2005 Alfa Romeo 159 instrument panel

30
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CARThe date Cin the middle of the display
will stay on until another display info is
activated (e.g. “Light dimmer”) or oth-
er information on car conditions.
With key removed (when opening when
of the front doors) the display will turn
on and show for a few seconds the time,
covered km (or miles) and outside tem-
perature.
INFORMATION ABOUT CAR
CONDITIONS (at event)
❒Scheduled servicing;
❒Trip computer;
❒Instrument panel light dimmer;
❒Engine oil level;
IMPORTANTWhen opening one of
the front doors, the display will show for
a few seconds the time, the km covered
and the external temperature.
RECONFIGURABLE
MULTIFUNCTION
DISPLAY
(where provided)
The “Reconfigurable multifunction dis-
play” shows all the useful information
necessary when driving, more particu-
larly:
INFORMATION ON
STANDARD SCREEN
❒ClockA-fig. 24;
❒External temperature B;
❒DateC;
❒Partial km (or mi) covered D;
❒Total km (or mi) covered E;
❒Indications on car conditions F(e.g.:
doors open, or possible ice on road,
etc. ...).
A0E0015mfig. 24

70
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
EXTERNAL LIGHTS
LEFT-HAND STALK fig. 51
The left-hand stalk control almost all ex-
ternal lights.
The external lights can only be switched
on with electronic key fitted into ignition
device.
Lights switched off
Knurled ring at O.
Sidelights
Turn the knurled ring Ato
6. The warn-
ing light
3on the instrument panel
will turn on.
Dipped beam headlamps
Turn the knurled ring Ato
2. The warn-
ing light
2on the instrument panel will
turn on.Main beam headlamps
With knurled ring Aat
2pull the stalk
towards the steering wheel (2ndunsta-
ble position). Warning light
1on the
instrument panel will turn on.
To turn the main beams off, pull again
the stalk towards the steering wheel (2
nd
unstable position).
Flashing the main beams
Pull the stalk towards the steering wheel
(1
stunstable position) regardless of the
position of the knurled ring A. Warn-
ing light
1on the instrument panel
will turn on. Direction indicators
Push the stalk to (stable) position:
❒up: to turn the right-hand direction
indicator on;
❒down: to turn the left-hand direction
indicator on.
Warning light
Îor¥will come on flash-
ing on the instrument cluster at the
same time.
Indicators are switched off automatical-
ly when the steering wheel is straight-
ened.
If you want to show that you are about
to change lane, move the left-hand stalk
to unstable position. The required direc-
tion indicator will flash 3 times and then
it will turn off automatically.A0E0064mfig. 51

71
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
“FOLLOW ME HOME”
DEVICE
This function allows the illumination of
the space in front of the car for a pre-
set period of time.
Activation
Pull the stalk towards the steering wheel
within 2 minutes from when the engine
is turned off.
At each single movement of the stalk,
the staying on of the lights is extended
by 30 seconds up to a maximum of 3.5
minutes; then the lights are switched off
automatically.
Each time the stalk is operated, the
3
warning light turns on together with the
message on the display (see section
“Warning lights and messages”).
Deactivation
Keep the stalk pulled towards the steer-
ing wheel for more than 2 seconds.
AUTOMATIC HEADLIGHTS
SENSOR (daylight sensor)
(where provided)
It detects the changes of the external
light intensity of the car according to the
light sensitivity set: the greater the sen-
sitivity is, the smaller the amount of ex-
ternal light necessary to control the
switching-on of the external headlights
will be.
On certain versions, the daylight sen-
sor sensitivity can be adjusted through
the “Setup Menu” of the display (see
section “Reconfigurable multifunction
display” in this section).
Activation
Turn the knurled ring A-fig. 51to
2A:
in this way, the automatic activation of
the side/taillights and dipped beam
headlights is simultaneously enabled ac-
cording to outside brightness.
With lights switched on automatically
and in the presence of a switching off
control by the sensor, the main beams
will be switched off first and a few sec-
onds after also the sidelights.Deactivation
As a result of the sensor control, the
dipped beam headlights will switch off
and, after a few seconds, sidelights will
switch off too. The sensor is not able
to detect the fog presence, under this
condition lights shall therefore be
switched on manually.
Failure warnings
On certain versions headlight sensor fail-
ure is shown by the instrument panel
warning light
1, whereas on other ver-
sions a dedicated message is shown on
the display (see section “Warning lights
and messages”).

72
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
Parking lights
With instrument panel off they turn on
by pressing button C. When pressing the
button a buzzer will sound and the in-
strument panel warning light
3will
turn on.
Press the button again to turn the lights
off.
With parking lights on, move the exter-
nal lights left-hand stalk upwards or
downwards to select on which side
(right or left) the lights must stay on. In
this event warning light
3will turn
off.
With left stalk at central position the four
parking lights and the number plate light
will turn on.
DASHBOARD BUTTONS
fig. 52
Front fog lights
(where provided)
To turn front fog lights on, press button
A; to activate these lights it is necessary
to have the side/taillights switched on.
The instrument panel warning light
5
will turn on. Press the button again or turn
side/taillights off to turn the lights off.
Rear fog lights
To turn rear fog lights on, press button
Bto activate these lights it is necessary
to have the dipped beams or front fog
lights switched on. The instrument pan-
el warning light
4will turn on. They turn
off by pressing the button again, turn-
ing the front or rear fog lights off or by
turning the engine off.
A0E0061mfig. 52
Hazard lights
These lights are turned on by pressing
buttonA-fig. 53.
When these lights are on, the switch
flashes and warning lights
Îand¥on
the instrument panel will turn on at the
same time.
Press switch Aagain to turn the lights
off.
Use of the hazard
warning lights is ruled
by the Highway Code of the
country in which the car is
used. Observe regulations.
WARNING
A0E0100mfig. 53

