2003 Mercury Marauder warning

Illumination after the parking brake is released indicates low brake fluid
level or a brake system malfunction and the brake system should be
serviced immediately by a qualified technician.
Refer toBrakesin theDrivingchapter for more information.
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
To confirm the anti-lock brake
system (ABS) warning light is
functional it will momentarily
illuminate when the ignition is
turned to the ON position
(alternatively for some vehicles when the ignition is moved from the ON
position to the START position, the light will momentarily illuminate just
prior to reaching the START position). If the light remains on, continues
to flash or fails to illuminate, have the ABS serviced immediately. If the
ABS light remains on, it means the anti-lock brake system has
malfunctioned and is disabled, however, the normal brake system will
still function unless the brake warning light also remains illuminated and
parking brake is off. Refer toBrakesin theDrivingchapter for more
information.
Safety belt
Illuminates to remind you to fasten
your safety belts. For more
information, refer to theSeating
and safety restraintschapter.
Air bag readiness
Illuminates to confirm that the air
bags (front or side) are operational.
If the light fails to illuminate,
continues to flash or remains on,
have the system serviced immediately.
Charging system
Illuminates when the battery is not
charging properly.
ABS
AIR
BAG
Instrument Cluster
12

Turn signals
Illuminates when the turn signals or
the hazard lights are turned on. If
the lights stay on continuously or
flash faster, check for a burned-out bulb.
High beams
Illuminates when the high beam
headlamps are turned on.
Safety belt warning chime
Sounds to remind you to fasten your safety belts.
BeltMinderYchime
Sounds intermittently to remind you to fasten your safety belts.
Supplemental restraint system (SRS) warning chime
Sounds when a malfunction in the supplemental restraint system (front
or side airbags) has been detected. Have the supplemental restraint
system inspected immediately.
Headlamps on warning chime
Sounds when the headlamps or parking lamps are on, the key is removed
from the ignition and the driver's door is opened.
Key-in-ignition warning chime
Sounds when the key is left in the ignition and the driver's door is
opened.
Instrument Cluster
14

Press to move the rear portion of
the seat cushion up or down.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Personal Safety System
The Personal Safety System provides an improved overall level of frontal
crash protection to front seat occupants and is designed to help further
reduce the risk of air bag-related injuries. The system is able to analyze
different occupant conditions and crash severity before activating the
appropriate safety devices to help better protect a range of occupants in
a variety of frontal crash situations.
Your vehicle's Personal Safety System consists of the following items:
²Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints
²Driver and front passenger side air bags
²Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,
and safety belt usage sensors
²Driver's seat position sensor
²Passenger occupant classification sensor
²Front crash severity sensor
²Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors
²Restraint system warning light and back-up tone
²The electrical wiring for the air bags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, passenger occupant classification sensor, and indicator lights
How does the personal safety system work?
The Personal safety system can adapt the deployment strategy of your
vehicle's safety devices according to crash severity and occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides
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91

risk of force-related injuries to the occupant's chest by limiting the load
on the occupant. Refer toEnergy management featuresection in this
chapter.
Determining if the Personal safety system is operational
The Personal safety system uses a warning light in the instrument cluster
or a back-up tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer to the
Warning lightsection in theInstrument clusterchapter. Routine
maintenance of the Personal safety system is not required.
The Restraints control module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the air bag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, driver seat
position sensor, and passenger occupant classification sensor. In addition,
the RCM also monitors the restraints warning light in the instrument
cluster. A difficulty with the system is indicated by one or more of the
following.
²The warning light will either flash or stay lit.
²The warning light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
²A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem and warning light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the Personal
safety system serviced at your dealership or by a qualified technician
immediately. Unless serviced, the system may not function properly in
the event of a collision.
Safety restraints precautions
Always drive and ride with your seatback upright and the lap
belt snug and low across the hips.
To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit where they
can be properly restrained.
Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap while the
vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the child from
injury in a collision.
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94

How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Ford Motor Company recommends that all passenger safety belt
assemblies and attaching hardware should be inspected by a
qualified technician after any collision to verify that the9automatic
locking retractor9feature for child seats is still working properly. Safety
belt assemblies should be inspected according to the procedures in the
Workshop Manual and replaced if either damage or improper operation
is noted. Failure to replace the belt and retractor assembly could
increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Unbuckle the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
Front safety belt height adjustment
Your vehicle has safety belt height
adjustments for the driver and front
outboard passenger. Adjust the
height of the shoulder belt so the
belt rests across the middle of your
shoulder.
To lower the shoulder belt height,
push the button and slide the height
adjuster down. To raise the height
of the shoulder belt, push the
button and slide the height adjuster
up. Pull down on the height adjuster to make sure it is locked in place.
Position the safety belt height adjusters so that the belt rests
across the middle of your shoulder. Failure to adjust the safety
belt properly could reduce the effectiveness of the seat belt and
increase the risk of injury in a collision.
Safety belt warning light and indicator chime
The safety belt warning light illuminates in the instrument cluster and a
chime sounds to remind the occupants to fasten their safety belts.
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98

