73DRIVING YOUR CAR
IMPORTANT Reverse gear can
only be engaged when the car is com-
pletely stationary. With the engine
running, before engaging the reverse
gear, wait for at least two seconds
with the clutch pedal pressed fully
down to avoid damaging or grating the
gears. SAFE DRIVING
In designing the Fiat 600, Fiat has
made every effort to come up with a
car able to provide driver and pas-
sengers with top-class levels of safety.
Nevertheless it is always the behav-
iour of the person at the wheel that
determines road safety.
Below you will find some simple tips
to help you travel in safety under dif-
ferent conditions. You will no doubt
be familiar with many of them already
but it will be useful to read them all
carefully.
BEFORE GETTING BEHIND
THE WHEEL
– Make sure all lights including the
headlights are working properly.
– Adjust the position of the seats,
steering wheel, inside and outside rear
view mirrors properly for the best
driving position.
– Carefully adjust the head restraints
so the back of the head and not the
nape of the neck is supported. – Make sure that nothing (mats etc.)
gets in the way of the pedals when
they are pushed down.
– Make sure that any child restraint
systems (child seats, carriers etc.) are
properly fixed preferably on the back
seat.
– Place any objects in the boot in
such a way that they cannot be
thrown forwards in the event of an
accident.
– Do not eat a heavy meal before
travelling. Light eating will help keep
your reflexes prompt. Above all, do
not have anything alcoholic to drink.
Periodically, remember to check:
– tyre pressure and condition
– level of battery electrolyte
– engine oil level
– coolant level and condition of the
system
– brake fluid level
– windscreen washer fluid level. To change the gear
properly (with mechani-
cal clutch) you must push
the clutch pedal fully down. It is
therefore essential that there is
nothing under the pedals. Make
sure mats are lying flat and do
not get in the way of the pedals.
80DRIVING YOUR CAR
LOOKING AFTER EMISSION
CONTROL DEVICES
The correct use of pollution control
devices not only ensures respect for
the environment but also has an effect
on the car’s performance. Keeping
these devices in good condition is
therefore a fundamental rule for dri-
ving that is easy on your pocket and
on the environment too.
The first step to take is to follow the
Service Schedule to the letter.
If your car has a petrol engine use
only unleaded petrol.
If you have trouble starting, do not
keep turning the ignition key for long
periods. Be especially careful to avoid
bump starting the car by pushing, tow-
ing or rolling down hill: these are all
manoeuvres that can damage the cat-
alytic exhaust. For emergency starts
use only an auxiliary battery.If the engine begins to “lose its
smoothness” when travelling, con-
tinue your journey but reduce the de-
mands you are making on the engine
and go to a Fiat Dealershipas soon
as you can.
When the instrument panel fuel re-
serve warning light comes on, fill up as
soon as possible. A low level of fuel
can cause an uneven supply of fuel to
the engine with the inevitable increase
in the temperature of the exhaust gas
and serious damage to the catalytic
converter.
Never run the engine with one or
more spark plugs disconnected, even
for testing purposes.
Do not warm up the engine by let-
ting it idle for a while before moving
off unless the outside temperature is
very low and, even in this case, only
do so for less than 30 seconds.Do not install other heat shields
and do not remove those already fit-
ted to the catalytic converter and
exhaust pipe.
When functioning nor-
mally the catalytic con-
verter reaches high tem-
peratures. For this reason do not
park the car over flammable ma-
terial (grass, dry leaves, pine nee-
dles etc.): fire hazard.
Ignoring the above rules
may lead to fire.
Do not allow anything to
be sprayed onto the cat-
alytic converter, Lambda
sensor or exhaust pipe.
82DRIVING YOUR CAR
For electrical connection, a 7 or 13
pole 12VDC coupling must be used
(CUNA/UNI and ISO/DIN standards).
Follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the car and/or
the tow hitch.The electrical brake (where relevant)
or other devices (electrical winch,
etc.) must be powered directly from
the battery by means of a lead with a
cross-section area no smaller than
2.5 mm
2. In addition to the electrical
connections, only the power wire foran additional electrical brake and for
internal trailer lighting with a power
not exceeding 15W can be connected
to the car’s electrical system.
