2010 Alfa Romeo MiTo battery

STARTING UP AND DRIVING155
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In the initial period of use, it is advisable to avoid
placing the car under excessive stress (for instance
excessive acceleration, extended travel at maxi-
mum speed, sharp braking etc.).
Remember that the servo brake and electric pow-
er steering are not operational until the engine has
been started, therefore more effort than usual is
required on the brake pedal and steering wheel.
Avoid jump starting the engine by pushing, towing
or driving downhill. These manoeuvres may dam-
age the catalytic converter.
When the engine is off, do not leave the key in
the ignition switch turned to MAR to avoid drain-
ing the battery.
HOW TO WARM UP THE ENGINE AFTER IT HAS
JUST STARTED (petrol and diesel engines)
Proceed as follows:
❍drive off slowly, letting the engine turn at medium speed. Do
not accelerate abruptly;
❍do not demand maximum performance for the first few kilo-
metres. Wait until the engine coolant gauge starts moving.
EMERGENCY START
If the Ywarning light in the instrument panel remains on con-
stantly, contact an Alfa Romeo Authorised Service Provider.
STOPPING THE ENGINE
Turn the ignition key to STOP while the engine is idling.
IMPORTANT After a taxing drive, before turning the engine off you
should allow it to idle to allow the temperature in the engine com-
partment to fall.
A quick burst on the accelerator before turning off
the engine serves absolutely no practical purpose,
it wastes fuel and is damaging, especially to tur-
bocharged engines.
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162STARTING UP AND DRIVING
SNOW CHAINS
The use of snow chains should be in compliance with local regu-
lations. The snow chains may be applied only to the front wheel
tyres (drive wheels).
Check the tension of the chains after the first few metres have been
driven.
Use reduced bulk snow chains: for 195/55 R16” and 205/45
R17” tyres. Use reduced bulk snow chains with a maximum pro-
trusion from the tyres of 9 mm.
IMPORTANT The spare wheel cannot be fitted with snow chains.
If a front (drive) wheel is punctured and snow chains must be used,
you must remove a normal wheel from the rear and replace this
one with the small spare wheel. In this way, with two normal dri-
ve wheels, it is possible to use snow chains.
CAR INACTIVITY
If the car is to be left inactive for longer than a month, the following
precautions should be noted:
❍park the vehicle in a dry, covered and, if possible, ventilated
area; engage a gear and check that the handbrake is not en-
gaged;
❍disconnect the negative battery terminal and check battery
charge. Repeat this check once every three months during stor-
age;
❍clean and protect painted areas using protective wax;
❍clean and protect the shiny metal areas using special com-
mercially-available products;
❍sprinkle talcum powder on the rubber windscreen and rear win-
dow wiper blades and lift them off the glass;
❍slightly open the windows;
❍cover the car with a fabric or perforated plastic sheet. Do not
use compact plastic sheets which do not allow humidity to evap-
orate from the surface of the car.
❍inflate tyres to a pressure of +0.5 bar above the normal spec-
ified pressure and check the pressure at regular intervals;
❍if you have not disconnected the battery, check the battery
charge every thirty days;
❍do not drain the engine cooling system.
Keep your speed down when snow chains are fit-
ted. Do not exceed 50 km/h. Avoid potholes, steps
and pavements and also avoid driving long dis-
tances on roads not covered with snow to prevent dam-
aging the car and the roadbed.
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IN AN EMERGENCY163
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In an emergency we recommend that you call the freephone number found in the Warranty Booklet.
You can also consult www.alfaromeo.com to find Alfa Romeo Authorised Services your nearest
Starting the engine ..................................................................... 164
Replacing a wheel ....................................................................... 165
“Fix&Go Automatic” Kit ............................................................... 173
Changing a bulb .......................................................................... 178
Replacing exterior bulbs................................................................ 180
Replacing an interior bulb.............................................................. 184
Replacing fuses ........................................................................... 187
Recharging the battery ................................................................. 196
Lifting the car ............................................................................. 199
Towing the car ............................................................................ 199
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164IN AN EMERGENCY
STARTINGTHEENGINE
If theYwarning light in the instrument panel remains on con-
stantly, contact an Alfa Romeo Authorised Service Provider imme-
diately.
