1996 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL phone

when appropriate, stay in direct phone contact
with you until emergency help arrives notify pre-designated family contacts or friends
of the emergency situation, if requested, or if no
response is received from the vehicle.
NOTE: If You are certain of your location, a direct
phone call to 911 or other emergency services may
provide a faster response.
Activation and Deactivation
When either of the two Lincoln RESCU buttons is
pressed, a warning light, located in the overhead
console, will begin to flash and status messages will
be displayed on the vehicle's message center,
confirming an assistance request has been made.
The warning light will continue to flash throughout
the activation.The RESCU Warning light
The system can be activated whenever your
ignition key is in the RUN/START Position and
for two Minutes after your vehicle is turned off.
In most situations, the assistance request can
ONLY be terminated and the system reset when
a special tone is sent to the vehicle by the
Lincoln Security Response Center. (See
Automatic Redial later in this chapter for
exceptions.) Operation will continue even if the
vehicle is turned off during an activation
(although visual feedback via the Message
Center will not be available in this situation).
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Cellular Phone Interface
During an activation, Lincoln RESCU takes control
of the vehicle's cellular phone. If the phone is in
use, THE CALL WILL BE TERMINATED and the
Lincoln Security Response Center will automatically
be dialed. The cellular handset becomes inoperative
and all voice communication with the operator is
accomplished via the cellular phone's "hands-free"
microphone.
NOTE: When an activation is terminated, your
phone is left unlocked, in the "ON" state and may
not return to its previous system selection setting. It
can be reprogrammed to your previous setting as
desired.
Message Center Interface
During an activation, Lincoln RESCU
communicates with the vehicle's Message Center.
Status messages describing the sequence of steps
being executed are displayed, allowing you to
visually follow the activation process. The
following messages are
150typical of those displayed during an assistance
request. They are shown in the order in which
they would appear: ROADSIDE REQUEST or EMERGNCY
REQUEST CALL IN PROGRESS RINGING RESPONSE CENTER SENDING LOCATION DATA DATA RECEIVED WAITING FOR OPERATOR
Once an assistance request is made, it will
typically take less than one minute until contact
is made with an operator. During voice
communication the following messages will
alternately toggle on the display: CID XXXXXXXXXX LAT XXXXXXXXXX

LON HDG XX
These messages respectively are the customer
identification number, vehicle latitude, vehicle
longitude and heading. Under special
circumstances, the operator may ask you to read the
information being displayed on the Message Center.
If vehicle messages are being displayed on the
Message Center (low washer fluid, low oil, door
ajar, etc.), they must be cleared in order to view the
LINCOLN RESCU messages. To clear the vehicle
messages, press the Message Center RESET button,
which is located to the right of the display.
Continue pressing the button until all vehicle
messages are cleared.
Automatic Redial
As described previously, when an assistance request
is made, the vehicle's cellular phone automatically
dials the Lincoln Security Response Center's central
computer and attempts to send an electronic datamessage. Occasionally, it can be difficult for the
computer to recognize the message if the
cellular connection is weak or noisy. If the
transmission of the message is unsuccessful, the
data call will be terminated and the message
"REDIAL IN PROGRESS" will be displayed on
the Message Center. A second call will
automatically be placed which bypasses the
response center's computer and is forwarded
directly to an operator.
Similarly, if the cellular call is disconnected by the
network prior to receipt of the termination tone,
another call to the response center will also
automatically be dialed. The message "REDIAL
IN PROGRESS" will be displayed on the Message
Center and voice communication with an operator
will be restored.
NOTE: During redial calls, full control of the
cellular phone is returned to you. Pressing
either the "PWR" or "END" button on the
cellular handset will terminate the assistance
request and reset the system.
151

Lincoln RESCU System Limitations
Service restricted to 48 contiguous states
Your Lincoln RESCU System can be activated
anywhere within the 48 contiguous states. If an
activation occurs outside of this region, the Lincoln
Security Response Center will not be able to assist
you.
Inoperative if cellular phone inactive or
inoperative
Lincoln RESCU utilizes your vehicle's cellular
phone and will not operate if cellular service has not
been activated or if the phone is inoperative.
Inoperative if battery discharged or disconnected
Lincoln RESCU is powered by the vehicle's battery
and will not operate if the battery is discharged or
disconnected.Potentially inoperative if vehicle involved in
accident
If the vehicle is involved in an accident, some
components could be damaged, rendering your
Lincoln RESCU System inoperative.
Positioning capability degraded if satellite
signals obstructed
Vehicle positioning is accomplished by receiving and
interpreting signals transmitted by satellites. If the
signals are obstructed, positioning capability could
be degraded or lost. This situation will be most
prevalent in urban areas populated with tall
buildings. Tunnels, underpasses, parking garages,
trees, and similar structures could also adversely
affect positioning performance. Under these
conditions, the system will operate but the response
center could have difficulty identifying your current
location. (The last valid position obtained before the
obstruction is retained, however, and will be sent.)
The operator may depend on you to provide verbal
information regarding vehicle location.
153

