2007 Alfa Romeo 156 warning light

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
136
DASHBOARD LIGHTING
ADJUSTMENT
(fig. 118)
When the outside lights are on, the dash-
board lighting is adjusted by pressing button
(A).
Each press of the button (A) cyclically se-
lects one of the three lighting levels pro-
vided: low-medium-high.
FRONT FOGLIGHTS
(fig. 117)
(where required)
These come on when button (A) is
pressed and when the external lights are al-
ready on.
The warning light
5
will light up on the
instrument panel.
By turning the ignition key to STOP, the
fog lights are turned off automatically and
do not come on the next time the engine
is started without pressing button (A).
Press the button (A) again to switch the
front foglights off.
WARNINGThe front foglights should be
used in compliance with the local traffic
laws.
REAR FOG GUARDS
(fig. 117)
These are turned on, with the dipped beam
headlamps or fog lights on, by pressing but-
ton (B).
At the same time, warning light
4
on the
instrument cluster lights up.
By turning the ignition key to STOP, the
fog guards are automatically turned off and
they do not come on the next time the en-
gine is started unless button (B) is pressed.
Press button (B) to turn them off.
WARNINGAlways use the rear fog
guards in accordance with local regulations
in force.
fig. 117
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fig. 118
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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
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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
139
To release the hand brake:
– slightly lift the lever (A) and press the
release button (B);
– holding the button down lower the lever.
The
x
warning light on the instrument
panel will go out.
To prevent the car from moving acciden-
tally, keep the brake pedal pressed when
engaging the handbrake.WARNINGThe handbrake lever (A) is
fitted with a safety device which prevents
the brake from being released when, if the
lever is pulled, button (B) is pressed. There-
fore, to release the brake, in addition to
pressing button (B), it is also necessary to
pull lever (A) further upwards to release the
safety device, then lower the lever com-
pletely
GEARSHIFT LEVER
(fig. 123)
Depending on the versions the car is fitted
with a five or six speed mechanical gearbox
(see “Technical specifications” chapter).
The position of the individual gears is
shown by the pictogram on the gearshift
lever knob.
When changing gear, always fully depress
the clutch pedal. Before engaging reverse
gear (R) wait for the car to be stationary.
fig. 123
A0B0290m
The wheels should be
locked after a few clicks of
the hand brake. If this does not oc-
cur, contact Alfa Romeo Authorized
Services to have the hand brake
adjusted.
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
142
Failures of Selespeed gearbox are signalled
to the driver through a warning light (B-fig.
126) accompanied by an acoustic signal. The gearbox can work in two operating
modes:
– the first is semiautomatic(then called
MANUAL), in which the driver directly re-
quests gearshifting through the lever on the
centre console or pressing the buttons at the
steering wheel;
– the second is automatic, calledCITY
(mode selectable with the specific button
B-fig. 124, the CITYsign appears on the
display fig. 126fitted on rev-counter), in
which the system decides directly when to
shift gear.With the gearbox in the CITYmode it is
still possible to carry out manual gearshift-
ing, both using the gear lever and the steer-
ing wheel controls. The gearbox remains in
the CITYmode.
The gear engaged (fig. 126) is always
signalled on the display regardless of the se-
lected mode.
N= neutral;
1= first gear;
2 = second gear;
3= third gear;
4= fourth gear;
5= fifth gear;
R= reverse.
fig. 126
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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
143
SYSTEM ACTIVATIONWARNINGOpening the driver’s door,
the Selespeed starts the hydraulic part of
the system to prepare it for the engine to be
started. This function (noted by the turning
of the electric pump) is deactivated after 10
openings/closings of the door that are not
followed by actual system activation using
the ignition key.
Turning the ignition key to MAR, all the
segments of the display (A-fig. 126), the
gearbox failure warning light (B-fig. 126)
and the word CITYlight up. After about one
second, the display indicates the gear en-
gaged (N, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, R); from this mo-
ment, the Selespeed system accepts
gearshift commands.
