2007 Alfa Romeo 166 steering

136
EMERGENCY STARTING
Starting with an auxiliary
battery
If the engine does not start (with the Al-
fa Romeo CODE system efficient), use an
auxiliary battery as described in the chap-
ter “In an emergency”.
SAFE DRIVING
This paragraph supplies suggestions and
indications for the correct and safe use of
your vehicle in the most common situa-
tions.
In addition to this, suggestions are giv-
en concerning the main organs which en-
sure the safety of the vehicle and its pas-
sengers.
BEFORE DRIVING OFF
Before driving off, especially before a
long journey, the following procedures
should be carried out:
– Adjust the seat, steering wheel and
rear-view mirrors in order to obtain a cor-
rect position for driving.
– Check that nothing can get under the
foot pedals, especially under the brake
pedal.
– If children are present in the car ad-
here to the instructions given in the para-
graph “General instructions for the use of
the seat belts and child restraint system”
in the chapter “Getting to know your
car”. For vehicles equipped
with turbocharger in
particular and for other
vehicles in general, revving the
engine before switching off
should be avoided.
Revving the engine serves no
purpose and consumes fuel for
no reason. It may also cause
damage to the bearings on the
rotor.
Do not bump, tow or
coast start the vehicle
as this would irrepara-
bly damage the exhaust gas cat-
alyzer.

138
PARKING
When the vehicle is parked, proceed as
follows:
– Switch off the engine.
– Engage the handbrake.
– Engage first gear if parking the car
uphill or reverse if parking the car on a s-
loping road. On cars with automatic gear-
box set the gear lever to P.
– Turn the front wheels so that the vehi-
cle will immediately come to a halt if the
handbrake slips.
NIGHT DRIVING
Night driving involves a greater degree
of concentration, both physical and ner-
vous. Some suggestions concerning night
driving follow:
– Drive with particular care, reducing
speed if necessary especially on unlit
roads.
– Maintain a greater distance from the
vehicle in front than during the day as it
is more difficult to judge the speed of a
vehicle when only the lights can be seen.
– If you become drowsy stop the car
and rest. continuing the journey when
sleepy is dangerous for yourself and for
others.
–Ensure that the headlights are correct-
ly aligned: if they are too low visibility is
reduced and if they are too high they
may cause disturbance to other users.
– use the main-beam outside built-up
areas and only when you are certain that
other drivers are not disturbed by their
use.
– When meeting vehicles coming in the
opposite direction, switch off the main-
beam and drive with the dipped-beam
headlights on.
– Keep the headlights and light units
clean at all times. – Do not coast the vehicle down hill
with the engine switched off as this elimi-
nates the engine braking effect thus re-
quiring a greater effort on the brake ped-
al, on the power steering and consider-
ably more effort on the steering wheel.
– If it is necessary to stop the vehicle
following a malfunction, park off the
road, switch on the hazard warning lights
and set up the warning triangle to alert
other road users of the presence of your
vehicle. At all times comply with the cur-
rent road traffic regulations.To avoid useless con-
sumption of power and
possible draining of the
battery, never leave the ignition
key in the MAR position when
the engine is not running.Ensure that both yourself
and your passengers are
wearing their seat belts. Travelling
without seat belts greatly in-
creases the risks of serious injury
or even death in the event of an
accident.
WARNING
Never leave children un-
attended in the vehicle.
Always remove the key from the
ignition when leaving the vehicle
and take it with you.
WARNING

142
POWER STEERING
The hydraulic power steering is only ac-
tive when the engine is running. If the en-
gine is switched off greater effort will be
required to turn the wheel.
As the steering system is a mechanical
organ which is closely tied to driving
safety, the vehicle should be stopped and
Alfa Romeo Authorized Services contacted
if an anomaly is detected.
IMPORTANT Keep the steering wheel
turned at the end of its stroke, in both di-
rections, only for the strictly indispensable
time.
WINDOWS
Do not apply stickers or similar adhe-
sives to the windows as these may dis-
tract the driver and block his vision. The VDC system turns on automatically
when the car is started and cannot be
switched off. It is however possible to cut
off operation of the ASR system pressing
the corresponding button on the centre
console.
ASR FUNCTION (ANTISLIP
REGULATION): GENERAL
The ASR system integrates the VDC sys-
tem controlling the vehicle drive and com-
ing into operation automatically each
time one or both driving wheels skid.When changing the
wiper blades follow the
instructions contained in
the package which is available as
a spare part and read the indica-
tions given in the “Car mainte-
nance “ chapter of this booklet.
WINDSCREEN WIPER BLADES
The windscreen wiper blades should be
checked periodically. Dirty or worn blades
greatly reduce visibility. The windscreen
and windows should be cleaned regularly
and grease, dirt and tar removed. In this
way the life of blades will be extended
considerably.The VDC system helps
the driver to keep control
of the car in the event of loss of
tyre grip.
The forces induced by the VDC sys-
tem to control the lack of stability
of the car always and anyway de-
pend on the grip between the tyre
and the road surface.
WARNING
Before operating the windscreen wipers,
remove snow or ice from the windscreen
and check that the wiper blade is not
frozen to the windscreen. Use an an-
tifreeze product if necessary.
Do not operate the windscreen wipers
on dry glass.

