Fiat Ducato Owner's Handbook Manual page 187

WARNING
When working on the bat-
tery or near it, always wear
the proper goggles.
USEFUL ADVICE FOR
LENGTHENING THE LIFE OF
YOUR BATTERY
To avoid draining your battery and length-
en its life, observe the following indica-
tions:
❒ when you park the vehicle, ensure the
doors are closed properly. The ceiling
lights must be off;
❒ turn the ceiling lights off. The vehicle
however, is provided with an auto-
matic system for switching off internal
lights;
186
❒ do not keep accessories (e.g.: sound
system, hazard lights, etc.) switched on
for a long time when the engine is not
running;
❒ before performing any operation on
the electrical system, disconnect the
battery negative cable;
❒ battery terminals shall always be per-
fectly tightened.
IMPORTANT A battery which is kept at
a charge of less than 50% (optical indica-
tor with dark colour without green area
in the middle) for any length of time will
be damaged by sulphation leading to a re-
duction in cranking power.
Moreover, this might lead to a higher risk
of the battery electrolyte freezing (this
may even occur at –10° C). If the vehicle
is inactive for a long period of time, refer
to "Vehicle inactivity", in section "Correct
use of the vehicle".
If after buying the vehicle, you want to in-
stall electric accessories which require
permanent electric supply (alarm, etc.)
contact Fiat Dealership whose qualified
personnel, in addition to suggesting the
most suitable devices, will evaluate the
overall electric absorption, checking
whether the vehicle's electric system is ca-
pable of withstanding the load required,
or whether it should be integrated with
a more powerful battery.
In fact, since these devices continue ab-
sorbing energy even when the ignition key
is off, they gradually run down the battery.