The battery in my Alfa Romeo 156 died a couple of days ago and, after replacing it, I realised I didn't have the code to reactivate the radio. The thieving rob-dogs that are my Alfa main dealer wanted to charge me £25 to look it up (even though it was them that replaced the battery), and even the websites where you do it online wanted £9. Here's what you do instead:

1) Slide the radio out. 4 bits of metal coat hanger in each of the holes and a small screwdriver to prise the radio out do the job perfectly.
2) Look for the sticker printed with the serial number. Mine was on the right hand edge.
3) Write down the serial number - it starts with BP0 and is 14 digits long.
4) Google for the program BP_PgAlfaFiat.exe and download it. If you can't find it then leave a comment and I'll consider hosting it here.
5) Enter the serial number, dropping the BP0 and the 7th character:

e.g. BP037628001736 becomes 3768001736

Then start the car and enter the code. Hey presto, a working radio and £25 saved.

A couple of warnings: this will only work for Blaupunkt radios, not the Clarion or Alpine ones fitted in some Alfas. If it doesn't work first time (mine did) double-check the serial number. If you enter the code incorrectly 3 times it locks for an hour and you will need to keep the engine running for an hour before you can try again (it turns itself off after 20 minutes if the engine isn't running).

This should work with all Alfa and Fiat Blaupunkt radios.