I am having a problem with the steering wheel buttons that control the radio (1998 3.0 CL). The center button frequently does not work at all and the up/down volume buttons sometimes cause the station to change. Ever since the car was new, moving the wheel much out of a straight forward position confuses the buttons but this last minor malfunction seems to be very common.

I removed the switch assembly and checked the resistances against those specified in the service manual. The resistances appear stable and, except for the center "Seek Up" button, are exactly as specified. The "Seek Up" resistance is 770 Ohms instead of the specified 990 Ohms. I tend to believe this is OK because all the individual resisters on the button circuit board are exactly correct. In any case, I cleaned the assembly. There is a small capacitor on the circuit board that I suspect is used to negate contact bounce but I have no way of checking it.

The service manual shows a cable reel between the button pod and wiring harness so it appears there are no additional sliding contacts that could be a problem. This leaves me at a complete loss as to what could be the problem except for something internal to the factory head unit itself.

I found a small number of postings describing similar problems so I am certain this has been dealt with previously. I would certainly appreciate help from anyone with insight on what the problem is.

 

Although this post was not overwhelmed with replies, I did fix the problem so I thought I would post the solution for everyones benefit.

I unlocked the tilt steering wheel and rapidly moved it up and down (stop to stop) a dozen or so times. This seemed to cure the erratic operation of the buttons.

 

hmm, that's a fix that i can do myself! I took my unit apart and cleaned it and wd40ed it and everything and it still didn't work (and i lost one of the screws in the process, oops

 

Blacura. please post if this also solves your problem. I am curious.

 

Back in November, when I went in for my 60k service, I asked about the problem. They told me that our car was the only one that was having this problem. Acura sent them a fix, but it involves tearing your steering wheel and column apart. I asked them about the cost since I was out of warranty and they said they would take care of it for free since it was essentially a factory defect. So do not be alarmed, it is a common problem with your vehicle. I just hope your dealer is good enough to take care of it for you. If not let me know and I can go by my dealership and get copies of the fix and post them.

 

I did that today and now the volume up works but the other two are busted, i'll try it again. I love cheap repairs