3
FIAT FIORINO/QUBO NATURAL POWER
INTRODUCTION
The Fiat Fiorino/Qubo Natural Power ver-
sion features two fuel systems, one for
petrol and one for natural gas (methane).
The two systems are independent of one
another and the methane one is the timed,
sequential, multipoint type.
The start-up system runs on petrol.
What is natural gas?
Natural gas is a mixture of gases used as
a primary energy source.
Its main component is methane, so for this
reason it is usually known as methane even
though it contains small amounts of other
hydrocarbons and inert gases.
It is extracted in a gaseous state and trans-
ported to where it is used via gas pipelines;
world reserves are plentiful and widely dis-
tributed. Methane is fuel with a environ-
mental low impact because it significantly
reduces the contribution of exhaust gas-
es to the greenhouse effect and pollution.The methane multipoint
injection system
It is an original product from Fiat’s re-
search in the field of alternative fuels, that
comes from close co-operation with ma-
jor suppliers in the methane sector.
By adapting the sophisticated electronic
control technology of petrol engines to
meet the specifications of methane, it has
been possible to achieve important results
in terms of handling, exhaust emissions
and fuel consumption.
With the methane Multipoint injection
system, the engine features the same dri-
veability of a petrol fuelled one.
It should be borne in mind that, under all
driving conditions, methane operation of-
fers engine power and torque specifica-
tions that are 10% lower than with petrol
operation. Petrol operation is there-
fore recommended if a lot of power
is required (e.g. driving uphill with a
laden vehicle, steep hill starts).
Selecting the type of fuel supply
The Fiat Fiorino/Qubo Natural Power is
configured to run normally on methane
gas.When the methane is running out and the
pressure in the cylinder is close to the cor-
rect operating limit, the system automat-
ically switches to petrol operation.
The engine is always started up using
petrol (to keep this fuel supply system ef-
ficient) and, if the engine was running on
petrol before being switched off, when it
is started up again switching to methane
operation will need to be requested man-
ually.
For this reason there must always be
petrol in the tank.
The petrol/methane switch Fig. 1, amongst
the controls in the dashboard, makes it
possible to select petrol operation. The
system does not switch automatically to
methane operation if the petrol runs out.
Fig. 1F0T0343m
603.97.591 FiorinoQubo Nat P 1ed EN 1-12-2009 14:35 Pagina 3
9
FIAT FIORINO/QUBO NATURAL POWER
The four vertical bars near the letters
CNG in the instrument panel display
Fig. 11indicate the level of methane in
the cylinders.
When the residual amount of methane
goes below 1/5 of the capacity of the cylin-
ders, the CNG icon and the lowest level
Fig. 12flash to indicate the reserve and
notify the need to refuel.
If the methane has run out, the switch to
petrol operation takes place automatical-
ly: the Ksymbol near the CNG icon
Fig. 11in the instrument panel display
comes on.
If you specifically wish to run on petrol,
press the dedicated button Fig. 10locat-
ed between the controls in the dashboard.
The LED in the button coming on means
that the request to switch has taken place
correctly.
Fig. 10F0T0343m
Fig. 11F0T0358m
Fig. 12F0T0359m
If the last fuel system in use
was petrol, when starting the
switch to methane shall be re-
quested manually by the customer.
Manual switching of the operat-
ing mode from petrol to meth -
ane and vice versa is only acti-
vated if the engine speed is below
2000 rpm.
At the time of the switching
request there will be a
metallic noise coming from the valves
to pressurise the circuit (more obvi-
ous with the ignition key in the MAR
position). As a result of the switching
logics described above, ithe delay be-
tween the ticking of the valve and the
display switching off on the instru-
ment panel is entirely normal.
IMPORTANT
The actual change to the chosen fuel sys-
tem takes place depending on the vehicle
usage conditions to guarantee switching in
absolute safety and will be confirmed by
the Kwarning light in the instrument pan-
el display coming on/going off.
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