1997 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL display

60ClockThe digital clock1. To set the hour, press and hold the hour
button. When the desired hour appears, release
the button.
2. To set the minutes, press and hold the minute
button. When the desired minute appears,
release the button.
Road Calibrated SuspensionYour Continental is equipped with a ride control
system that is designed to read disturbances in the
road surface every six inches at 60 mph
(100 km/h) to provide you with optimal driving
response.
Ride control allows you to chose both a ride feel
and steering effort that best fits your personal
driving style. These options may be selected by
using the RIDE/STEER Message Center button.
Pressing this button once will allow you to adjust
your RIDE CONTROL settings, between NORMAL,
PLUSH and FIRM. The settings are changed by
pressing the SELECT button while RIDE CONTROL
is displayed.
Pressing the RIDE/STEER button a second time will
allow you to adjust the STEERING EFFORT settings
between NORMAL, LOW, and HIGH. The settings
are changed by pressing the SELECT button while
STEERING EFFORT is displayed.
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74Overhead Console WarningsIf your Continental is equipped with the Pressure
Alert System, a warning will appear in the overhead
console when the pressure in one of your vehicle's
tires drops below acceptable levels or if the system
has malfunctioned.
SeeSecuriTiresin theMaintenance and Care
chapter for more information.Lincoln RESCU System
(If equipped)Lincoln RESCU runs a self-test when you start your
vehicle. During this test, the Lincoln RESCU
warning light, located in the overhead console, will
briefly illuminate. If a problem is detected during
the self-check, the light will remain lit and the
message ªRESCU FAILUREº will be displayed on
the vehicle's message center for several seconds.
If the warning light fails to briefly illuminate when
you start your vehicle or if it remains lit, have your
Lincoln RESCU System checked by an authorized
Lincoln/Mercury dealer as soon as possible. Your
system may be inoperative.
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79
When this button is pressed, the Lincoln Security
Response Center relays details of your situation and
your location to local 911 or other emergency
services via a three-way phone call. The response
center/emergency services will:q
dispatch the appropriate emergency help to your
location
q
when appropriate, stay in direct phone contact
with you until emergency help arrives
q
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 DeactivationWhen either of the two Lincoln RESCU buttons is
pressed, a warning light, located in the overhead
console, will begin to flash and status messages willbe 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. Once a
RESCU button has been pressed, DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CRANK THE ENGINE as this may
cancel the activation. In most situations, the
assistance request canONLYbe terminated and the
system reset when a special tone is sent to the
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80vehicle by the Lincoln Security Response Center.
(SeeAutomatic Rediallater 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).Cellular Phone InterfaceDuring 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 ªhands-freeº
microphone.
NOTE:When an activation is terminated, your
phone is left unlocked, in the ªONº state and may
not return to its previous call restriction or system
selection setting. It can be reprogrammed to your
previous setting as desired.
Message Center InterfaceDuring 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
typical of those displayed during an assistance
request. They are shown in the order in which they
would appear:q
ROADSIDE REQUEST or EMERGNCY
REQUEST
q
CALL IN PROGRESS
q
RINGING RESPONSE CENTER
q
SENDING LOCATION DATA
q
DATA RECEIVED
q
WAITING FOR OPERATOR
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81
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:q
CID XXXXXXXXXX
q
LAT XXXXXXXXXX
q
LON XXXXXXXXXX
q
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 thevehicle 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 RedialAs 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 data
message. 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 ªREDIAL IN
PROGRESSº 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.
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82Similarly, 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 ªREDIAL IN
PROGRESSº 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 ªPWRº or ªENDº button on the cellular
handset will terminate the assistance request and
reset the system.Location Data Retransmit CapabilityDuring an activation, the Lincoln Security Response
Center operator has the capability to initiate a
retransmission of the electronic data message. This
may be necessary to ensure a more precise
determination of vehicle location or to track a
vehicle that is moving. To accomplish the
retransmit, a special tone is sent to the vehicle bythe response center. In this situation you will
temporarily lose voice contact with the operator and
the messages ªSENDING LOCATION DATAº and
ªDATA RECEIVEDº will respectively be displayed
on the Message Center. After the data
retransmission is complete, voice communication
will be restored and the CID, LAT, LON and HDG
message will again alternately toggle on the Message
Center display.
Global Positioning SystemVehicle location is continuously updated via Global
Positioning System (GPS) technology. GPS was
developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for
worldwide navigational and positioning purposes. It
utilizes a constellation of 24 orbiting satellites
located more than 20 thousand kilometers above
the earth. At any given time, several of the 24
satellites should be visible to the vehicle's GPS
receiver. Based on the time for signals emitted by
these satellites to reach the receiver, an on-board
computer will determine the vehicle's location,
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84Positioning capability temporarily
degraded after battery reconnectWhen 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.
Inoperative if cellular signal marginal or
unavailableSince 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 ªNO CELLULAR
SIGNALº and ªWAITING TO ACQUIREº will
alternately be displayed on the Message Center. If
after several attempts cellular service cannot be
acquired, the message ªUNABLE TO PLACE CALLº
will be displayed, the assistance request will be
terminated and the phone will return to its normal
operating mode.
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85
Inoperative if cellular system busyIn 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
ªCELLULAR SYSTEM BUSYº and ªPLEASE WAITº
will alternately be displayed on the message center.
If after several attempts a cellular channel cannot be
acquired, the message ªUNABLE TO PLACE CALLº
will be displayed, the assistance request will be
terminated and the phone will return to its normal
operating mode.Incompatible with cellular PIN featureSome 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 notcompatible with the PIN feature. At the time your
phone is activated, ask your carrier to assign you a
phone 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 featuresSome 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. No outgoing calls, hotline and NPA
restrictions are incompatible cellular features and
must be avoided. Operation is possible with no
incoming calls, call forwarding, busy/no answer
transfer and call waiting, but these features could
impact overall system performance. Because carriers
are regularly making new features available to
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