Robert Bundrick

My hair dreyer, and then wrap in foil and bake (in minioven) method (about 7 or so threads above) continues to work flawlessly, months later, I'm pleased to report! Just wanted to update and let everyone know. Happy Holidays mates!

RB

yancesh

Thanks for the videos. Does it require special tools to remove the cover in the overhead area? I have a '05 Acura RL. My HF Link hasn't been able to pair with my phone. It's now on and not allowing me to use any of my audio system (4 days now). I'd like to be able to put an up-to-date module in.

MikeTC

Just did the 385F for 10min on both boards; I wrapped aluminum foils to the square board because there are parts on both sides and left the other on top of the cookie tray covered with foil with parts on the top side. It's working now; hope it stays that way.


Thanks.

Chewy

Just completed the bake method of repair and it now works. Thanks to the OP.

AMTL

Tried this and it worked for a few weeks and now it is not working again. Worst part is that it drains battery. SMH.

AMTL

I am thinking about just removing it completely but then I think the lights around it wont work either. Maybe I should just buy a working one.

brianhed

Does anyone know if disconnecting the HFL effects the garage door opener function?


I don't use hands free.

thoiboi

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Brian Head...how did you get that nickname? I'm assuming that it's road head? Since it's a car forum and all!?!

Yeah, totally different board, the HFL will not fuck your garage in the ass.

AMTL

What are everyone opinion on the oven method instead of the heat gun? Are they better or will they do more damage?

flyromeo3

well, I just performed the bake method.
Left it in the oven for 8 minutes @ 350degrees and my module melted.
All the soldier joints and capacitors fell off, and that white connector too.
So,.............guess i'll be searching for used one.

CasperJ

Sorry to jump in so late; but before I found this fix I called a local (Toronto, Canada) and asked for the HFL price. The parts guy embarrassingly gave me a quote of $750 +tax. The reason is because we Canadians have to pay for the entire HFL unit with the interior colour matched panel that it's stuck on. Idk why they screwed us like that.

CasperJ

My next search was going to find out which method out of the oven bake and heat gun are better. But damn, sorry to hear about that man. Try amazon I found one for 250 on there but the Canadian dollar sucks so i'll be holding off from buying any parts from the states.

Mark2006

I'm going to check the Canadian dealership prices tomorrow and just see how much for the HFL part # 39770-STK-C01
im quite sure it's much cheaper in the US but the 30% exchange rate is a factor as well these days

CasperJ

Just a quick question, can you please send me the link of the website where you purchased a hfl unit for 07 type s for 200. I've been looking everywhere and no luck 😔

Will Y.

Sorry, the HFL cost has increased, and is higher for the 2007-2008.
It's $238 at: CONTROL UNIT, HFI *NH167L* (GRAPHITE BLACK) for 2007 Acura TL|39770-SEP-A62ZA
Oemacuraparts.com is slightly higher at $245 (my 2005 HFL back in 2011 was @$180).

Welcome to AZ.

CasperJ

You're the best thank you very much! Canadian dealer wants $700+, this is much better

Mark2006

$545 Canadian in Ontario

Mark2006

2006 Acura TL

LeVeL

Baked for ten minutes at 385 today. Seems to work better but still not 100%. It used to connect after 10-15 minutes of driving; now it connects within 30 seconds but not every time the car is started. So like I said, better but needs more time in the oven probably.

PaulinVA

I have a different problem that "baking" the HFL didn't solve...

It starts the pairing process to my phone (and I've tried Android, iOS, and Windows Phone), and gets all the way through the process to the point where it asks "What do you want to name this new phone". As soon as you respond with anything, you get the "bee-boop" sound that means "we're done here", and the pairing process quits. It's like the thing has lost the ability to store numbers or something. This started happening about two years ago, and I've just kept tolerating it until now.

Any ideas? Thanks to this thread, at least I don't have to pay the dealer's outrageous labor fees now...

-Paul in VA-
2005 Acura TL

fek

Thanks for the post hopefully I can get this to work!

eastcoastguy

It looks like there has been some changes in Acura selling the HFL, there is now a core charge added to the HFL and once you send yours back they will refund it. Not sure what changed but I noticed that the other day.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Mine just went out.

I have a 2008 TL non-navi and I get no response when I press any of the HFL buttons on the steering wheel. It's worked well for the last 5 years that I have owned the car but it died.

How do I know it is not the switch?

Is there a fuse for it?

I do not plan on baking mine. I will replace it. I drive a lot for work and have calls when in the car. I need it to be reliable.

Any other fixes I am not seeing?

thoiboi

If you don't see the HFL icon near the clock, chances are it's the HFL

also not very likely it's the switch sorry to burst your bubble. I don't think you have any other options besides reflowing the solder on the existing board or buying a new one altogether.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

where did you see this at?

Will Y.

Check the HFL status in the MID when the car is running. If the MID reads, "booting up," the HFL is bad.

