2006 LINCOLN TOWN CAR sensor

Radio reception factors
There are certain factors that may effect your radio reception.
•Distance/strength.The further an FM signal travels, the weaker it is.
The listenable range of the average FM station is approximately 40 km
(24 miles). This range can be affected by “signal modulation.” Signal
modulation is a process radio stations use to increase their
strength/volume relative to other stations.
•Terrain.Hills, mountains and tall buildings between your vehicle’s
antenna and the radio station signal can cause FM reception problems.
Static can be caused on AM stations by power lines, electric fences,
traffic lights and thunderstorms. Moving away from an interfering
structure (out of its “shadow”) returns your reception to normal.
•Station overload.Weak signals are sometimes captured by stronger
signals when you pass a broadcast tower. A stronger signal may
temporarily overtake a weaker signal and play while the weak station
frequency is displayed.
Principles of GPS (global positioning system) operation
Your system directs you based on information derived from global
positioning satellites, road maps stored on the DVD, sensors in your
vehicle and the desired destination. The system compiles all necessary
information to guide you to your selected destination. Space satellites
determine the vehicle’s current location and transmit position and time
signals to your car.
If the vehicle has been parked for a long period of time, the navigation
function may be temporarily unresponsive. The navigation system will
operate reliably again once GPS reception is available for a few minutes.
Limited GPS reception
System performance may be adversely affected if GPS reception is
interrupted or interference occurs over a distance of several miles. The
following are possible causes for GPS reception being interrupted. If the
vehicle is:
•in multi-story parking garages
•in tunnels and under bridges
•inside or in between buildings
•by forests or tree-lined avenues
•in heavy rain showers and thunderstorms
•in valleys and in mountainous regions
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Entertainment Systems
90

AUTOMATIC DIMMING INSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR (IF EQUIPPED)
Your vehicle may be equipped with an inside rear view mirror which has
an auto-dimming function (available as an option on the outside driver’s
side mirror). The electrochromic day/night mirror will change from the
normal (high reflective) state to the non-glare (darkened) state when
bright lights (glare) reach the mirror. When the mirror detects bright
light from behind the vehicle, it will automatically adjust (darken) to
minimize glare.
Without Navigation System
With Navigation System
The mirror will automatically return to the normal state whenever the
vehicle is placed in R (Reverse)(when the mirror is on) to ensure a
bright clear view when backing up.
Do not block the sensor on the backside of the mirror since this may
impair proper mirror performance.
EXTERIOR MIRRORS
Power side view mirrors
To adjust your mirrors:
1. SelectLto adjust the left mirror
orRto adjust the right mirror.
2. Move the control in the direction
you wish to tilt the mirror.
3. Return to the center position to
disable the adjust function.
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Driver Controls
112

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:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
•Driver and front passenger side airbags
•Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,
and safety belt usage sensors
•Driver’s seat position sensor
•Front passenger sensing system
•Front crash severity sensor
•Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors
•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone
•The electrical wiring for the airbags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, and indicator lights
How does the Personal Safety Systemwork?
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
information to the Restraints control module (RCM). During a crash, the
RCM activates the safety belt pretensioners and/or either one or both
stages of the dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or airbags did not activate for both front
seat occupants in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with
the system. Rather, it means the Personal Safety System
determined
the accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front airbags are designed
to activate only in frontal and near-frontal collisions, not rollovers,
side-impacts, or rear-impacts unless the collision causes sufficient
longitudinal deceleration.
Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage airbags offer the capability to tailor the level of airbag
inflation energy. A lower, less forceful energy level is provided for more
common, moderate-severity impacts. A higher energy level is used for
the most severe impacts. Refer toAirbag supplemental restraints
section in this chapter.
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
159

