
78DRIVING YOUR CAR
Tyres
Tyre pressure should be checked at
least once every four weeks: if the
pressure is too low fuel consumption
increases as the resistance to the
rolling movement of the tyre is
greater. In this state, tyre wear is in-
creased and vehicle handling suffers
which will effect safety.
Unnecessary loads
Do not travel with too much luggage
stowed in the boot. The weight of the
vehicle and its trim greatly effects con-
sumption and stability.
Roof rack/ski rack
Remove roof racks and ski racks
from the roof of the car as soon as
they are no longer needed. These ac-
cessories reduce the aerodynamic
penetration of the vehicle and will in-
crease consumption. When having to
transport particularly large loads it is
better to use a trailer.Electric devices
Use electric devices for the neces-
sary time only. The heated rear win-
dow, fog lights, windscreen wipers,
heating system blower require large
amounts of electricity, and as a con-
sequence, the fuel consumption in-
creases (up to +25% in town).
Climate control system
The climate control system is a fur-
ther drag on the engine causing higher
fuel consumption (on average, up to
20%). When outside temperatures
permit, use the vents.
Aerodynamic accessories
The use of aerodynamic accessories
not certified for that specific purpose
can diminish the car’s aerodynamic
penetration and increase consump-
tion.BEHIND THE WHEEL
Starting-up
Do not warm up the engine when
the car is stationary, neither by idling
nor revving up. If you do, the engine
will warm up much more slowly and
increase fuel consumption and emis-
sions. It is therefore better to start
slowly and to keep the engine speed
down.
Unnecessary manoeuvres
Do not give quick bursts on the ac-
celerator when waiting at the traffic
lights or before turning off the engine.
This type of action, like the “double
clutch” are absolutely useless on mod-
ern cars. They only increase fuel con-
sumption and pollution.
Gear selection
As soon as traffic conditions allow,
shift up to a higher gear. Using a low
gear to have a sharp acceleration in-
creases the consumption. Likewise,
using a high gear when this is not
called for increases consumption,
emissions and wear on the engine.

79DRIVING YOUR CAR
Top speed
As speed increases, so does the fuel
consumption: note that passing from
90 to 120 km/h increases consump-
tion by about +30%. Keep your speed
as steady as possible and avoid un-
necessary braking and accelerations
that cost fuel and increase emissions
considerably. It is better to drive
“smoothly” trying to foresee the ma-
noeuvres to avoid imminent dangers
and always respect the safety distance
to avoid the need to slow down sud-
denly.
Acceleration
Sudden and sharp accelerations
revving up the engine increase con-
sumption and emissions; accelerate
gradually and do not exceed the max-
imum torque.USE
Cold start
Short journeys and frequent cold
start-ups do not allow the engine to
reach the best running temperature.
As a result, consumption rises (from
+15 to +30% in town) and so do the
harmful emissions.
Traffic situations and road
conditions
Consumption rises in heavy traffic, in
traffic jams where it is constantly nec-
essary to shift to low gears or in big
cities with many traffic lights.
Also twisting roads, mountain roads
and rough road surfaces pay a heavy
toll on consumption.
Hold-ups in traffic
During hold-ups (e.g.: level crossings)
switch off the engine.CHEAP RUNNING
THAT RESPECTS
THE ENVIRONMENT
Environmental protection has been
one of the guiding principles in the
production of Fiat 600. It is no acci-
dent that its pollution control equip-
ment is much more effective than that
required by current legislation.
Nonetheless, the environment can-
not get by without a concerted effort
from everyone.
By following a few simple rules you
can avoid harming the environment
and often cut down fuel consumption
at the same time.
On this subject, a few useful tips
have been given below to supplement
those marked by symbol #, at various
points of the handbook.
You are asked to read both the for-
mer and the latter carefully.

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.

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.

87IN AN EMERGENCY
I I I I
N N N N
A A A A
N N N N
E E E E
M M M M
E E E E
R R R R
G G G G
E E E E
N N N N
C C C C
Y Y Y Y
EMERGENCY
START-UP
If the Fiat CODE cannot deactivate
the engine immobilising system, the
¢and
Uwarning lights stay on and
the engine will not start. Follow the
emergency start-up procedure to
start the engine.
Read the whole procedure care-
fully before trying to carry it out.
If you make a mistake, you must turn
the ignition key back to STOPand
repeat the whole operation from the
beginning (step 1).
1)Read the 5-figure electronic code
given on the CODE card.
2)Turn the ignition key to MAR.3)Press and hold down the acceler-
ator pedal. The injection system warn-
ing light
Uwill come on for about 8
seconds, and then go out. At this
point release the accelerator pedal
and get ready to count the flashes of
warning light
U.
4) Count the number of flashes that
corresponds to the first figure of the
code on the CODE card, then press
the accelerator pedal and keep it there
until the
Uwarning light comes on
for four seconds and then goes out;
release the accelerator pedal.
5) The
Uwarning light will start
flashing again: after it has flashed the
number of times that corresponds to
the second figure on the CODE card,
press the accelerator pedal to the
floor and keep it there.
6) Do the same for the remaining
figures on the CODE card. 7) Once the final figure has been en-
tered, keep the accelerator pedal
pressed. The injection warning light
Uwill light up for four seconds and
then go out; release the accelerator
pedal.
8)The
Uwarning light will flash
rapidly for about 4 seconds to indicate
that the operation has been com-
pleted correctly.
9) Start the engine by turning the ig-
nition key from MARto AVV.
If, however, the
Uwarning light
stays on, turn the ignition key to
STOPand repeat the procedure
from step 1.
IMPORTANTAfter an emergency
start, you should contact a Fiat Deal-
ership, otherwise you will have to re-
peat the procedure described each
time you want to start the engine.

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.

89IN AN EMERGENCY
BUMP STARTING IF A TYRE IS
PUNCTURED
General instructions
Observe the instructions on this and
the following pages to use the jack and
space-saver spare wheel correctly. The space-saver spare
wheel is vehicle-specific.
Never use the wheel on
other models. Never fit other
model spare wheels on your car.
If you change the type of wheels
(alloy rims instead of steel rims)
you will have to change the en-
tire set of fastening bolts with an-
other set of suitably sized bolts.
Only use the spare-saver wheel
for emergencies. Do not exceed
80 km/h with the spare wheel fit-
ted. When driving with a space-
saver spare wheel fitted, the dri-
ving performance of your car
may change. Avoid accelerating
or braking suddenly, steering
abruptly or fast cornering.
A space-saver spare wheel has a
maximum life of 3,000 km after
which is must be replaced with a
wheel of the same type. Do not bump start by
pushing, towing or coast-
ing downhill. This way of
starting could cause a rush of fuel
into the catalytic exhaust pipe
and damage it beyond repair.
Remember that until
the engine has started
the brake booster and
power steering systems will not
work and a greater effort will
therefore be required to press
the brake pedal or turn the
steering wheel.
Alert other drivers that
the car is stationary in
compliance with local
regulations: hazard warning
lights, warning triangle etc.
Any passengers on board should
leave the car, especially if it is
heavily laden. Passengers should
stay away from oncoming traffic
while the wheel is being changed.
If the wheel is being changed on
a steep or badly surfaced road,
place wedges or other suitable
material under the wheels to
stop the car.

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