Engine noise related to interior fan

[G3GSB]

Hi All, wondered if anyone can steer me in the right direction. New to the T6 as usually had T2s in the past so not very familiar with the sounds that the engine makes but pretty sure this isn't right. I'm getting a strange noise when driving with the interior fan is running almost like its a bearing noise that increases when accelerating. this only happens when interior fan is running and the vehicle is moving. as soon as the interior fan is switched off the noise goes away but the strange thing is that it doesn't happen when the engine is turned off and the fan is running. so just to put things into perspective this is what's happening

1. Engine running normal driving no interior fan running - NO Noise
2. Engine running normal driving interior fan is switched on and running - Noise
3. Engine stopped not driving interior fan running - no noise.

its a whirring noise that seems to be related to when the fan is running but not the actual fan itself.

so my question is, what starts up when the interior fan is switched on? a clutch maybe? belt or bearings?


thanks

 

[ahappychappie]

Hi All, wondered if anyone can steer me in the right direction. New to the T6 as usually had T2s in the past so not very familiar with the sounds that the engine makes but pretty sure this isn't right. I'm getting a strange noise when driving with the interior fan is running almost like its a bearing noise that increases when accelerating. this only happens when interior fan is running and the vehicle is moving. as soon as the interior fan is switched off the noise goes away but the strange thing is that it doesn't happen when the engine is turned off and the fan is running. so just to put things into perspective this is what's happening

1. Engine running normal driving no interior fan running - NO Noise
2. Engine running normal driving interior fan is switched on and running - Noise
3. Engine stopped not driving interior fan running - no noise.

its a whirring noise that seems to be related to when the fan is running but not the actual fan itself.

so my question is, what starts up when the interior fan is switched on? a clutch maybe? belt or bearings?


thanks

I have exactly the same issue - it is somewhat intermittent - whereby for a few minutes it can be fine but once it's kicked its continuous.

I was trying to determine if it's Aircon related but don't think it is.

I have queried this previously on the forum but no answer- though think it was buried in within a different thread. Or may not be a common occurence...

 

[Alster]

Have you got the air con turned on? I think the air con turns off when the fan is off. If so it could be compressor noise ?

 

[G3GSB]

No all this happens when Aircon is off. It’s exactly the same when Aircon is switched on.

 

[G3GSB]

Ok update on this: this morning driving to work I moved the air direction knob to the cab vent blowers (as shown in the photo red circle) and the noise stopped. It only happens when venting through the windscreen vents. There must be something that kicks in when the vent directional knob is changed to windscreen.

@ahappychappie can you try this and see if the noise stops when you select the cab vents (red circled in photo) ??

regards

 

[AussieMick]

The aircon is always on when the windscreen Demister switch is selected and the fan is on.
You can probably hear your aircon compressor running. Bearings perhaps.

 

[G3GSB]

Even with the Aircon light off (Aircon off) it still noisy. Would it be running even with the button switched off?

 

[AussieMick]

Yes, even with aircon switch off it will run aircon if windscreen Demister is selected.

 

[Broadside]

Yes, as @AussieMick says the aircon is always on when you select windscreen, even with the A/C light off. You may notice that condensation forms on the outside of the windscreen in some conditions when the A/C is on, it’s how I found out!

 

[G3GSB]

Thanks lads it defo narrows it down to Aircon compressor drive for sure. How accessible are these parts?

 

[Broadside]

Someone else on here mentioned that the A/C compressor is permanently engaged and that the A/C button just activates a solenoid to allow cooling. No idea if that is true or not...

 

[DXX]

Someone else on here mentioned that the A/C compressor is permanently engaged and that the A/C button just activates a solenoid to allow cooling. No idea if that is true or not...

Yes, the compressor is not clutched, it rotates constantly coming under load on demand. So if as somebody mentioned a bearing was failing it would be noisy whenever the engine is running.

 

[G3GSB]

So basically your saying that I would have the noise all the time? I’m wondering if the noise is there all the time but is more noticeable when the Aircon kicks in. This has confused me as to what this could be if it’s running all the time.

 

[G3GSB]

Just doing a little research looks like there is a magnetic clutch that engages with the compressor once the A/C is switched on. Does this sound right? I'm not 100% sure as the info wasn't specific to my vehicle. There are bearings in this so presuming that these could be failing or the magnetic clutch is worn. Is the compressor easy enough to see and access?

 

[DXX]

Yes constant compressor

@G3GSB @Niknak works on these vans for a living

 

[ahappychappie]

Ok update on this: this morning driving to work I moved the air direction knob to the cab vent blowers (as shown in the photo red circle) and the noise stopped. It only happens when venting through the windscreen vents. There must be something that kicks in when the vent directional knob is changed to windscreen.

@ahappychappie can you try this and see if the noise stops when you select the cab vents (red circled in photo) ??

regards

View attachment 120635

How bizarre - mine is the opposite - noise only happens when I put the air vent in to the position you have circled in red..!

But symptoms definitely the same..

 

[G3GSB]

Gonna get it checked out soon. I’ll report back on findings. Thanks all for replies

 

[alt]

I have this on my T5.1 too! The noise definitely disappears as soon as the fan is switched off.

I’ve tried to narrow it down to the AC but the noise is definitely still present after I switch off the AC but it seem to disappear within 30-60 seconds. That said, the noise comes and goes regularly so it could be a coincidence.

 

[G3GSB]

No one seems to know where the noise is coming from. Its not malfunctioning in anyway and is working perfectly apart from the unusual noise so I think ill have to live with it as I'm not prepared to spend a fortune in getting it looked at.

let me know if you get it sorted. good luck

 

[ahappychappie]

Hi,

Above I thought we had the opposite, whereby noise started when I had fan in driver position rather than windscreen position. However, have just been out in the van and it actually does it no matter what position air vent is set to.

I think it may be air con related. If air con is on and noise occurs - it stops a few seconds after switch the aircon off. I switch between driver & windscreen position - above posts state aircon kicks in no matter when switched to windscreen - more often than not I start vent on windscreen then move to driver - so aircon is always being activated - even though when I switch to driver position and turn air con off as it's already been on it's kick started the noise if you follow me.

Like you living with it at the moment as fearful of a large bill (especially if my suspicion that's is Air Con related is true) - it just makes the van sound 'old' as the noise increase with speed etc. Ideal would be to get diagnosis and cost to repair, rather than open cheque book of need to look in to it and could be this or that...