cliamate control unit making a noise

Hi, thanks for looking at my thread

Well basically i have just fitted a new final stage resistor to my E46 2002 320 ci , for the climate control.

When i turn the egnition on i get a sort of buzzing / grinding noise from what seems to be from behind the climate control unit. It last for about 8 seconds. This happens when i turn the car on and off, and it is quite annoying.

Please keep in mind i had to replace the final stage resistor because my battery kept being drained by something and after doing some research i replaced the final stage resistor becuase my fan use to come on randomly when my car was turned off and use to increase and decrease on its own, weired.

Also my Air con is not all that great since i have replaced the final stage resistor, i dont know why this could be, may be it needs gasing,

Can someone please highlight what the problem could be, and if there is a problem at all, becuase to tell you the truth i had the same sort of noise prior to fitting the new final stage resistor.

Please keep in mind i am from the UK England and have a right hand drive bmw

Thanks i would appreciate all the help i can get

I wouldnt know much about the noise its making...but maybe about your AC not working as great since you replaced the FSR.

Did you make sure that all the clips went back to where they belong (inside the vent where you control the flow of the air with the dials).

Its possible that they did not sit right and now a lot of your air is being blocked.

It's in the owner's manual. When you turn the car off, the vents move to their fail safe positions. Every tenth time you turn the car off they'll move from one end to the other, and then to their fail safe positions. When you turn the car on, they move to their selected positions. You probably forgot to reattach the foot vent servo, or perhaps left something in the path of the arm that controls the vents.

Thanks for your replay, im quite sure the vents are in the correct please becuase i am getting cold air but not that cold, acually i get colder air from the side vent then the middle two vents , dont know why the air flow for both the hot and cold all seem fine.

any ideas what the noise can be mate?

Originally Posted by blarf

It's in the owner's manual. When you turn the car off, the vents move to their fail safe positions. Every tenth time you turn the car off they'll move from one end to the other, and then to their fail safe positions. When you turn the car on, they move to their selected positions. You probably forgot to reattach the foot vent servo, or perhaps left something in the path of the arm that controls the vents.

I have no idea, but ^^ this guy sure seems to know what he's talking about.

So the vents are operated by little electric motors that push/pull on an arm connected to the vent flaps. If you search you can find a final stage resistor DIY with pictures. In order to get at the FSR you've gotta work around one of those arms connected to one of those motors. Every time you turn on the car, you're likely to cause the each one of the motors to move a bit. Pull off the glove box and trim panel and start looking. Stick your head down there while someone else starts the car?

Hell, does the noise rear its ugly head when you turn the climate control on with the car already on (start car, turn fan off, wait, turn fan on, does noise reappear?)?

At the back of your Climate control module is a small fan 1-2inch dia. for sucking in air through the temp sensor at the front of the module. This fan sometimes remain in operation for few seconds after the A/C is off. The fan just like the one on laptop computer and can get very noisy if too much dust accumulated.

Blarf - the noise only comes on when i turn the car on and off once i put the cliamte control or air con on it just works without any unusally noise as normal,

zb1701 - do you know how i can clear the dust from the fan do i need to take out the cliamte control unit and fill the fan be behind there?

Thanks both of you for your help

HI, i have just noticed that if i blast my fan for the climate control to full the noise stop from coming on when i turn the car off, is this a good thing or bad i dont understand.

As Zb1701 could it be dust on the fan which blows off when the fan is on full blast?

Can anyone make any suggesstions? , thanks

Originally Posted by zbi701

At the back of your Climate control module is a small fan 1-2inch dia. for sucking in air through the temp sensor at the front of the module. This fan sometimes remain in operation for few seconds after the A/C is off. The fan just like the one on laptop computer and can get very noisy if too much dust accumulated.

Not to hijack the thread, but I get an intermittent very high pitched squealing (think cricket) that sounds like a fan bearing going bad. Sounds like it is coming from behind the Speedo cluster. It will still squeal (chirp) when I turn the AC/fan controls totally off. Could it be this climate control module fan or is there another little fan under the dash I should check?

Wait for a while... then try resetting the battery. Also I"m in somewhat the same boat..

I replaced FSU and the problem wasnt fixed.. Once I return to Germany I will put my new Climate Control Unit on then I will try to help you out..

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I get a grinding noise when I turn on the car for about 5 seconds I'd say. I assume its because my car is getting old some gear somewhere is not adequately lubricated or the servo that moves the vents isn't working right.

Originally Posted by Luky

Not to hijack the thread, but I get an intermittent very high pitched squealing (think cricket) that sounds like a fan bearing going bad. Sounds like it is coming from behind the Speedo cluster. It will still squeal (chirp) when I turn the AC/fan controls totally off. Could it be this climate control module fan or is there another little fan under the dash I should check?

The cricket is usually the fan for the e-box. Check this thread for a DIY: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...ht=cricket+fan

Originally Posted by Tangent_

The cricket is usually the fan for the e-box. Check this thread for a DIY: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...ht=cricket+fan

THAT'S IT! I CAN ACTUALLY FIX THIS!

You are a God! May you experience a long and fruitful life! May you experience good health and riches! May you father many children! May your BMW never break down!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

(Why didn't I fvcking think of searching for "cricket" 6 months ago?)

To remove the climate control (IHKA) module you need to push the module out from the back you can either remove the radio first OR the ashtray. Do you have the Boardmonitor? if yes, you need to remove the whole ashtray/compartment + IHKA module together. Of course you've to confirm that the sound is coming from there by listening closely at the module.

Like what Tangent said, it could be the e-box fan. Check if the sound coming from there. The e-box fan is under your glove compartment if you have RHS drive.

OP, check if the stepper motor arms are correctly placed, since you have to disconnect them in order to remove the FSU from a RHD. It's a real pain to get underneath the steering wheel to access the FSU.

That link for the "cricket noise" is lacking photos.

Originally Posted by DonovanM3

That link for the "cricket noise" is lacking photos.

Try looking at the second post... Also I tried seaching for "cricket noise" and there are several threads with pics...

I just started getting the cricket noise behind the dash.

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My noise is like a grinding or.. garggling... bubbles