Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting CD Player volume probs

I just got a used 2000 Ford Contour last night, and on my way home, I realized that when I was playing my CD, the volume would get really quiet when there was a lot of bass. So the volume would dim, come back, dim, and so on. However, it doesn't always do that. And it does it the most on my custom CD. I realized today that the front of the player says, "Automatic DNR." I'm assuming that "DNR" stands for "Digital Noise Reduction." Could this DNR have something to do with this?? It sounds bad and I don't like it. Any suggestions??

DNR = Dolby noise reduction
Only applicable to cassettes.

prolly cuz the speakers are factory and can't handle a whole lot ..so when the bass hits the voice coil can't put out as much power as needed..i replaced all my factory speakers the day i got my car and even before i got my new cd player and i never had a problem on the same yr of car

Obviously not, because it says it right on the front of my CD player.

This is a common problem with the Contour "Premium" CD stereo system. :rolleyes:

The deck is the weak link in the system. It can't handle high volumes. Change out the deck and then change out the speakers if you like. If you change the deck and not the speakers, just be careful not to blow the stockers.

Wait, wait, wait... you're telling me that this is normal??? It's still under factory warranty, so if I take it to Ford and tell them the problem, will they replace it with one that won't do that?? Man, new Fords have nice stereo systems, why did they have to get cheap with the Contour?

DNR= Dynamic Noise Reduction... Supposed to help eliminate "Background Noise", and also (I believe), to help "decrease" the volume difference on recorded media between songs recorded at different volume level. It is a little different than Dolby, but is meant to do the same thing, so the manufacturer needn't pay a royalty to Dolby Labs for using the similiar patanted technology.

Mine too! I was thinking it was a universal face plate for cass/cd, however I see my LX's cass unit has a separate Dolby button. I can't find my car's sound system manual to see what DNR is supposed to do to CDs but since its automatic you can't disable it anyway.

Regardless, these stock CD players and spkr placement are terrible sound-wise and in my case will not reliably play home-made CDs. Hard to believe they require an amp behind glovebox to produce such poor sound, you'd think they could package sh** in one box!
I had my unit replaced under warranty but the replacement started to act up after warranty expired. Intermittently it will not work and says "bad" on the display, other times it will cut-out when you change volume trapping CD inside until it decides to work again.

Atermarket is the only way to way to go if you have the bucks, but in the meantime get yours replaced under warranty.

I'm not much of a stereo guy, but my Ford CD player stopped ejecting CDs at approx 40K miles. I ordered an aftermarket Kenwood unit (from Crutchfield), and they provided a wiring harness for me to by-pass the Ford amp on my "premium" sound system. They said that the unamplifield output of my $159 Kenwood unit was more than the boosted signal from the Ford amp! LOL. Works great with emough sound to make me deaf if needed.

In any case, I agree with previous poster that aftermarket units are they way to go. Unless they upgraded the speakers after 95, you will be very disappointed someday to pull your door panels and see what "premium sound" speakers look like! Upgrading speakers will help sound quality considerably.

Good Luck
Jab

I think that when I got some other things fixed under warranty, I will ask that they replace the stereo, too. It also skips. I have never been in a car where the CD player skips! And speaking of warranty (I know this is off subject), but will Ford offer an extended warranty to me when mine expires??

-Jonathan