rockd

Just started happening this morning randomly...

When I start the car or put it to "ON", there is a loud knocking noise coming from under the glovebox for about 15 - 20 seconds. It also happens continuously when I turn the climate control on. It looks like it's coming from the "LHD Blower Unit", except the knocking doesn't stop even when I unplug the cable running to this device.

I checked all the fuses, and everything seems to be fine... Can anyone help out?

TRILIGHT

Are you sure that is the only cable? What else is located down there? Is the wiring to the motor exposed such that you can put power directly to it to test your theory? Just some thoughts.

rockd

As far as I can tell, this is the only wire going to the unit.

UPDATE - After the initial 15 - 20 seconds of knocking, the noise only returns if I press the "recirculate air" button on the climate controls. After you turn off the button, the noise will continue for another 20 seconds and then stops. Any ideas?

tommyt1

I also have this problem. Lmk what the problem is if you find out

TRILIGHT

Can you remove it or take it apart? If I had to guess, I would say it sounds like something might be hitting the fan. If not, perhaps the blower motor itself is on the way out? Wish I could be of more help. I haven't had to mess with that blower motor yet.

rockd

Doesn't look like I can take it apart easily... I was thinking it was the fan hitting something, but the regularity of the sound (and the fact that it only lasts for a certain amount of time) make me think it's something else.

Is there some kind of vent that opens and closes when you hit the recirculate button? If so, that may be the problem... it may be getting stuck on something... either way, I'm heading to the dealership tomorrow afternoon to get it fixed. I'll let you know what it is, Tommyt1.

TRILIGHT

Yes, there is. Might be a gear responsible for opening and closing it that is out of whack or slipping. Interested to hear the solution.

rockd

OMFG... i'm so heated right now.

The Acura technician took a look at it and said EXACTLY what you said, trilight - that the vent responsible for recirculation of air was hitting something or slipping. Then he goes back and checks his "book" to see how long of a job this is... comes back and says 15-20 HOURS!! That's $1000+ dollars of labor!

I just left after that and decided to do it myself. Now, I need some help from you guys... does anyone have a diagram of what's behind the right side of the dash? And how hard is it to take off that part of the dash/glovebox? Is the vent easy to get to in general?

Another thought... is there a fuse I can pull to just turn off the recirculate feature or turn off that vent?

TRILIGHT

Typical. Of course, the book is not always far off given the complexity of things. Just the per hour rate that kills you. With that kind of time frame, I would imagine this part it up in the center of the dash somewhere and not at all easy to get to. Sucks man! I do not envy you if you have to pull the dash. I don't have a service manual but perhaps you can pick one up or get someone here to post a diagram. Good luck! If you can, post pics back!

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I'd suggest buying a service manual from www.helminc.com before you do anything.

rockd

Another Update: It's definitely something in the heating/cooling system. I tried removing fuse #3 from the driver's side fuse box, and the noise stopped. Unfortunately, so did all the other climate control functions.

I'll be going inside the dash tomorrow to try to fix the noise. Can anyone please point me to a digram or how-to guide to taking apart the dash? I'm sure someone must've scanned it in before...

Thanks in advance!

GreenMonster

The helms is 2 1/2 inches thick, so not everything in it has been scanned....

TRILIGHT

Definitely get the manual if you're going to be digging into the dash! I have a warranty until 100k so I won't be doing any of that myself. Will definitely pick up a manual once the warranty runs out!

rockd

I got to the source of the problem... it's the white tab that's directly next to the cabin air filter assembly (on the right side). That tab has slipped and needs to be realigned. However, I can't reach it without removing the entire cabin air filter assembly... I removed all the visible screws, but there seems to be something else holding it in. Has anyone removed this before?