One other option is to send the HFL to Godin Technologies in FL for a $45 baking repair session.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

It was saying "NO INFORMATION FOUND" and now it's "BOOTING UP." Looks like I'm buying a new one soon. Should I disconnect the boards?

eastcoastguy

If you go to the different Acura parts pages there is now a core charge listed, some have included it in the total cost. The core charge was never listed in the past.

Will Y.

Disconnecting the HFL is a good idea, just in case it is one that refuses to shut down and continuously drains the battery instead.
It'll take only a few minutes to expose the HFL box to disconnect just the one connector.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

I'm going to do that this morning. I park at the airport for days at a time. The last thing I need is to come back to a drained battery.

ShahZ

I used the soldering gun on some connectors that had less solder material. Didnt burn any extra solder wire just ensured all the connections are soldered well. After it cooled, I used the hair dryer for about 5 mins. HFL link is now working fine on my 2008 TL type S. Thanks for saving me $700 CDN. Lets hope it stays that way

YeuEmMaiMai

you all using the oven and hair dryer is a short term fix.. YOU NEED to use a heat source that can get the solder up to MELTING temp. a heat gun is the best way to fix it and the results will last much longer. The reason these things fail is due to RoHS regulations that mandate lead free solder *that stuff sucks*.... the actual components rarely fail....

video here

Adoniram

Heat guns are really handy for more than just fixing solder problem, and you can get a decent one for $20. Just as an example, this is the heat gun I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Since I bought it, it's primary function has been toasting marshmallows for s'mores... I have a gas fireplace with a permanent glass pane, so that doesn't work, and the gas burner on my stove will just destroy it. Microwave marshmallows are lame (but entertaining). But the heat gun toasts them better than any fire, and I've done a LOT of camping.

Anyway, it's really handy for lots of reasons.

tmandel

Preheating oven as I type. 2 different sets of baking instructions here: 10 minutes @ 385 degrees, but also 8 minutes @ 350 degrees. What the heck, I'm going for the longer, hotter bake.

...& there's the oven letting me know it's reached temperature. Will report results!

PeaCoatblues

2005 MDX Touring with Nav 230,000 miles. I had battery drain for several times and I could not figure why....car works after a jump start....So I brought it in to the dealer and had them check the battery. The battery was fine and I was told it was the alternator ... not being very savvy or knowing much about cars...I ok'd the alternator replacement $600 not thinking that how could that be as I started it with a jump and drove it there. So after I got it home and parked for a few days not used it was dead again. Jumped it and brought it to another dealer and they mentioned the battery drain likely from the HFL unit that has not worked for years. Dealer wanted $500 to replace and $125 to disconnect the HFL. I declined both and went to google and found this awesome message community and saw so many posts on how to fix this issue by ....What???? baking the circuit board... this intrigued me most ... got close to going to Radio shack to replace the capacitor on the board but kept reading ....

I saw the baking suggestion at 385 degrees for 7 min. I used our convection oven and made small foil pieces to fit in the holes on the two boards after separating them to allow them to not sit directly on the silicone lined cooking sheet (not sure that is needed). After the bake allowed to cool for 15 minutes and reassembled pressed the HFL voice button and once again after years of no HFL.... PRESTO !!!! I heard "no phones have been found"....paired my phone and then....just like the old days hands free again!!!

I wish I could bake my transmission and fix that!

tmandel

W/ the HFL unit out of the TL-S, so far the battery hasn't died. Then again, it's being driven pretty much every day, and we haven't had very cold weather either. So I'm not 100% certain the problem has gone away and plan to wait a bit before so concluding.

Meanwhile, I baked the HFL unit and served it with raspberry sauce; it went down hard -- and lets not even talk about the time later in the bathroom when....

Ok ok... it's baked, but until I reinstall it (once I'm certain the battery drain problem was fixed by its removal) I don't know whether the procedure was successful.

@ PeaCoatBlues -- I love the idea of baking the tranny! Maybe if you drive it continuously in the Southern Arizona Summer for some days?

samc777

2007 Acura TL-s with 88k miles.

Well add me to the believer list! I had the draining battery, intermittent phone problems and finally the HFL died.

An Internet search brought me here and I decided that the oven fix was the way to go. We purchased a new Samsung convection oven a few months back and I selected 385 F with the convection bake setting. I added 4 small bolts with nuts that made an elevated platform for the HFL board to stand on. My thought was that this would allow the heated convection air to circulate around the card.

Baked for 9 minutes after the oven had been at temperature for 15 minutes. Removed and allowed to cool.

The visual clues were revealing when viewed under the inspection glass. It was obvious that the solder had melted and reflowed on both sides of the board which is the object of the oven.

Reinstalled and as soon as I pressed the talk button I heard the beep, main menu appeared and I knew I had a winner! Thanks to all for the info on the fix.

Dave

eastcoastguy

Glad it worked for you, however, this is usually a temporary fix for a few months. The only true way to fix it i;s to replace. Let us know how long it works for you.

tmandel

Not sure I understand why the fix would be temporary. Does a good solder joint go bad?