General Fans making annoying noise?

Currently reading:
General Fans making annoying noise?

Lee91

New member
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
50
Points
18
Location
Birmingham
Hi, recently in my 1.1 active (2006) the fans on the dash have been making a "ticking" noise, as if something were stuck inside such as a leaf. I was wondering what the best way to go about fixing this is? Can you pop the fans out or are they fixed? Any help is appreciated as this is driving me nuts! ;) The fans I'm talking about are the ones highlighted in the pic below:

dashj.jpg
 
They are only the ducts coming from the fan, the fan is deeper in the dash and not that easy to get to. IF it is just a leaf or similar try turn the fan on full and flicking between cold and hot and recirculating and through air, turning the speed up and down, it might just allow something to shift and blow out .

Steve
 
I just tried this with no joy, still the same :( Upon second listening it sounds more like a light "squeeking" noise as if it could do with a drop of oil? How would I get to the fan, does anyone have a guide/any tips for me :p

Lee
 
I just tried this with no joy, still the same :( Upon second listening it sounds more like a light "squeeking" noise as if it could do with a drop of oil? How would I get to the fan, does anyone have a guide/any tips for me :p

Lee

I doubt it's going to need oil as such. On most cars (I haven't looked at the panda) the fan unit is generally around the engine bay to passenger compartment bulkhead.
 
I've a very similar noise but mine comes from the instrument binnacle. If it is this you can check by pressing the top of the binnacle when you hear the rattle and it should disappear. Dealer has been unable to track down the cause though so I've found no cure.

Could be completely unrelated though.
 
The fan on my car makes this annoying squeek on position 1, but goes away on higher setting, must find time one day to get the dealer to look at it.
 
The fan is not easy to remove, it is tucked under the passenger footwell and is held in by three awkward to get at screws. If i remember the whole unit twists slightly anti clockwise (after removing the screws) before it can be removed. It really is difficult to coax the motor in and out of it's housing, it really has to be in just the right angle/position to be removed/replaced. Mine was squeaking also, but dont make the mistake i did, i sprayed the motor unit with wd40 and it continually blew fuses from then onwards until finally the motor completely burned out. It did stop the squeak though :).
I bought a new replacement motor on ebay for £38, all ok after that.
 
"Fans making annoying noise"

I have this problem whenever I leave the house!

:)
 
The fan on my car makes this annoying squeek on position 1, but goes away on higher setting, must find time one day to get the dealer to look at it.

this is exactly the same for me, on position 2, 3, 4 it's fine. Just position 1 that causes the problem :mad:
 
Er, search the forum (not the thread, the forum)... and you'll find this:
https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/138442-rattle-heater-fan.html

After the post with the solution was a debate over whether WD40 was a lubricant. All I can say is that with the car now at 66,000 miles, used every day and with fan always on at least speed 1, it has remained silent ever since. I suspect that in fact the issue is dirt/dust on the commutator (the alternating copper/space/copper ring that makes the motor work) and WD40 cleaned it off. Be very careful though - don't need much, and only in that one place. Don't be tempted to try and do it with the fan in situ and spraying 'hopefully' into the fan -- as others have commented (another search...), doing this wrecks the fan.
 
Last edited:
^ Thanks for the link. I followed your intructions and it seems to have stopped squeaking now (y) I also took some pics for anyone else looking to do this:

Glad it worked, Lee - and thanks for the pix. I never did go back to retake any.

For anyone else looking in, after removing the fan, find the 'snout' with the white label on it (at '5 oclock' in Lee's last photo, repeated above left) and look down inside (other photo above). It's only the copper ring you see down there that needs just the lightest of sprays with WD40 to cure the problem.

Pete
 
Last edited:
Glad it worked, Lee - and thanks for the pix. I never did go back to retake any.

For anyone else looking in, after removing the fan, find the 'snout' with the white label on it (at '5 oclock' in Lee's last photo, repeated above left) and look down inside (other photo above). It's only the copper ring you see down there that needs just the lightest of sprays with WD40 to cure the problem.

Pete
May I say Herts Hillhopper and Lee91 are a fine pair of gents. I too suffered the dreaded squeak. I printed out the instructions from Pete along with Lee's additions and Lee's invaluable photos and it worked a treat. It was a slight faff getting down under the dash but an enjoyable endeavour nonetheless and it saved me a load of dosh and plenty of annoyance.
I must stress that Lee's advice to remove the glove box is extremely sound (Pete must be double-jointed to have managed it with the glove box still in place!)
I gave the WD40 two normal sized squirts on the copper ring as Pete suggests and one squirt on the spindle under the little removeable cap between the two blue lugs/nuts. When I turned the fan on, not a squeak was heard. An instant cure.
I'll let you know if the squeak returns but from what Pete said, I may be waiting a while.
Thank you, thank you, for taking the time to share this gem of knowledge and for adding the photos. You deserve medals.
I'm about to follow Pete's advice on another thread to replace a faulty bulb in the central console of the dash (behind the fan speed switch) - there's no stopping me now!

Jim
 
Back
Top