The coupling electrical connections
are shown in fig. 4.
ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM fig. 3
The trailer tow hitch is to be fixed in
the points indicated Øusing 8 M8
screws and 4 M10 screws.
All anchorage points (1) are to have
∅20 x 4.5 spacers.
The internal counterplates (2) are to
be at least 4 mm thick.
The internal counterplates (3) are to
be at least 5 mm thick.
43,543,5
15
≥65
3108
152
587
110
10 157
43,543,5
1
1
87
33
287
33
2
900
fig. 3
P4Q00220
Rear wheel axle
Load 385 ±35
Reference hole
∅25 existing
Standard tow ball
86DRIVING YOUR CAR
STORING THE CAR
The following precautions should be
taken if the car will not be used for
several months:
– Park the car in covered, dry and if
possible well-ventilated premises.
– Engage a gear.
– Make sure the handbrake is not
engaged.
– Remove the cables from the bat-
tery terminals (first remove the cable
to the negative terminal), and check
the battery charge. If the car is to be
stored for long periods the charge of
the battery should be checked every
month and recharged if it falls below
12.5V.– Clean and protect the shiny metal
parts using special compounds readily
available.
– Sprinkle talcum powder on the
rubber windscreen and rear window
wiper blades and lift them off the glass.
– Open the windows slightly.– Cover the car with a cloth or per-
forated plastic sheet. Do not use
sheets of non-perforated plastic as
they do not allow moisture on the car
body to evaporate.
– Inflate the tyres to + 0.5 bar above
the normal specified pressure and
check it at intervals.
– Do not drain the engine cooling
system.
88IN AN EMERGENCY
JUMP STARTING
If the battery is flat, you can use an-
other battery to start the engine. Its
capacity must be the same or slightly
greater than the flat battery (see the
chapter
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS).
Proceed as follows:
1)connect positive terminals Aand
B-fig. 1of the two batteries with a
jump lead.
2)With a second lead, connect the
negative terminal Cof the auxiliary
battery to an earth point Dof the car.IMPORTANTDo not directly
connect the two negative terminals:
sparks could ignite the flammable gas
from the battery.
If the auxiliary battery is fitted in an-
other vehicle, prevent accidental con-
tact of metallic parts.
3)Start the engine.
4)When the engine has been
started, remove the leads in the re-
verse order: D, C, Band finally A.
If the engine fails to start after a few
attempts, do not keep on but have the
car seen to at a Fiat Dealership. Do not carry out this
procedure if you lack ex-
perience; if it is not done
correctly it can cause very in-
tense electrical discharges. In ad-
dition, the fluid contained in the
battery is poisonous and corro-
sive. Avoid contact with skin and
eyes.
You are also advised not to put
naked flames or lighted ciga-
rettes near the battery and not
to cause sparks.
fig. 1
P4Q00087
Under no circumstances
should a battery charger
be used to start the en-
gine: it could damage the elec-
tronic systems and in particular
the ignition and injection control
units.
103IN AN EMERGENCY
An additional 7.5A fuse is located by
the side of the climate control system.
It can be reached from inside the pas-
senger compartment under the dash-
board.
Fuses in the engine
compartment
A fusebox is located on the left side
of the engine compartment behind the
battery. It contains four high amper-
age fuses A-fig. 40 (MAXI FUSES)
which act as additional fire protection
in preventing high intensity cables
from overheating the following :
A- 30A - injection control unit.
B- 40A - Ignition switch.
C- 30A - engine cooling fan.D- 60A -dashboard fusebox
power.
IMPORTANT Go directly to a
Fiat Dealershipto have any one of
these four fuses restored.
Other version-specific fuses are
arranged next to the four MAXI fuses.
They protect the following devices:
E - 30A - climate control sys-
tem.
F - 30A - optional power cir-
cuits.
G - 40A - electrical power
steering system.
H - 60A - ABSA fusebox B-fig. 41 containing other
three fuses is located in the engine
compartment on the right-hand side.
To reach the fuses, loosen the two
nuts A and remove the cover B.
