matt_ue

After my previous post, I am pretty sure I am going to have to take my car back to the dealer, but I am curious about the problem I am having with my HFL system.

Does anyone know what error condition exists when the HFL system responds to a "Talk" request with 2 beeps instead of saying "Pardon"?

Here's the sequence:

1. Press and release (or hold) the Talk button.
2. Wait for the single beep.
3. Speak a command (any command or silence)
4. After about 5 seconds, the HFL system responds with two beeps (not the two beep sequence associated with hitting the "back" button - both beeps sound like the single beep after hitting "Talk").

Has anyone else experienced this? My HFL module and microphone were just replaced 2 days ago. I've tried every reset method suggested on this forum.

Thanks!

Matt

żGotJazz?

Matt -

One thing you should try is to see if your microphone is working. First off, if the button you are pressing is the rear command button (my suspicion), you are actually dealing with the Voice Recognition (VR) system, not the Hands-Free Link (HFL) that is use in conjunction with a Bluetooth phone.

However, If you are having problems with the HFL system, you can try a simple easy-to-recognize command such as "Phone Book". The HFL almost never misses on that one. Just press the front Command button and say, "Phone Book" in a slightly louder than normal voice. It should be recognized.

If you can get to the TL's Phone Book, you can try to add a phone number to it. Listen to the sound quality of the phone number name tag when it is repeated back to you. If it is garbled, you probably have a problem with the HFL microphone.

Unfortunately, you can't test the VR microphone as easily. The HFL is actually on a seperate microphone, if I remember correctly. To properly test the VR microphone, you should go to the hidden diagnostic screens on the Navi system.

I am not at my car right now and my memory isn't perfect on this, but I will try to get you close to the right spot.

1) Have the TL turned on (either by running the engine, or in the accessory key position).

2) After the Navi system powers up, press the "OK" button on the legalese start-up page.

3) Press the MAP/GUIDE, MENU, and CANCEL buttons simultaneously for about 5 seconds. A hidden diagnostic main menu screen will appear.

4) If I remember right, there was something like a System Status screen that also had a signal strength bar display that would change based on what the microphone picked up. (This may be on a different screen. Check the other diagnostic pages if I sent you to the wrong spot.) Press and hold in the rear Command button and start speaking. You should see the meter change with your voice.

Even if this seems to work OK, there is still a problem with this test - you don't get to hear what the microphone is sending to the VR system. Even if the signal meter is moving, the noise level may be high, or the sound way be full of static or distortion.

However, if the signal meter doesn't move, your microphone may be dead.

The reason that I say, "may be dead" is because there is a lot of other electronics in the path of the VR (and HFL) system. Failures along these paths could give similar results to a dead microphone, even if the microphone is working properly.

Good Luck!

matt_ue

Thanks for the detailed reply. I didn't realize that the VR mic and the HFL mic were different. They replaced the HFL mic when I had it serviced last Friday.

Once thing I forgot to mention is that my car doesn't have navigation so I don't have the capability to run the diagnostic from the navi screen. Also, my car only has two buttons on the steering wheel, "talk" and "back" (I think).

Is there a way to check the VR mic on a non navi TL?

Thanks again for your response.

Matt

żGotJazz?

Matt - If you don't have Navi, you don't get the TL's advanced VR (Radio/CD/Tape operations, Climate controls, Navi commands). So, my original assumption about the VR mic was mistaken. You will just have the HFL microphone, which has a very limited voice recognition capability.

If you can't get the HFL "Phone Book" command to work, there's definitely a problem with your system. The HFL recognition has some limitations if you have a very high-pitched or very low-pitched voice. This issue can be eliminated easily - just get your spouse (or a neighbor, friend, Acura service dude, drunk lying in the gutter, etc.) to say a HFL voice command after pressing (and releasing) the command button. If they have a normal tone of voice and they are not recognised, the problem is in your HFL system.

What did you have the HFL microphone replaced for? Was it for this same problem?

If so, the problem isn't very likely to be the microphone anymore. You may need to get the HFL module itself replaced. I believe the HFL module is in the overhead console, near the microphones & garage door openers.

Let us know what you find out!

matt_ue

When I had the car at the dealer Friday they replaced the HFL module and the mic. Before they "fixed" my car on Friday it had the same symptoms that it does now. The only difference is that when I first got it back from the dealer, the HFL system would respond to my voice commands with "Pardon", "Please Repeat", etc. It didn't matter if I spoke a command or not (I tried them all), the response was always "Pardon", "Please Repeat", etc.

Then I scrolled to the HandsFreeLink section of the MID. The HandsFreeLink section was displaying a message that said "Booting Up". I waited a little while but that prompt never went away. So, I turned the car off. Since then, I only get the 2 beep response from the HFL system - just like it was doing before I took it to the dealer to get it fixed.

I did find a simple diagnostic associated with the HFL system the leads me to believe that the module itself is probably OK. I found that if you press and hold the "back" button it initiates an HFL self diagnostic routine. After that test completes, the system reponds "The HFL System is OK". That's why I think it's a problem with the mic.

Matt