Front crash severity sensor
The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Personal Safety System
to distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage airbags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety System
to
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage airbag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.
Front passenger sensing system
For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
to the airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, like infants
in rear-facing child seats, this occurs because they are initially sitting
very close to the airbag. For other occupants, this occurs when the
occupant is not properly restrained by safety belts or child safety seats
and they move forward during pre-crash braking. The most effective way
to reduce the risk of unnecessary injuries is to make sure all occupants
are properly restrained. Accident statistics suggest that children are
much safer when properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in
the front.
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.NEVERplace a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active air bag. If you must
use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat all the
way back.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the front
passenger airbag and passenger seat-mounted side airbag. The system is
designed to help protect small (child size) occupants from frontal airbag
deployments when they are seated or restrained in the front passenger
seat contrary to proper child-seating or restraint usage
recommendations. Even with this technology, parents areSTRONGLY
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
160

encouraged to always properly restrain children in the rear seat. The
sensor also turns off the passenger front airbag and passenger
seat-mounted side airbag (if equipped) when the passenger seat is empty
and the safety belt is unbuckled, or when a child or a small person
occupies the front passenger seat and the safety belt is unbuckled.
When the front passenger seat is occupied and the sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the “pass airbag off” indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal
airbag is off. SeeFront passenger sensing systemin the airbags section
of this chapter.
Front safety belt usage sensors
The front safety belt usage sensors detect whether or not the driver and
front outboard passenger safety belts are fastened. This information
allows your Personal Safety System
to tailor the airbag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety beltsection in this chapter.
Front safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers when the
vehicle is equipped with the Safety Canopy
system. This helps increase
the effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal collisions, the safety belt
pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of sufficient
severity, together with the front airbags.
Front safety belt energy management retractors
The front outboard safety belt energy management retractors allow
webbing to be pulled out of the retractor in a gradual and controlled
manner in response to the occupant’s forward momentum. This helps
reduce the risk of force-related injuries to the occupant’s chest by
limiting the load on the occupant. Refer toEnergy management feature
section in this chapter.
Determining if the Personal Safety Systemis 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 theWarning lightsection in theInstrument clusterchapter. Routine
maintenance of the Personal Safety System
is not required.
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
161

The Restraints control module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the airbag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, and the driver
seat position 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.
•The warning light will either flash or stay lit.
•The warning light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
•A 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 an authorized dealer 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 in the back
seat 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.
All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even when an airbag
supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or
outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in these areas
are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped with seats and
safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
162

Children and airbags
Children must always be properly
restrained. Accident statistics
suggest that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front
seating position. Failure to follow
these instructions may increase the
risk of injury in a collision.
Airbags can kill or injure a
child in a child seat.
NEVERplace a rear-facing child
seat in front of an active airbag. If
you must use a forward-facing
child seat in the front seat, move
the seat all the way back.
How does the airbag supplemental restraint system work?
The airbag SRS is designed to
activate when the vehicle sustains
longitudinal deceleration sufficient
to cause the sensors to close an
electrical circuit that initiates airbag
inflation.
The fact that the airbags did not
inflate in a collision does not mean
that something is wrong with the
system. Rather, it means the forces
were not of the type sufficient to
cause activation. Driver and passenger airbags are designed to inflate in
frontal and near-frontal collisions, not rollover, side-impact, or
rear-impacts unless the collision causes sufficient longitudinal
deceleration.
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
176

The airbags inflate and deflate
rapidly upon activation. After airbag
deployment, it is normal to notice a
smoke-like, powdery residue or
smell the burnt propellant. This may
consist of cornstarch, talcum
powder (to lubricate the bag) or
sodium compounds (e.g., baking
soda) that result from the
combustion process that inflates the
airbag. Small amounts of sodium
hydroxide may be present which
may irritate the skin and eyes, but
none of the residue is toxic.
While the system is designed to help
reduce serious injuries, contact with
a deploying airbag may also cause abrasions, swelling or temporary
hearing loss. Because airbags must inflate rapidly and with considerable
force, there is the risk of death or serious injuries such as fractures,
facial and eye injuries or internal injuries, particularly to occupants who
are not properly restrained or are otherwise out of position at the time
of airbag deployment. Thus, it is extremely important that occupants be
properly restrained as far away from the airbag module as possible while
maintaining vehicle control.
The SRS consists of the following items:
•Driver and passenger airbag modules (which include the inflators and
airbags)
•Front passenger sensing system
•Driver and passenger side airbags (if equipped)
•One or more impact and safing sensors
•A readiness light and tone
•A diagnostic module
•The electrical wiring which connects the components
The diagnostic module monitors its own internal circuits as well as the
supplemental airbag electrical system wiring (including the impact
sensors), the system wiring, the airbag system readiness light, the airbag
back up power and the airbag ignitors.
2006 Town Car(tow)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
177