Fuses fig. 42 protect:
1 - 7.5A -Fiat CODE and control
unit (+30)
2 - 15A -injection system auxiliary
units and climate control
system auxiliary units
3 - 7.5A -Fiat CODE and elec-
tronic injection control
unit (15/54)
fig. 40
P4Q01031
fig. 41
P4Q01032
fig. 42
P4Q01033
104IN AN EMERGENCY
System/Component Fuse no. Amperage Location
Front left-hand sidelight
Front right-hand sidelight
Left-hand taillight
Right-hand taillight
Left-hand dipped beam headlight
Right-hand dipped beam headlight
Left-hand main beam headlight
Right-hand main beam headlight
Left-hand brake light
Right-hand brake light
Additional brake light
(3rdbrake light)
Left-hand number plate light
Right-hand number plate light
Reversing light
Rear foglight
Hazard lights
Direction indicators
Front foglights
Ceiling light
Windscreen wiper/washer
Horn
Electric windows
Door locking system
Heated rear window
Cigar lighter
5 10A fig. 39
4 10A fig. 39
4 10A fig. 39
5 10A fig. 39
6 10A fig. 39
7 10A fig. 39
8 10A fig. 39
9 10A fig. 39
21 10A fig. 39
21 10A fig. 39
21 10A fig. 39
4 10A fig. 39
5 10A fig. 39
21 10A fig. 39
18 10A fig. 39
16 10A fig. 39
22 10A fig. 39
19 15A fig. 39
15 15A fig. 39
25 20A fig. 39
17 15A fig. 39
2 25A fig. 39
1 15A fig. 39
14 20A fig. 39
24 25A fig. 39
System/Component Fuse no. Amperage Location
6 10A fig. 39
22 10A fig. 39
9 10A fig. 39
13 20A fig. 39
20 20A fig. 39
15 15A fig. 39
11 20A fig. 39
23 10A fig. 39
3 10A fig. 39
1 7,5A fig. 42
1 7,5A fig. 42
E 30A fig. 40
C 30A fig. 40
24 25A fig. 39
3 7.5A fig. 42
3 7.5A fig. 42
F 30A fig. 40
2 15A fig. 42
2 15A fig. 42
B 40A fig. 40
12 7.5A fig. 39
15 15A fig. 39
10 10A fig. 39Headlight beam adjuster
Instrument panel (+15)
Main beam headlight warning light
Stalks: light control
Stalks: general
Sound system + battery
Sunroof
Airbag system
ABS (+15)
Fiat CODE system (+30)
Injection control unit (+30)
Climate control system
Engine cooler radiator fan
Passenger compartment fan
Electronic ignition
injection system (+15)
Fiat CODE system (+15)
Optional device power circuits
Electronic injection sensors
Climate control system auxiliary units
Ignition switch
Relay coil power
Instrument panel (+30)
Electrical power steering system
(+15)
105IN AN EMERGENCY
JUMP STARTING
See
JUMP STARTINGin this chapter.
IF THE BATTERY
IS FLAT
First of all, read the CAR MAINTE-
NANCEchapter for the steps to be
taken to avoid the battery running
down and to ensure it has a long life.
RECHARGING THE BATTERY
You are advised to recharge the bat-
tery slowly for a period of approxi-
mately 24 hours at a low amperage.
Charging for too long could damage
the battery.
Proceed as follows:
1)Disconnect the electric system
from the battery terminals.
IMPORTANTWhere relevant,
switch the electronic car alarm off
with the remote control.3)Turn on the charger.
4)When you have finished, turn the
charger off before disconnecting the
battery.
5)Reconnect the cables to the bat-
tery terminals. Make sure the polarity
is correct.
The liquid in the battery
is poisonous and corro-
sive. Do not let it touch
the skin or eyes. Recharging the
battery should be done in a well-
ventilated area away from naked
flames or possible sources of
sparks: explosion and fire risk. Do not attempt to
recharge a frozen bat-
tery. Thaw is first other-
wise it could explode. If the bat-
tery froze, make sure the inter-
nal elements are not broken
(short-circuit risk) and that the
casing is not cracked (risk of
spilling the poisonous and corro-
sive liquid).
Under no circumstances
should a battery charger
be used to start the en-
gine: it could damage the elec-
tronic systems and in particular
the ignition and injection control
units.