STA R T I NGWITH AN AUXILIARYBAT TERY
If the battery is flat, the engine may be started using an auxiliary
battery with the same capacity or a little higher than the flat one.
For engine starting follow the procedure below, fig. 1:
❍connect the positive terminals (+ sign near the terminal) of the
two batteries with a jump lead;
❍with a second lead, connect the negative terminal – of the aux-
iliary battery to an earth point
Eon the engine or the gear-
box of the car to be started;
❍start the engine; when engine has started, remove the cables
by reversing the sequence described for connection.If after several attempts the engine will not start, contact an Alfa
Romeo Authorised Service Provider.
IMPORTANT Never connect the negative terminals of the two bat-
teries directly! If the auxiliary battery is installed on another car,
prevent accidental contact between metallic parts of the two cars.
BUMPSTA R T I NG
Never start the engine by pushing, towing or driving downhill.
fig. 1A0J0111m
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IN AN EMERGENCY189
4
fig. 41A0J0204m
If you have to wash the engine compartment, take
care not to aim the jet of water directly at the fuse
box or windscreen wiper motors.FUSELOCAT ION
Fuses are grouped together in three junction units located in the
engine compartment, dashboard and luggage compartment
Fuseboxinengine compartment
This is located next to the battery: to access the fuses undo bolts
A-fig. 40 and remove cover B.
The ID number of the electrical component corresponding to each
fuse can be found on the back of the cover.
After replacing the fuse, make sure you close cover B on the fuse
box.
fig. 40A0J0126m
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196IN AN EMERGENCY
RECHARGINGTHEBAT TERY
IMPORTANT The battery recharging procedure is provided as an ex-
ample only. Contact an Alfa Romeo Authorised Services to carry
out this operation.
We recommend recharging the battery slowly for approximately
24 hours at low amperage. A prolonged recharge might damage
the battery.
VERSIONSWITHOUTStart&Stop SYSTEM
(for versions/markets, where provided)
Charge the battery as follows:
❍disconnect the battery negative terminal;
❍connect the charger leads to the battery terminals, observing
the polarity;
❍turn on the charger;
❍when you have finished, turn the charger off before discon-
necting the battery;
❍reconnect battery negative terminal.
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IN AN EMERGENCY197
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VERSIONSWITHStart&Stop SYSTEM
(withdummy pole) fig.46
(for versions/markets, where provided)
To charge, proceed as follows:
❍disconnect the quick-release negative terminal A from the nega-
tive dummy pole B because the battery negative pole C has a sen-
sor D monitoring the battery conditions, that should never be
disconnected from the negative pole C (unless the battery is re-
placed);
❍connect the battery charger positive cable to the battery posi-
tive pole E and the negative cable to the dummy pole B;
❍switch on the battery charger. At the end of the charging
process, switch the charger off before disconnecting it;
❍after disconnecting the battery charger, reconnect the quick-
release negative terminal A to the dummy pole B.
fig. 46A0J0337m
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198IN AN EMERGENCY
VERSIONSWITHStart&Stop SYSTEM
(withoutdummy pole) fig.47
(for versions/markets, where provided)
To charge, proceed as follows:
❍disconnect the connector A (pressing the button B) from the
sensor C monitoring the battery conditions, on the negative
pole D of the battery;
❍connect the battery charger positive cable E and the negative
cable to the terminal of sensor D, according to figure;
❍turn on the battery charger. At the end of the charging process,
switch the battery charger off;
❍after disconnecting the battery charger, reconnect the connec-
tor A to the sensor C according to figure.
fig. 47A0J0338m
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