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A/C Recirculate Fan Noise

RichUF

RichUF

SM 2005
Full Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Messages
10,631
I have an '03 w/ ~400 miles. The A/C is manual/dual zone. I get a buzzing-type noise when in recirculation mode only that is barely audible when at lower speeds and gradually louder as you go up. It is somewhat muted when you direct the air to the floor. It sound like a fan in the dash.

Anyone else experience this? Think I should have it checked? Otherwise it works as expected and blows very cold.

Thanks,
Rich
 
I have an '02 with automatic climate control, but had a similar noise. The dealer replaced the blower motor under warranty. It was only a 20 minute job, and fixed the noise.
 
Thanks for the reply, Brett. I'm taking it in tomorrow for a 4WD issue, so I'll have them listen to it then.

Rich
 
Fixed.

However, it ended up being leaves in the blower. Guess what...it's not covered under warranty. Now, my Av is two weeks old and I noticed the noise shortly after leaving the dealership where I purchased it. I can understand GM's position on this as they can't guarantee that I don't park under a tree or whatever, but come on...two weeks old?! (and I don't park under trees, BTW. Heck, my neighborhood barely has any trees!)

So the Service Manager will "comp" this as a "one-time GM courtesy" type of thing to keep my business. Of course, this made me feel like this was something I did wrong. I'm on the fence on whether I should take my business somewhere else. I can't blame the dealership where I purchased it per se because they did a fantastic job of cleaning it up and I don't believe they necessarily have to go tearing into every nook and cranny in a new vehicle that they acquired from another lot in search of a stray leaf. Guess this one is kind of out-of-the-box and I should just roll with it.

What do you all think? Will it serve any purpose to complain mildly to GM?

Rich
 
RichUF said:
Fixed.

However, it ended up being leaves in the blower.
Click to expand...
I've had leaves in the blower in the past, but not i n the Av... yet.

I thought we had cabin air filters? I know no filter is 100% efficient in stopping the really small stuff, but you would think any filter would be able to stop a leaf from hitting the blower! :eek:

-- SS
 
7of7 said:
I thought most all vehicles have screens that cover the cabin air intake to prevent leaves from getting into the fan.
Click to expand...

yes it is under the grill under the wipers...this is where outside air comes from for the cabin and AC/heat system
 
RichUF said:
Fixed.

However, it ended up being leaves in the blower. Guess what...it's not covered under warranty. Now, my Av is two weeks old and I noticed the noise shortly after leaving the dealership where I purchased it. I can understand GM's position on this as they can't guarantee that I don't park under a tree or whatever, but come on...two weeks old?! (and I don't park under trees, BTW. Heck, my neighborhood barely has any trees!)

So the Service Manager will "comp" this as a "one-time GM courtesy" type of thing to keep my business. Of course, this made me feel like this was something I did wrong. I'm on the fence on whether I should take my business somewhere else. I can't blame the dealership where I purchased it per se because they did a fantastic job of cleaning it up and I don't believe they necessarily have to go tearing into every nook and cranny in a new vehicle that they acquired from another lot in search of a stray leaf. Guess this one is kind of out-of-the-box and I should just roll with it.

What do you all think? Will it serve any purpose to complain mildly to GM?

Rich
Click to expand...

If it were me I would thank the dealer for doing this for me and leave it at that. If you do not have any trees then it probley will not happen again.

Butch
 
I am assuming that the Av is the same as the Silverado/Sierra that I build. The intake plenum travels the width of the firewall. It is the same plenum that contains the wiper motor. While it is difficult to get debris into the blower motor, it is certainly possible. I really do wish GM had left the cabin air filters in all the model years.

HTH
John
 
AVid said:
While it is difficult to get debris into the blower motor, it is certainly possible. I really do wish GM had left the cabin air filters in all the model years.
Click to expand...
Those filters do help, and it is indeed possible to get small leaves in the plenum, even with the screen at the cowl. I recently replaced my filters, and there were several small maple tree seed "helicopters" stuck in the filter. They were each about 1 inch long, a quarter inch wide, and rather thin. There must be a small gap somewhere where they can sneak into the plenum.

In both my old Blazer, and S-10 pickup before it, I had problems where small leaves would occasionally get caught in the blower and cause a ticking or buzzing sound. Usually, just running the fan on high for a few minutes would take care of it. The buzzing would get really loud, and then there would be a "Zing!" sound followed by a shower of minced leaf debris. Then all would be quiet.

This has not happened in my Av, and I doubt it will because of the filters. Without them, I'm sure those little helicopters that got caught by the filter would have gone to the fan, instead.

-- SS
 
ANYONE know where the 2002 filters are in the air return circuit....

I mean it looks like they are between the blower and evaporator and heater core..........thus it does not protect blower but keeps the heat exchangers clean as well as my nose............
 
ygmn said:
ANYONE know where the 2002 filters are in the air return circuit....

I mean it looks like they are between the blower and evaporator and heater core..........thus it does not protect blower but keeps the heat exchangers clean as well as my nose............
Click to expand...

You know, on second thought, you are absolutely right. The filters are between the blower motor and evaporator. There is nothing to stop debris from getting in our old 2002's blowers.

Good catch...I guess I should put brain in gear before typing. :rolleyes:
 
AVid said:
Good catch...I guess I should put brain in gear before typing. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Same here.
doh.gif


In my case, I guess I got lucky that the little "helicopters" didn't get caught in my blower. :cautious:

-- SS
 
Either the bearing is bad or there is foreign debri in the cage. I have seen cases where people leave thash on the floor and it is sucked into the blower fan. I have also seen leaves in the cage that is not warranty. Just like tree sap on the paint. It is not a product defect when you park under a tree.
 
how hard is it to get to the blower motor to clean out the little helicopters that get in there? the noise they are making are driving me nuts.
 
Just thought I'd bring this back to the top because it is summer and I'm getting this noise and thought this might help others
 
wow, old thread. My personal update on this is that I changed service departments ;D

Still think the whole thing was BS.
 
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