Vehicle Noise Memory

Records and indexes vehicle noises by year/make/model and symptoms, then recalls past similar cases with confirmed fixes for faster diagnosis.

Vehicle Noise Memory — BlueColumn Skill

A veteran tech hears a rattle and knows the fix in ten seconds. That ear is not written down anywhere. This skill records the noise, captures the diagnosis, and recalls the match — so the quietest knowledge in the shop becomes the most reusable.

Setup

Get a free key at https://bluecolumn.ai/login (no card). Keys look like bc_live_*. Base URL: https://api.bluecolumn.ai.

Log a noise case

Record the noise with the vehicle context and what you found. BlueColumn transcribes the clip and indexes the structured record alongside it.

bash

curl -X POST https://api.bluecolumn.ai/remember \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BLUECOLUMN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "audio_url": "https://shop.example.com/clips/ro-2026-10-01-engine.mp3",
    "text": "NOISE CASE RO 4821 — 2016 Ford Escape, 118k mi. Symptom: rhythmic chirp at idle, worsens cold, fades warm. Location: front accessory drive. Suspected cause: serpentine belt tensioner or idler pulley bearing. Fix applied: replaced tensioner + idler pulley. Result: noise gone. Verified by road test. Source: bay-2 voice note, 10-01.",
    "title": "noise - 2016 Ford Escape chirp - RO 4821"
  }'

Recall a match before you guess

When a new car comes in with a noise, search the shop's own history first.

bash

curl -X POST https://api.bluecolumn.ai/recall \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BLUECOLUMN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q": "chirp at idle that gets worse cold and fades warm — what fixed this before and on which vehicles?"}'

Note the guess mid-diagnosis

When a tech forms a hypothesis, store it so the next person on the ticket can see the reasoning.

bash

curl -X POST https://api.bluecolumn.ai/note \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BLUECOLUMN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Guess: front idler pulley bearing. Order both tensioner and idler — cheap insurance, same labor time.", "tags": ["noise", "diagnosis", "RO-4821"]}'

Workflow

1. On intake — record the noise on a phone and store it with year/make/model, mileage, and symptom words.
2. Before teardown — recall prior cases with a similar sound and suspected cause.
3. On close — store the confirmed fix and result so the match gets stronger each time.
4. Monthly — recall the top recurring noises and turn them into a shop cheat-sheet for new techs.

Billing

If the API returns 402 or 429, read topup_url / upgrade_url from the error body and surface that link to the user — do not retry.

Docs

API reference: https://bluecolumn.ai/docs — fields are text, q, tags (not content/query/note).