At least it sounds like it's in the glovebox area, or behind the shelf above the glovebox, when I first turn on the fan/heat/AC, but only occasionally. It whistles / chirps for a couple of minutes and then goes away. Occasionally it will come back for a minute or two after a while, but usually once it goes away it stays away. Sometimes I'll turn the fan on a higher speed and it goes away faster. Anybody got a clue? It drives me crazy when it happens and I worry that something in there is breaking!
Whistling noise like a bird chirping in my glovebox
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It's the fan bearing! I have had several do that over the years. My Nissan truck a 1987 took 4 blower motors in 7 years. My Ford took 2 in 5 years. I think it's the luck of the draw with those things. I know I had 2 Isuzu Troopers the same year (1994's) one of the trucks went through 2 blowers, ( Mine ) the other never had any trouble at all in 14 years ( the wifes ) ...
Before that I never had one go at all. Keep in mind my first car was a 1950 Ford.
Dom
Before that I never had one go at all. Keep in mind my first car was a 1950 Ford.
Dom
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6,238 Posts
It may last a year. Or it may crap out in the morning. Price varies from place to place. Look for the best price, when the time comes, or you can no longer stand the noise.
Dom
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6,238 Posts
I think if it were the filters, It would not go away after it got warm. Usually, It's a dry or worn bearing. Plus the damned things are located in such a way that you have to destroy the housing to access them.. There is no way to lube it that I know of, that works for long.
Dom
Never changed the filters, but I have them in the garage, still in the box. The floor heat doesn't work very well anymore. I'll try the filter change, I've been meaning to do it for a while and keep forgetting.
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4 Posts
Oil it...
A couple drops of oil will help for a while, as long as the bushing didn't seize to the shaft and spin in the housing. If you can get the blower motor out you should be able to lube the bushings/bearings. They are usually just bronze bushings in each end of the motor housing. Try not to "flood" the motor with oil, just a couple drops. It's worth a try before shelling out $100 just because a $.10 bushing got rusty.
A couple drops of oil will help for a while, as long as the bushing didn't seize to the shaft and spin in the housing. If you can get the blower motor out you should be able to lube the bushings/bearings. They are usually just bronze bushings in each end of the motor housing. Try not to "flood" the motor with oil, just a couple drops. It's worth a try before shelling out $100 just because a $.10 bushing got rusty.
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6,238 Posts
As you can see, there is no way to get to the bearing's without destroying the housing!
It's glued. I tried a heat gun, but the plastic melts before the glue releases.
Dom
Take a look at this thread in the Accord forum. It is mostly about brake issues, but there is also mention of "The blower fan underneath the glove box makes a buzzing noise when A/c or heat is on. ". Some links and parts are shown. There is also mention of a TSB on the problem.
Sorry, here is the URL. http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41742&page=3 Look at both pages 3 and 4.
This is the same for the 2000 Civic. In cold weather the noise would be worse.
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98 Posts
chirping fan...
My 05 Element started making this sound a few weeks ago -- it makes me crazy. The weather here's been too nasty to get out there and dig into the glove box to trouble shoot, but it looks like the motor's bearings aren't serviceable according to the diagram posted in the link above.
Has anyone changed the blower motor themselves? Is it easy to get to and remove? I'd really like to avoid taking it into the dealer unless I just have to...
Cheers,
Brian
My 05 Element started making this sound a few weeks ago -- it makes me crazy. The weather here's been too nasty to get out there and dig into the glove box to trouble shoot, but it looks like the motor's bearings aren't serviceable according to the diagram posted in the link above.
Has anyone changed the blower motor themselves? Is it easy to get to and remove? I'd really like to avoid taking it into the dealer unless I just have to...
Cheers,
Brian
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14,898 Posts
If you want to DIY, a service manual will answer all your questions.
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