2006 Alfa Romeo Brera/Spider steering

69
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
The rain sensor is activated automatical-
ly moving the right-hand stalk to position
1-fig. 47and it has a range of adjust-
ment that gradually varies between wiper
stationary (no wiping) when the wind-
screen is dry, to wiper at second speed
(continuous, medium) with heavy rain.
Turning the knurled ringA-fig. 47it
is possible to increase the sensitivity of
the rain sensor, obtaining a quicker
change from stationary (no wiping)
when the windscreen is dry, to first con-
tinuous speed (continuous, slow). This
action is confirmed by one wiping
stroke.
Operating the windscreen washer with
the rain sensor activated (stalk at posi-
tion 1-fig. 47) the normal washing
cycle is performed at the end of which
the rain sensor resumes its normal au-
tomatic function. “Smart washing” function
Pulling the stalk towards the steering
wheel (unstable position) operates the
windscreen washer.
Keeping the stalk pulled with just one
movement it is possible to operate the
washer jet and the wiper at the same
time; the wiper actually comes into op-
eration automatically when the stalk is
pulled for more than half a second.
The wiper stops working 3 strokes after
releasing the stalk; a further stroke af-
ter about 6 seconds will complete the
wiping operation.
RAIN SENSOR
(where provided)
The rain sensor A-fig. 48, located be-
hind the driving mirror, is an electronic de-
vice combined with the windscreen wiper
which has the purpose of automatically
adjusting the number of wipes during in-
termittent operation, to intensity of the
rain. All the other functions controlled by
the right-hand stalk remain unchanged.
A0F0227mfig. 48

71
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CARHEADLIGHT WASHERS
(where provided) fig. 49
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.
Make sure the device is
off when cleaning the
windscreen.
WARNING
A0F0046mfig. 49
Streaks of water could
cause non-required blade
movements.Rear window washer/wiper
Pulling the stalk towards the steering
wheel (unstable position) operates the
rear window washer and wiper. Release
the stalk to stop operation.
Turning the knurled ring B-fig. 47from
ON/OFFto
&obtains rear window
wiper intermittent operation.

99
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CARIn this event, to adjust the headlight
slant use control A-fig. 83aset on the
button control panel near the steering
wheel.
If the car is fitted with bixenon head-
lights, headlight aiming is electronic and
therefore control Ais not present.Control has four positions corresponding
to the loads given below:
❒position 0- load: driver / driver +
front passenger;
❒position 1- load: driver + 3 pas-
sengers / driver + 3 passengers +
load in the boot (65 kg for 2.2 ver-
sion / 50 kg for 3.2 version);
❒position 2- load: driver + load in the
boot (290 kg for 2.2 version / 275
kg for 3.2 version);
❒position 3- not to be used.
IMPORTANT Check headlight slant
each time the transported load changes.
FRONT FOG LIGHT
ADJUSTMENT
Contact Alfa Romeo Authorized Services
to have the headlights correctly adjust-
ed.
A0F0226mfig. 83a
HEADLIGHT ADJUSTMENT
ABROAD
The dipped beam headlights are adjust-
ed for circulation in the country in which
the car is marketed. In countries with
opposite circulation, to avoid glaring on-
coming vehicles, proceed as follows:
❒remove headlight cover (see para-
graph “Dipped beam headlights” in
section “In an emergency”);
❒move lever A-fig. 84aside.
A0F0050mfig. 84

128
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
FRONT AIR BAGS
The car is fitted with front multistage air
bags (“Smart bags”) for the driver and
the passenger and with knees air bag
for the driver and for the passenger
(where provided).The front air bags (driver and passen-
ger) and knees air bags (driver and pas-
senger) are not a replacement of but
complementary to the use of belts,
which should always be worn, as spec-
ified by law in Europe and most non Eu-
ropean countries.
In case of crash, a person not wearing
the seat belt moves forward and may
come into contact with the cushion while
it is still inflating. Under this circum-
stance the protection offered by the air
bag is reduced.
“SMART BAG” SYSTEM
(FRONT MULTISTAGE AIR
BAGS)
The front air bags (driver and passen-
ger) and knees air bags (driver and pas-
senger) have been designed to protect
the occupants in the event of head-on
crashes of medium-high severity, by plac-
ing cushions between the occupant and
the steering wheel or dashboard.
In case of crash, an electronic control
unit, when required, triggers the infla-
tion of the cushions that inflate, as a pro-
tection, between the body of the front
occupants and the structure that could
cause injuries. Immediately after, the
cushions deflate.