Positioning capability temporarily degraded after
battery reconnect
When your vehicle is started, the Lincoln RESCU
GPS receiver begins the process of determining
vehicle location. The receiver will search the sky
and attempt to acquire signals from all visible
satellites. A real-time clock and an almanac
containing detailed information about the satellite
constellation are stored in the on-board computer's
memory and are used to expedite the search. If the
vehicle's battery is disconnected, the clock memory
is erased and time and date are lost. Once the
battery is reconnected, it could take approximately
15 minutes to reacquire the clock and for
positioning capability to be restored. During this
time, the system will operate but the response center
will not be able to identify your location. In this
situation, the operator will depend on you to
provide verbal information regarding vehicle
location.
154Inoperative if cellular signal marginal or
unavailable
Since the Lincoln RESCU System utilizes the
vehicle's cellular phone, it can only be operated
in geographical areas with cellular coverage.
Although approximately 90 percent of the U.S.
population lives and works in cellular coverage
areas, there are various rural or mountainous
areas where coverage is marginal or does not
exist. If an activation occurs in this situation,
the messages "NO CELLULAR SIGNAL" and
"WAITING TO ACQUIRE" will alternately be
displayed on the Message Center. If after
several attempts cellular service cannot be
acquired, the message "UNABLE TO PLACE
CALL" will be displayed, the assistance request
wfll be terminated and the phone will return to
its normal operating mode.

Inoperative if cellular system busy
In a particular area, the local cellular system can
only handle a limited number of cellular calls at one
time. Once volume has reached the maximum limit,
additional callers are denied access. If an activation
occurs in this situation, the messages "CELLULAR
SYSTEM BUSY" and "PLEASE WAIT" will
alternately be displayed on the message center. If
after several attempts a cellular channel cannot be
acquired, the message "UNABLE TO PLACE
CALL" will be displayed, the assistance request will
be terminated and the phone will return to its normal
operating mode.
Incompatible with cellular PIN feature
Some cellular carriers offer custom phone numbers
that are assigned a personal identification number
(PIN). In this situation, the user is required to enter
the pin with any phone calls made over the network.
The Lincoln RESCU System is not compatible with
the pin feature. At the time your phone is activated,
ask your carrier to assign you aphone number that does not require a personal
identification number entry. If you have difficulty
obtaining a non-PIN number, contact your dealer
or call the Ford Cellular System Clearinghouse at
1-800-367-3357 for assistance.
Incompatible or performance limited with
certain cellular provider features.
Some cellular carriers offer customers various
optional features with their cellular service.
Several of these features are not compatible or
could potentially limit the performance of your
Lincoln RESCU System. The cellular features
that should be avoided to ensure maximum
system performance include: no outgoing calls,
hotline, call forwarding, no incoming calls, npa
restrictions, busy/no answer transfer, and call
waiting. Because carriers are regularly making
new features available to the customer, this list
may not be complete. Contact your dealer for
assistance if you are unsure if a particular cellular
feature is compatible with your Lincoln RESCU
System.
155

Potential limitations if activated outside home
cellular region
At the time you receive your vehicle (or shortly
after), you will need to select a cellular carrier and
activate your phone. If desired, carrier selection can
be arranged through your dealer. This carrier is
usually local to your region and will handle call
processing and billing services for your cellular
telephone. In order to use your phone when
traveling outside your home cellular region, the
services of the carriers local to the new area will be
required. If your home carrier does not have an
agreement with the new local carrier, your phone
calls could be forwarded to an operator and you
may be required to provide a credit card number
before your call is processed. If an activation occurs
call in this situation, the initial call will be terminated
and a second call which bvpasses the response
center’s computer will be placed. UNLIKE
DURING THE FIRST CALL ATTEMPT, YOUR
CELLULAR HANDSET WILL NOT BE
LOCKED DURING THE SECOND CALL, SO
YOU WILL HAVE THE
156OPTION OF TERMINATING THE ASSISTANCE
REQUEST AT ANY TIME BY PUSHING EITHER
THE “PWR" OR THE “END” BUTTON ON THE
CELLULAR HANDSET. If the second call is not
terminated, it will be forwarded to a local cellular
carrier operator. In this situation, you can provide
the operator. with the number you are dialing
(Lincoln Security Response Center at 1-800-334-
1327) and your credit card number or ask to be
connected to the local 911 or other emergency
services.
Registration Requirement
You are required to register with the Lincoln
Security Response Center shortly after receiving your
vehicle. The registration process is simple and can be
accomplished by calling the Lincoln Security Center
at 1,800-334-1327. Alternatively, the registration
process can be completed on-line during an
acquaintance period activation. (See “Acquaintance
Activations” later in the section for details.) The
information requested will aid in servicing you more
efficiently during the assistance request.

Optional Password Selection/False
Activations
At the time of your registration, you will be given
the option of establishing a user password. All
aspects of your service will be identical regardless of
your password decision except the way false
emergency activations are handled.
If established, the password will be requested by the
operator to confirm an emergency activation was
initiated in error. If no password or an incorrect
password is given, the response center's operator
will seemingly terminate the call but actually stays
on the line and sends police to the last calculated
vehicle location (this could be useful in duress
situations). It is very important that you remember
your password to prevent false dispatches.
Similarly, it is also important to provide the
password to any other individuals who will be
driving the vehicle or who may have need to activate
the system.
If you decide not to establish a password, simply
indicate to the operator that the emergencyassistance request was initiated in error and the
call will be terminated.
In either case, if an activation (roadside or
emergency) occurs and the operator cannot
establish voice communication, police assistance
will be dispatched to the vehicle.
NOTE: Information regarding changing or
retrieving lost passwords can be obtained by
contacting the Lincoln Security Response
Center at 1-800-334-1327.
Acquaintance Activations
It is required that you initiate an acquaintance
activation shortly after receiving your vehicle and
having your phone activated. An acquaintance
activation is initiated by pressing either the roadside
or emergency assistance button. When voice
communication is established with the Lincoln
Security Response Center, indicate that you are a
new user and the operator will follow special
acquaintance period support procedures which are
157