75
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
HEADLIGHT WASHERS
(where provided) fig. 56
Headlight washers are visible and are fit-
ted with a nozzle for each external light
function. They come into operation au-
tomatically when operating the wind-
screen washer with external lights
turned on.
IMPORTANT Check at regular inter-
vals correct operation and cleanness of
nozzles. IMPORTANT In the event of rain sen-
sor failure, windscreen wiper operation
with right-hand stalk at 1-fig. 54shall
be intermittent. If failure occurs during
automatic operation, the system will
keep the last wiper operating condition.
Operation is however guaranteed al-
though moving the stalk to other posi-
tions.
The rain sensor is able to recognize and
automatically adjust itself in the pres-
ence of the following particular condi-
tions:
❒ impurities on the controlled surface
(salt, dirt, etc.);
❒difference between day and night.
Failure warnings
On certain versions rain sensor failure is
shown by the instrument panel warning
light
u, whereas on other versions a
dedicated message is shown on the dis-
play (see section “Warning lights and
messages”).
Rain sensor shall be de-
activated when washing
the car at automatic car-
wash.
Make sure the rain sen-
sor is deactivated if
there is ice on the wind-
screen.
Make sure the device is
off when cleaning the
windscreen.
WARNING
A0E0046mfig. 56
Streaks of water could
cause unrequired blade
movements.

97
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
On certain versions, improper boot
closing is indicated by the instrument
panel warning light
´, whereas on
other versions the symbol
Rand a
message are displayed (see section
“Warning lights and messages”).
OPENING FROM
THE INSIDE
Press button A-fig. 93set on the
front ceiling light.
ButtonA-fig. 93is disabled when
locking the doors by:
❒pressing the electronic key button
Á;
❒turning the metal insert of the key
into the driver's door lock;
❒automatic locking of the doors
after about 2.5 minutes.
Tailgate opening is facilitated by the
side gas shock springs.
Opening the boot its internal light will
turn on and it will turn off automati-
cally when re-closing the tailgate.
Leaving the tailgate inadvertently
open, the light will turn off automati-
cally after a few minutes.
BOOT
The boot lock is electric and it is dis-
abled when the car is running.
Through the “Setup menu” (or the
Radionavigation system for certain
versions) boot opening can be set by
selecting the option “Indep. boot”
(see paragraph “Reconfigurable multi-
function display” in this section):
when this function is on, the boot can
only be opened by pressing the elec-
tronic key button
`, thus inhibit-
ing the boot opening button on the
ceiling light A-fig. 93.
A0E0096mfig. 93

105
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
EBD failure
EBD failure is indicated by the turning
on of warning lights
>+xon the in-
strument panel (on certain versions to-
gether with the dedicated message on
the display) (see section “Warning lights
and messages”).
In this case with sharp braking the rear
wheels might lock too early, with the
possibility of skidding. Drive extremely
carefully to the closest Alfa Romeo Au-
thorized Services to have the system
checked.
BRAKE ASSIST
(emergency braking
assistance)
The system, which cannot be cut out,
recognizes emergency braking (on the
ground of the brake pedal operation
speed) and considerably increases the
pressure in the brake circuit.
Brake Assist is deactivated on the ver-
sions equipped with VDC system in the
event of VDC system failure, indicated
by the turning on of warning light
áon
the instrument panel (on certain ver-
sions together with a message on the
display).
FAILURE WARNING LIGHTS
ABS failure
ABS failure is indicated by the turning
on of warning light
>on the instru-
ment panel (on certain versions together
with the dedicated message on the dis-
play) (see section “Warning lights and
messages”). In this case the braking
system is still efficient, though without
the aid of the ABS system.
Drive carefully to the closest Alfa Romeo
Authorized Services to have the system
checked.

106
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
VDC SYSTEM
(Vehicle Dynamics
Control)
(where provided)
The VDC system is an electronic system
controlling the car stability in the event
of tyre grip loss.
The VDC system is therefore particular-
ly useful when grip conditions of the
road surfaces changes.
VDC SYSTEM
INTERVENTION
It is signalled by the blinking of the
warning light
áon the instrument pan-
el, to inform the driver that the car is
in critical stability and grip conditions.
TURNING THE VDC SYSTEM
ON/OFF
The VDC system is automatically acti-
vated when the engine is started. When
travelling, to turn the VDC off press the
ASR/ VDC button on the central console
fig. 102for 2 seconds. Turning off the
VDC will also turn off the ASR. Both func-
tions can be reactivated by pressing the
ASR/VDC button.
VDC system deactivation is indicated
by the instrument panel warning light
á(on certain versions a symbol is dis-
played) and by the circular led around
the ASR/VDC button.
If the VDC has been turned off when
travelling, at next engine start-up it will
turn on again automatically.
FAILURE WARNING LIGHTS
In the event of failure, the VDC system
is automatically disconnected and the
warning light
ácomes on with fixed
light on the instrument panel (on cer-
tain versions together with a message
on the display) (see section “Warning
lights and messages”). In this case con-
tact Alfa Romeo Authorized Services as
soon as possible.
A0E0026mfig. 102