[1sttimeMercury]

Okay, this may sound weird, and it takes a little explaining, but here goes...
I have an I4 Milan Premier with the Audiophile 6 disc changer.  I have noticed that when I play an audio CD (not an mp3 CD) that has crossfades (i.e. where the beginning of a song overlaps with the end of the previous song, like almost every Pink Floyd album), the player will not play the disc continually -- it will add 2 seconds of silence at the beginning of the next track.  This happens for both commercially bought CDs and for CDs that I burn myself.  I played around with the changer and noticed that if I change to an mp3 disc, go to menu and select "Track Mode," then switch back to the audio cd, it will then play correctly.  However, once you turn the car off, it's as if it clears the memory on the changer, because when you start the car again, it starts adding a couple of seconds between tracks again.  This is one of the strangest things I've ever encountered in car audio.  Has this happened to anyone else with the Audiophile system, or any of the CD players that come with the Fusion/Milan/Zephyr?  I have not yet contacted Ford to get the problem fixed because I wanted to see if anyone else is having this problem.  Also, if there is a simple solution without having to have the CD changer replaced, please let me know.
:huh

 

[1sttimeMercury]

Okay, I've done a little more investigating, and it turns out it doesn't matter if I have an mp3 disc set to folder mode or track mode. I only have to switch to another disc, then switch back to the audio CD and the disc will play properly. However, if I switch to the radio then switch back to the CD, it's the same as if I'd turned off the car altogether -- it will start putting 2 seconds inbetween each song.

I've noticed many people have viewed this post but have not responded. Please let me know if this is happening to anyone else. I would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions too. I have sent an email to Mercury, but I haven't heard back from them either, so I'll probably give them a call. I know this is an unusual problem, but I want an audio system (especially since I paid extra for the Audiophile upgrade) to work properly.

 

[ColdFusion]

Indeed...this is strange! But, you are not alone!
I thought I was the only anomoly! The only way I tested mine was by just switching cd's period. There are times it will add the 2 second pause, and times where it won't. I don't know why that happens, but it may be a software issue. My Audiophile acts funny sometimes, but I attribute it to this insane heat that we have in Dallas!

 

[1sttimeMercury]

ColdFusion, it's nice to know I'm not going insane! I wonder if this happens to everyone's audio system, or just the Audiophile system. Mercury still hasn't written me back, so I think I'll call them pretty soon and ask what the deal is. Hopefully it is just a software issue like you said and it can be remedied rather simply. Still, it can drive me crazy sometimes.

 

[ColdFusion]

I understand. I'm a little OCD when it comes to my music. Sometimes, there are songs that lead into others....that pause ruins the moment!! But anyway, let us know if you here anything.

 

[1sttimeMercury]

Ford finally responded to my initial email -- 10 days later!  Anyway, here's what they wrote:

Dear Randall,

Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding your Audiophile 6 disc changer in your  2006 Mercury Milan.

To directly assist you with your request, we recommend that you contact Visteon Audio at: www.visteon.com or (800) 847-8366.

We consider the satisfaction of our customers one of our most important objectives.  If you have any other inquiries or concerns, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them for you.

Sincerely,
Nani
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company

I tried calling Visteon today, but their office had already closed.  I left a message, but I'll also call back on Monday.  I went to their website, but couldn't find the Audiophile system listed in their products.  Once I hear from them, I'll let you know.

 

[1sttimeMercury]

Okay, here's an update, and hopefully the solution to this weird problem.  After a week of Visteon not returning my calls, on Friday I finally got someone on the line.  The rep told me that Ford gave me misinformation -- Visteon only deals with dealers and service providers.  However, she was kind enough to give me the phone numbers of a couple of local service providers.  I called one of them and talked with a technician who seemed really perplexed as to what I was describing, especially when I told him it happens both to CDs I make and ones I buy in the store.  He suggested taking it to the Mercury dealer since the car is still under warranty and having them replace or fix it there (this service provider often works with my dealer to fix electronics).

So contacting the dealer was my next step.  However, on Friday night I decided to run a diagnostic on the CD changer before I talk to the dealer.  I did the self test and all 6 CD slots passed.  Well, imagine my surprise when I then started playing CDs -- and they were playing correctly!  No extra silence between songs, even when I turned the car off or switched to the radio.  So now, everything is operating as it should.  I have no real explanation for this, except that maybe the self test helped to clear out any glitches that the changer was experiencing (pardon my lack of technical know-how).  So everything's cool, but if it starts goofing up again I'm contacting the dealer ASAP.

 

[lammer]

[quote author=1sttimeMercury link=topic=53513.msg915324#msg915324 date=1156688674]
Okay, here's an update...
... However, on Friday night I decided to run a diagnostic on the CD changer before I talk to the dealer.  I did the self test and all 6 CD slots passed. 
[/quote]

What kind of diagnostic test did you do? What did it involve, steps?

just in case anyone else has this misfortune.

great to hear the problem got solved though!

 

[1sttimeMercury]

All I did was turn the radio on and push the 3 and 6 buttons at the same time. That will start a test tone sequence which tests all speakers. From there each of the 6 preset buttons has a different function. If you press the 1 button, it will start the CD changer self test. You will hear the changer moving from disc to disc, and if everything is alright, the display will read "pass." The other buttons will test radio signal strength, the display screen, and list part numbers, among other things.