146
A - Normal pressure: tread uniform-
ly worn.
A correct pressure will ensure a longer
life for your tyre and improve perfor-
mance as the tread will then be working
along the entire width of the tread and
wear will be more uniform.
These conditions also lead to:
– better road holding of the vehicle
– easier and more precise steering
– reduced fuel consumption due to a
lower resistance against the rolling of the
tyre.
B - Insufficient pressure: tread
worn more along the edge.
Low tyre pressure will cause irregular
wearing of the tread (greater along the
sides) and cause the tyre to overheat
which could lead to parts of the tyre
breaking off and cause damage to the
shell of the tyre itself.
This type of damage could lead to sud-
den loss of pressure or cause the tyre to
burst.C - Excessive pressure: tread worn
more towards the centre.
Overinflating the tyres leads to:
– irregular wearing of the tread, con-
centrated more towards the centre of the
tread
– a reduction in the level of comfort
– a greater vulnerability of the tyre to
knocks
IMPORTANT When the vehicle is be-
ing used the pressure increases naturally.
In exceptional cases when checking tyre
pressure when hot, do not reduce the
pressure.Wheel balancing
Each wheel together with its tyre is bal-
anced, both satirically and dynamically, in
the factory. When the tyres are replaced
the wheels must be rebalanced to prevent
vehicle instability, wearing of the compo-
nents of the steering system and irregular
tyre wear.
When balancing wheels
made of light alloy only
original Alfa Romeo
counterweights should be used.

148ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT-
FRIENDLY DRIVING
How you use and how you drive your
vehicle directly influence fuel consump-
tion and environmental impact.
By following a few simple guidelines
and without incising on the “liveliness”
of the vehicle, it is possible to avoid dam-
aging the environment and often, at the
same time, to limit fuel consumption.
The following helpful suggestions will al-
low you to save in running costs and re-
duce harmful emissions.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Vehicle maintenance
The conditions of the vehicle are an im-
portant factor which affects fuel consump-
tion as well as driving tranquillity and the
life of the car itself. For this reason, care
should be given to maintenance, having
the checks and adjustments given in the
scheduled maintenance programme car-
ried out (see ... spark plugs, idle speed,
air/fuel oil filter, timing).
Tyres
Check the tyre pressure at least every 4
weeks: if the pressure is too low, consump-
tion increases as resistance to rolling is
higher. It should also be underlined that in
these conditions, tyre wear increases re-
sulting in poor handling and lower safety. Drive at a moderate
speed when snow chains
have been fitted to the
wheels. Avoid potholes, steps and
pavements, and do not drive for
long stretches on snow-free roads,
otherwise you risk damaging the
tyres, suspension and steering.
Snow chains can be fit-
ted only on wheels with
6.5J x 16” rims and
215/55 R16 tyres or 7.5J x 17”
rims and 225/45 R17 tyres.
(*) Pour versions/marchè lorsqu’il
est prèvu pneus 205/55 R16.

187
FUSES AND RELAYS IN THE
CONTROL UNIT
The fuses for the main devices are
housed in a control unit under the dash-
board, to the left of the steering column.
Access to it is gained slackening the
knob (A-fig. 84) and lowering the pan-
el (B).
The graphic symbols which distinguish
the main electric component correspond-
ing to each fuse are given on a label on
the inner wall of the panel.In the upper part of the control unit
there is a pincer (C-fig. 85) for remov-
ing fuses.
At the sides of the control unit there are
some spare fuses (C-fig. 86); after re-
placing a fuse you are advised to replen-
ish the stock of fuses when they are
used.
The systems and devices protected by
fuses are in listed in the tables on next
pages.The circuits operated by relays are the
following (fig. 86):
A- Switch discharge relay
B- Headlight washer timer.
511bPGSm
fig. 85
511aPGSm
fig. 84
A0D0145m
fig. 86

193
System/Component Fuse no. Ampere Location
Rearscreen heating 1 30A fig. 93
Relay coil T21, T22, T23 (boot box) 3 5A fig. 86
Relay coil T24 (boot box) 5 10A fig. 86
Remote control receiver 15 10A fig. 93
Sound amplifier 20 25A fig. 93
Sound system 4 15A fig. 86
Sound system controls on steering wheel 5 10Afig. 86
Starter motor 1 30A fig. 89
Trailer presetting 12 10A fig. 93
Windscreen heating 7 15A fig. 93
Windscreen wiper 14 25A fig. 86
System/Component Fuse no. Ampere Location
Navigator 18 5A fig. 86
Parking sensors (control unit) 15 10A fig. 93
Power windows (driver's control
LOCK warning light) 15 10A fig. 93
Powered sunroof 10 20A fig. 93
Presetting 4 – fig. 93
11 – fig. 93
Rain sensor 15 10A fig. 93
Rear current socket 16 20A fig. 93
Rear LH power window (ABI control unit) 14 20Afig. 93
Rear RH power window (ABI control unit) 17 20Afig. 93

197 IF THE VEHICLE
IS TO BE LIFTED
USING THE JACK
See paragraph “In the event of a punc-
ture” of this chapter.
You are informed that.
– the jack mass is 2.100 kg;
– the jack requires no adjustment;
– the jack cannot be repaired and in
case of breakage it must be replaced by
another original one.
– no tool other than its cranking lever
may be installed on the jack.
Before beginning to tow
the car, turn the ignition
key to MAR and then to STOP, do
not remove it. Removing the key
automatically engages the steering
lock resulting in the impossibility
to steer the wheels. When towing
remember that without the help of
the servobrake and power steer-
ing, it is necessary to exert more
effort on the brake pedal and for
steering. Do not use flexible cables
for towing and avoid jerks. During
towing operations make sure that
fastening the joint to the car does
not damage the components in
contact with it. When towing the
car it is compulsory to comply with
the specific traffic regulations con-
cerning both the towing device and
behaviour on the road.
WARNING
The car may fall if the
jack is not positioned cor-
rectly. Never use the jack for
higher capacities than the one
stated on its label.
The purpose of the jack is
only for replacing wheels
on the car with which it is provided
or on cars of the same model. It
must never be used for other pur-
poses such as for example raising
cars of other models. In no case
must it be used for repairs under
the car.
WARNING
WARNING