Conditions of operation
If... Then...
The driver's safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition switch
is turned to the ON position...The safety belt warning light
illuminates 1-2 minutes and the
warning chime sounds 4-8
seconds.
The driver's safety belt is buckled
while the indicator light is
illuminated and the warning chime
is sounding...The safety belt warning light and
warning chime turn off.
The driver's safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position...The safety belt warning light and
indicator chime remain off.
BeltMinder
The BeltMinder feature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt
warning function. This feature provides additional reminders by
intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning
lamp in the instrument cluster when the driver's safety belt is unbuckled.
The BeltMinder feature uses information from the passenger occupant
classification sensor to determine if a front seat passenger is present and
therefore potentially in need of a warning. To avoid activating the
BeltMinder feature for objects placed in the front passenger seat,
warnings will only be given to large front seat occupants as determined
by the passenger occupant classification sensor.
Both the driver's and passenger's safety belt usages are monitored and
either may activate the BeltMinder feature. The warnings are the same
for the driver and the front passenger. If the BeltMinder warnings have
expired (warnings for approximately 5 minutes) for one occupant (driver
or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the BeltMinder
feature.
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If... Then...
The driver's and front passenger's
safety belts are buckled before the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
position or less than 1-2 minutes
have elapsed since the ignition
switch has been turned ON...The BeltMinder feature will not
activate.
The driver's or front passenger's
safety belt is not buckled when the
vehicle has reached at least 5 km/h
(3 mph) and 1-2 minutes have
elapsed since the ignition switch
has been turned to ON...The BeltMinder feature is
activated - the safety belt warning
light illuminates and the warning
chime sounds for 6 seconds every
30 seconds, repeating for
approximately 5 minutes or until
the safety belts are buckled.
The driver's or front passenger's
safety belt becomes unbuckled for
approximately 1 minute while the
vehicle is traveling at least 5 km/h
(3 mph) and more than 1-2
minutes have elapsed since the
ignition switch has been turned to
ON...The BeltMinder feature is
activated - the safety belt warning
light illuminates and the warning
chime sounds for 6 seconds every
30 seconds, repeating for
approximately 5 minutes or until
the safety belts are buckled.
The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts:
(All statistics based on U.S. data)
Reasons given... Consider...
ªCrashes are rare
eventsº36700 crashes occur every day.The more we
drive, the more we are exposed to ªrareº events,
even for good drivers.1 in 4 of us will be
seriously injured in a crash during our
lifetime.
ªI'm not going farº3of4fatal crashes occur within25miles of home.
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100

same ignition cycle if the occupant buckles and remains buckled for
approximately 30 seconds. Confirmation is not given for the one time
disable.
Deactivating/activating the BeltMinder feature
The driver and front passenger BeltMinder are
deactivated/activated independently. When deactivating/activating
one seating position, do not buckle the other position as this will
terminate the process.
Read steps1-4thoroughly before proceeding with the
deactivation/activation programming procedure.
The driver and front passenger BeltMinder features can be
deactivated/activated by performing the following procedure:
Before following the procedure, make sure that:
²The parking brake is set
²The gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic transmission)
²The ignition switch is in the OFF position
²The driver and front passenger safety belts are unbuckled
To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate/activate the Belt
Minder feature while driving the vehicle.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOT
START THE ENGINE)
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off. (Approximately 1
minute)
²Step 3 must be completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt
warning light turns off.
3. For the seating position being disabled, buckle then unbuckle the
safety belt 9 times, ending in the unbuckled state. (Step 3 must be
completed within 50 seconds after the safety belt warning light turns
off.)
²After step 3, the restraint system warning light (airbag light) will be
turned on for three seconds.
4. Within 10 seconds of the light turning on, buckle then unbuckle the
safety belt.
²This will disable the BeltMinder feature for that seating position if it is
currently enabled. As confirmation, the restraint system warning light
will flash 4 times per second for 3 seconds.
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