My wife, who's the habitual something's wrong with my car type, is always saying her car is making weird noises. It's a 2012 M37 and she sent me this video of a ticking noise. Other than the blinker, which she said wasn't on, any ideas what it could be?



Edit: sorry for the vertical video but landscape wouldn't improve the sound quality

I can't tell, but you will need to isolate the sound a little. The driver's seat is pretty much the worst place to ID a sound. Go to the passenger side, and then the back seats and see if you can isolate where its coming from...or not coming from. My rattles and pops and creaks all end up in the driver's seat...and all sound like they are coming from the dash.

Can you hear it from outside? What about if the hood is open....does it get louder inside? It doesnt sound rythmic enough to be directly from the engine.

What happens if you change the fan speed for the AC?

Does it have cooled seats? What happens if you turn that off?

Thanks for the suggestions...I'll try to isolate the noise this evening. Yes, it's got heated/cooled seats so I'll see if I can first get the noise to appear and then see how altering the AC fan & turning off/on climate controlled seats affects it.

What was she listening to on the radio?

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What was she listening to on the radio?

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No clue, probably Blake Shelton or Brad Paisley or some other pop country....

Sounds like a relay clicking to me. Track down location of sound and see if any relays in that area.

It's definitely the alternator. Totalled. Sorry for your loss.

Hth

Is she wearing a wristwatch?

Is she a percussionist?

OK, I finally crawled under the dash and figured out what's making the noise. I think it's the AC servo and you can't see it but just to the right (actually above) where it's cut off there a white wheel that it's kinda twitching back and forth.

You guys think the servo is bad or whatever is controlling it is bad sending a bad signal?

That is blend door actuator. Does sound stop after 1 minute, mine do? There are several in your car and control the flaps/doors in the AC system that change from inside to outside air and from hot to cold air etc. The gears lose a tooth so the motor keeps spinning. Normally, the motor detects the tension of closed flap and stops automatically. If tooth is missing in gears, just keeps spinning. GM cars/trucks are notorious for these going out. I have 2 or 3 in my car that are out but they are louder. When I change from outside air to recirculate OR turn temp control all the way cold (where is automatically changes to Max cold) or use remote start, they start making noise. Put your finger on it and see if you can feel the ticking noise too and make sure you have right one.

Rockauto.com has them and cheapest, best place I have found. They also should have the OEM brand as well. Looks like that one is Denso. I think for GM, Dorman makes for them. That is what mine are.

It makes the ticking sound even when the AC is off and according to my wife it's ALWAYS making noise. She loves having a paid off car but I swear she's about to get a new one if I keep hearing about the rattles and other noises she hears.

I was able to feel it ticking and even feel the piece that it moves ticking back and forth.

Well, can't seem to look one up at rockauto.com. They must not carry. I stand corrected. It is the servo that controls the flaps for a/c door though. I did see names (with similar part number) such as air mix actuator or heater door actuator or heater door flap control or air mix solenoid etc. I know them for GM vehicles as the blend door actuator. Mine will even tick for about 1 minute after car is turned off. At least you have general idea now of part you are looking for. Good luck.

P.S. I know the feeling. One family member of mine actually had a rock in the tire one time and they thought it was the crankshaft bearing making noise or a lifter. I had to drive over and listen only to finally pull a rock out of tire tread.

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Well, can't seem to look one up at rockauto.com. They must not carry. I stand corrected. It is the servo that controls the flaps for a/c door though. I did see names (with similar part number) such as air mix actuator or heater door actuator or heater door flap control or air mix solenoid etc. I know them for GM vehicles as the blend door actuator. Mine will even tick for about 1 minute after car is turned off. At least you have general idea now of part you are looking for. Good luck.

P.S. I know the feeling. One family member of mine actually had a rock in the tire one time and they thought it was the crankshaft bearing making noise or a lifter. I had to drive over and listen only to finally pull a rock out of tire tread.

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I'm guessing its the Mode door actuator.

FWIW, Delco/Delphi should have been the OEM supplier.

Dorman is aftermarket, and offers good, cost effective solutions for applications where the OEM has failed early.

It says "Denso" towards the top but I can't find an exact match when searching for "063800-1910". I get similar models for Lexus or Tundras but not this one. I'll call the dealership today and see if they get a hit.

Searches using the stamped number "pp-gf20+m20" turns up images and links to the part; along with posts from Honda and Toyota forums with people complaining about the same part.

EDIT: Haha, $380 dollars:
http://www.siennachat.com/forum/15-general-discussion/4551-noise-under-dashboard.html

I can't figure out if the part I need is 25 (actuator mode, w/o Touring pkg Left) or 27 (actuator air mix Left) in the diagram. What do you guys think?

My guess is 25

That was my guess too.