Weird clicking noise from heater control or glove box

[rollercoaster63]

Everytime I start the car I get these clicking noises from glovebox area or heater. not sure exactly :-(

[wallace78]

think it will be ur pollen filter motor might have sumfin stuck on it r on the blink!!!

[ed taylor]

I don,t. I think the recirc" motor has lost a tooth. Does it make the noise when you press the recirc" button.?.
If so you need to replace the recirc" servo. There is loads of info on this "problem" if you do a search for "say" recirc servo.

[mickg]

just un plug it that what i have do thats the reccirculation motor. undo glove box i think is 4 screws and un pkug it. replacing about 60-70 quid.

[James24]

Has it just started doing it or has it always been like that? Does the heater system appear to work properly?

I have the full climate control setup in my car and there's some clicking and whirring from behind the glovebox (audible but not hugely loud and nothing sounds like it's broken or stuck) sometimes when I start the car for a few seconds until the system has moved all of the heater system flaps to where it wants them. I occasionally hear it as well as I'm driving along as well?

I think all of the mechanisms are much the same between the 2 systems but it's only the climate control setup that can move them all about when it wants to (in 'auto' mode).

You could take the glovebox out (6 Torx screws) and press all the buttons and turn all the dials on the heater control panel and watch the various motors and levers turn. You should see if any are stuck or broken, or have cogs with missing teeth, etc.

[knfruitbat]

Sound like I have a similar problem, was getting a ticking noise when I open the doors and get in, and sometimes when I stop the car. Now happens every time a turn the recirc on or off for about 15 secs then stops. Even on a long motorway journey with recirc on most of the vents were not blowing warm. So what do I need to replace? Is it easy?

[GaryK220]

Resurrecting an old post rather than putting up a new one. My car - 2.2 direct petrol with standard aircon and 4 speed blower motor - developed a weird noise on Monday and some of the symptoms sound similar to this post and a few other related posts.

When I turn the ignition on, but before starting (I also have a diesel so am now in the habit of sitting waiting for the glow plug light to go out, even in the petrol!) I immediately get a loud clicking noise for seven or eight seconds. It is very loud (sounds like the fan is hitting the plastic surround) and clicks 2 or 3 times a second.

If I turn the engine over the noise stops while the starter is engaged, but returns as soon as the engine is started. I thought at first it was the heater motor so tried starting with the fan blower on different settings but it made no difference. I also ejected the satnav disc, thinking it might be a sticking disc or faulty drive, but that made no difference.

The heater, direction control of vents and aircon are working fine and the engine starts up right away and runs fine.

I will try with the recirc switch on and off to see if that has any effect. But before I strip the dash and glovebox down, do the symptoms described above sound the same as those when the recirc servo has stripped teeth? i.e. clicking for several seconds every time the ignition is switched on but everything else functions as normal?

If not, is there a control module behind the heater switch panel that might be the source of the loud clicking?

[GaryK220]

Quick update - tried the car this morning and as soon as I switched the cabin recirculation button to the on position the clicking sound stopped. So servo must be the problem. Will investigate at the weekend to see if I can disconnect the wiring for the moment and look to make a permanent fix later.

[Matty2Fatty]

Sounds like the recirculation motor, mine used to do it when you unlocked the car, the interior lights went out and when you pressed the recirculation button on the ECC.

Think it was £10 for a new one (from a Saab I got mine from, but same part number) and took about half and hour to swap over. The fiddly bit was undoing one of the screws that held it in as space is tight up under the dash. I did do a video on here somewhere, so shall try and find it...

[christmas]

After taking the recirc servo out, you will usually find that if you dismantle the unit (quite easy), you can remove all the white cogs, you will find that the big cog has probably lost a tooth or two. if you can drive out the metal shaft and remove the big cog wheel, you should be able to turn this by 180 degrees, and then drive the shaft back in. 20200831_124013.jpg You will probably find it easier to replace with shorter cross head screws as they are a sod to do up.