If the car is fitted with xenon headlights,
beam aiming is electronic and therefore con-
trol (A) on the mask near the steering col-
umn is not present.
When the vehicle is loaded, the beam from
the headlights is raised due to the back-
wards tilt of the vehicle.
In this case the headlights must be ad-
justed using control (A) located on the plate
at the side of the steering column.This control has four positions corre-
sponding to various vehicle loads given be-
low:
– position 0: 1 or 2 people occupying
front seats, full fuel tank, on-board equip-
ment present;
– position 1: 5 people on-board;
– position 2: 5 people on-board, luggage
compartment full (50 kg approximately);
– position 3: driver and 300 kg in lug-
gage compartment.fig. 169
A0B0240m
Check the positioning of
the headlight beams every
time you change the load to be car-
ried.
WARNING
ADJUSTING THE FRONT
FOGLIGHTS (for versions/markets where
applicable)
To adjust the height of the beam of the
front foglights, act on adjusting screw (A-
fig. 170).fig. 170
A0B0239m
Contact Alfa Romeo Au-
thorized Services to have
the headlights correctly ad-
justed.