Relocating microphone

[ukrkoz]

ok, here's what you can do to bluetooth microphone.

Toyota part # 86730-33010, microphone assy

it is located right behind the little grill, next to the light switch, in overhead console.

you have 2 choices:

you can pop the grill out, unplug mike:



or you can pop the whole console out; easy done with grabbing the rear sides of it and yanking them down; has 2 clips that let go, then simply work the front of it up and out, as it has 3 prongs thathold to the roof panel





blue plug with pgtail is the microphone plug. it has 3 wires going to 3 thinner wires that go into small box mike is attached to, with 2 wires coming out of it to the mike itself. mike can be removed from the black box, whatever that is.
blue plug, if you need to take it out, has very strong clip on the back of it, on its belly. and is very hard to get to. i had to bring special L-shaped probe from work, to get under and unclip it. keep in mind, prong plug is sitting on, is plastic, don't break it.

from this point on, you are at will to either relocate current mike, or splice a different one into the harness.

roof trim around moonroof is easily removable:


and then roof panel can be moved away from the roof itself. there is a major gap there that allows to run wires anywhere you want to. keep in mind, mike wires are very thin and tear easily. soldering is about the only option, there's no g'ol splicing because they are very short. mike is very sensitive. it has cloth cover that easily comes off and mike can be damaged. yes, i did it. it's $144 plus tax new with new harness. so, plan wisely every step.

what i did next was to get into the diagnostic menu and from there, jag voice quality to 5 on both incoming and outgoing. i, also, set voice pattern to 07. have no idea what number it has to be on, just liked the number. have not used it all yet. will report on aftereffects.

[ukrkoz]

here's the final result:





this is not finished. i am debating between 3 finishes:

find a piece of matching upholstery cloth at a junk yard and cover mike; make a custom carbon cover and resin it over mike, like a grill; find any matching color small grill, junkyard once again, and use it as a grill for the mike.
now it's only few inches away from my mouth and in voice direction.

will it help or not, donno. but i drive a lot and have to take calls. many complain that as it was, it's very hard to hear. also, read somewhere that it's not really mike or its location but, mostly, connection quality between phone and car. some phones are said to be perfect, some said to suck bad.

[ukrkoz]

i have it confirmed as better quality today. also, had to knock down speaker volume to only 2 bars, during phone conversations.

[ukrkoz]

ok, here's my final Voice Recognition 3 system. Also, picture taken with flesh, in real life, upholstery does not show through. might be slightly too big, but i really wanted to save VR3 logo, and cover mike, so it ended up with being the way it is.