WARNINGIf after 10 seconds the dis-
play segment do not display the gear en-
gaged or the failure warning light stays on,
turn the ignition key to STOPand wait for
the display to go off, then repeat the sys-
tem activation procedure. If the fault per-
sists, contact Alfa Romeo Authorized Ser-
vices
OPERATION WITH THE
ENGINE OFFWARNINGBefore operating the gear-
shift control lever, always check the gear en-
gaged on the display (N, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, R).
When the engine is off and the vehicle is
stationary, it is possible to engage all the
gears.
With the vehicle stationary and with the
brake pedal pressed, requests to shift gear
are accepted onlyif they are carried out
through the control lever on the central con-
sole.To request gearshifting, in addition to keep-
ing the brake pedal pressed it is necessary to:
– to increase gear (+) (fig. 127) push
the lever “forwards” (if the car is in first gear
this shifts to second, if it is in second gear
it goes to third and so on up to fifth). If the
system is in neutral (N) or reverse (R) the
forward movement on the lever causes en-
gagement of first gear (1).
– to shift down (–) (fig. 127) push the
lever backwards (if the car is in fifth gear
it moves to fourth, if fourth gear is engaged
it shifts to third and so on down to first).
fig. 127
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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
150
AUTOMATIC OPERATION (CITY)The CITYautomatic operating mode is se-
lected pressing the button (A-fig. 132),
at the base of the gearshift lever.
In addition to the gear, the display on the
rev counter will show the word CITY.
The system decides directly when gearshift-
ing according to the engine running speed
and the driving style.
Quickly releasing the accelerator pedal, the
system does not engage a higher gear in or-
der to maintain an adequate level of engine
brake.
FAILURE SIGNALLINGFailures to the Selespeed gearbox are in-
dicated by the
t
(A-fig. 133) warn-
ing light on the instrument cluster.
When the system is turned on (turning the
ignition key to MAR), the warning light
should turn on glowing steadily for about
4 seconds and then turn off.
If the warning light stays on it means that
a fault to the gearbox has been detected; at
the same time a buzzer sounds intermit-
tently for 4 seconds to attract the driver's
attention.In the case of a fault to the gearshift lever,
the system automatically activates the au-
tomatic CITYmode to allow the car to
reach the nearest Authorized Alfa Romeo
Services to have the fault detected elimi-
nated.
In the event of faults to other components
of the gearbox, the system only allows the
engagement of certain ratios: first gear (1),
second (2) and reverse (R).
fig. 132
A0B0269m
fig. 133
A0B0383m
If the warning light
t
comes on, contact the Alfa
Romeo Authorized Services
as soon as possible to remove the
fault.In case of transmission
fault, contact the Alfa
Romeo Authorized Services as
soon as possible to check the sys-
tem.
WARNING

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
154
R - Reverse
Move the gearshift lever to Rwith the car
stationary, the engine idling and the brake
pedal pressed.
To prevent accidental engagements, mov-
ing the lever to this position is only allowed
raising the ring (A-fig. 138) placed un-
der the gearshift lever knob.
With the lever in position R the reversing
lights turn on and a beep is sounded for
safety reasons to indicate that reverse gear
has been engaged.
Before moving the lever, press the brake
pedal: the car must be stationary.
WARNINGWith the lever in position R,
reverse gear is not engaged if the vehicle
speed is above the established level. When
the car speed falls below this level, reverse
gear is engaged and remains engaged even
if the speed returns above the limit.
AUTOMATIC OPERATIONSelector lever
For automatic gearshifting, move the
gearshift lever to the right sector
(fig. 138) in one of the following posi-
tions:
P- park (the engine can be started)
R- reverse
N- neutral (the engine can be started)
D- automatic forward gear.
Raise the ring (A-fig. 138) placed un-
der the gearshift lever knob for shifting:
– from Pto Rand vice versa
– from Nto R.P - Park
To prevent accidental engagements, mov-
ing the lever to position Pis only allowed
raising the ring (A-fig. 138) placed un-
der the gearshift lever knob.
When the car is being parked, move the
lever to this position. A device in the gear-
box will lock the driving wheels.fig. 138
A0B0265m
Always pull the hand-
brake completely before
leaving the car.
Move the gearshift lever to posi-
tion P when getting out of the car
leaving the engine running.
WARNING