129
Ù
SAFETY
DEVICES WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CARDRIVER’S FRONT AIR BAG
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained in a special recess in the cen-
tre of the steering wheelfig. 14. Front air bags may not be activated in
the following situations:
❒front collisions against highly de-
formable objects not affecting the
car front surface (e.g. bumper colli-
sion against guard rail, etc.);
❒in case of wedging under other ve-
hicles or protective barriers (for ex-
ample under a truck or guard rail);
❒the air bag is not triggered as it offers
no additional protection compared
with the seat belts, consequently it
would be pointless. Therefore, failure
to come into action in the above cir-
cumstance does not mean that the
system is not working properly.
Do not apply stickers
or other objects to the
steering wheel or to the air
bag cover on the passenger’s
side or on the side roof lining.
Never put objects (e.g. mobile
phones) on the dashboard on
passenger side since they
could interfere with proper
passenger air bag inflation and
also cause serious injury.
WARNING
A0F0077mfig. 14

131
Ù
SAFETY
DEVICES WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CARMANUAL DEACTIVATION (where provided) OF
PASSENGER’S FRONT AIR BAG , KNEES AIR BAG
(where provided) AND PASSENGER’S FRONT SIDE BAG DRIVER’S AND
PASSENGER’S KNEES AIR
BAG (where provided)
Knees air bag consists of an instant-in-
flating cushion housed into a special
compartment provided for the purpose
under the steering wheel for the driver
fig. 16and into the lower part of the
dashboard for the passenger fig. 17,
to give further protection in the event of
frontal crash.
A0F0092mfig. 17A0F0079mfig. 16
Should it be absolutely necessary to car-
ry a child on the front seat, the pas-
senger’s front air bag, knees air bag
(where provided) and the side bag can
be deactivated. Deactivation/activation
shall be performed (with key removed
from ignition device) using the key
switch set on the right side of dashboard
fig. 18. You can reach the switch on-
ly if the door is opened. When the door
is open, the metal insert of the key can
be inserted and removed in both posi-
tions.IMPORTANTOperate the switch on-
ly when the engine is not running and
the ignition key is removed.
The key-operated switch has two posi-
tions:
❒passenger’s front air bag, knees air
bag (where provided) and side bag
activated (position ONP): warn-
ing light Fon front ceiling light
panel off; it is absolutely prohibited
to carry a child on the front seat;
A0F0062mfig. 18

135
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SAFETY
DEVICES WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
GENERAL WARNINGS
If when fitting the key
into the ignition device,
the warning light
¬does not
turn on or if it stays on when
travelling (on certain versions
together with the message on
the display) there could be a
failure in safety systems; in
this event air bags or preten-
sioners could not trigger in
case of impact or, in a minor
number of cases, they could
trigger accidentally. Contact
Alfa Romeo Authorized Ser-
vices immediately to have the
system checked.
WARNING
Do not cover the back-
rest of front seats with
trims or covers that are not
suitable to be used with side
bags.
WARNING
Never travel with ob-
jects on your lap, in
front of your chest or with a
pipe, pencil, etc. between your
lips; injury may result in the
event of the air bag being trig-
gered.
WARNING
Always keep your
hands on the steering
wheel rim when driving, so
that if the air bag is triggered,
it can inflate without meeting
any obstacles which could
cause serious harm to you. Do
not drive with the body bent
forwards, keep the seat back
rest in the erect position and
lean your back well against it.
WARNING
If the car has been
stolen or an attempt to
steal it has been made, if it
has been subjected to vandals
or floods, have the air bag
system checked by Alfa Romeo
Authorized Services.
WARNING
Remember that with
the key fitted into the
ignition device and engine off,
the air bags may be triggered
on a stationary car if it is
bumped by another moving
car. Therefore, never seat chil-
dren on the front seat even
when the car is stationary. On
the other hand remember that
if the key is not fitted into the
ignition device, no safety sys-
tem (air bags or pretension-
ers) is triggered in the event
of an impact; in this case, fail-
ure to come into action cannot
be considered as a sign that
the system is not working
properly.
WARNING

138
SAFETY
DEVICES
WARNING
LIGHTS AND
MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD
AND
CONTROLS
CORRECT USE
OF THE CAR
We recommend that
during the initial period
you do not drive to full
car performance (e.g.: excessive
acceleration, long journeys at
top speed, sharp braking, etc.).
Running the engine in
confined areas is ex-
tremely dangerous. The engine
consumes oxygen and pro-
duces carbon monoxide which
is a highly toxic and lethal gas.
WARNING
When the engine is
switched off never leave
the electronic key into the
ignition device to prevent point-
less current absorption from
draining the batter.
ENGINE STARTING
The car is fitted with an electronic engine
immobilising system. If the engine fails
to start, see paragraph “Alfa Romeo
CODE system” in section “Dashboard
and controls”.
IMPORTANTTampering with the ig-
nition device can cause unrequired steer-
ing lock.
IMPORTANT Always fit the electron-
ic key completely into the ignition device
to the stop limit.
IMPORTANT Never take the elec-
tronic key out of the ignition device while
the car is moving unless you have to car-
ry out an emergency removal (see para-
graph “Removing the electronic key from
the ignition device in an emergency”),
this ensures that the steering column lock
is deactivated while the car is moving
(e.g.: towing the car).