Noise from Dashboard like a electrical fan is blowing even with engine off

[fatboyoz]

Originally Posted by myamin

Hello all,

Just came back from the dealer. It's normal for the two small fans right at the HVAC instrument clusters to run for twenty minutes after even removing the keys. It has to do with a convenience package that after twice explaining to me I still do not follow. He said a lot of people don't even know that this feature exists.

So, if you hear this fan noise. It's normal.

with best regards,
Mohammad

My 05 Diesel with auto' climate control has made this noise almost from day one. It is caused by one small fan (not two) mounted behind the left hand vent in the climate control panel that draws cabin air across a sensor to sample the cabin air temperature. How do I know there is only one fan? My climate control started to play up a couple of weeks ago. All of a sudden it would go very cold and not regulate to the selected temperature. I pulled the climate control panel out and found that the fan (and there is definitely only one) had stopped working due to dust and lint accumulation. I used Electronic Contact Cleaner from an aerosol can (with a small tube) to blast all of the dust and lint out of the fan. I did it from the back of the panel so that the dirty liquid would exit the front of the panel. The fan then started up and has been running ever since. It still makes a slight "ticking" noise when running. This fan starts up as soon as one of the doors is opened, and stops about 8 minutes after the you leave the vehicle when it goes into sleep mode. If you are ever in doubt as to whether or not this fan is running, put a small piece of facial tissue over the L/H vent, and the fan should suck it onto the front of the control panel.
Colin.

[aak]

Hi Colin - Awesome info. I bought my first BMW yesterday night (an 04 X5) and noticed this ticking noise this morning. I have to be honest, I freaked out thinking I had bought a car with a broken HVAC.

Is it easy to remove the climate control panel? Do you have instructions to do it or do you know somewhere on the web I can find them?

In fact - when I woke up this morning the cars climate control was set to maximum values of 31c although I know I set it to 21c last night. Could this be because the fun is broken and the sensor was not getting the air it needed so it just reset the whole system to 31c or something?

Cheers,
AAK

[GmX5]

+1 final stage resistor

[fatboyoz]

Originally Posted by aak

Hi Colin - Awesome info. I bought my first BMW yesterday night (an 04 X5) and noticed this ticking noise this morning. I have to be honest, I freaked out thinking I had bought a car with a broken HVAC.

Is it easy to remove the climate control panel? Do you have instructions to do it or do you know somewhere on the web I can find them?

In fact - when I woke up this morning the cars climate control was set to maximum values of 31c although I know I set it to 21c last night. Could this be because the fun is broken and the sensor was not getting the air it needed so it just reset the whole system to 31c or something?

Cheers,
AAK

AAK,
I used an old credit card to get the panel out. As I remember, you slide it between the rough dashboard material, around the panel, and the panel itself. It does not have to go in very far, just far enough to help it out with a little bit of jiggling.
As far as why your system resets to 31c. Perhaps, that is where the previous owner had it set. It will remember previous settings until you have changed it to what you want a couple of times.
Colin.

[aak]

Colin - sounds good mate - thanks. On another forum someone has said actually it's probably the final stage resistor (hedgehog) I want to change since the clicking/ticking is always there. They said I might need to do what you said too - but since it's ALWAYS there its probably the resistor that's at fault. What do you reckon?
Cheers,
AAK

[fatboyoz]

Originally Posted by aak

Colin - sounds good mate - thanks. On another forum someone has said actually it's probably the final stage resistor (hedgehog) I want to change since the clicking/ticking is always there. They said I might need to do what you said too - but since it's ALWAYS there its probably the resistor that's at fault. What do you reckon?
Cheers,
AAK

AAK,
Wasn't aware that the fsr caused any noise. It does seem to be a very common problem on the earlier models. A new and improved version, that is longer lasting, was introduced around 2004. They are relatively inexpensive (in the US at least) so it would definitely be a worthwhile job. Not sure if a dealer could tell you if you have a later unit fitted. If you ask, make sure you take along the last seven digits of your chassis number. Do a search on the fsr using the search function at the top of the page, you will be amazed at how often this subject comes up. There is also a procedure, on the opening page of the Forum, on how to change the fsr, including rhd X5.
Cheers
Colin.

[aak]

Cheers mate - found the procedure and will follow it. The FSR itself does not make the noise. I will need to clean the fan too. However, a faulty FSR can cause the fan to stay on all the time which is happening in my case. Hence the need to change the FSR. A new FSR will cost me about 50 pounds.
AAK

[sudolg]

I have the same sound. I'm thinking its normal.

[aak]

Sound may be normal but its on all the time in my car - I'm worried it's going to kill the battery.

[gavintier]

Originally Posted by aak

Sound may be normal but its on all the time in my car - I'm worried it's going to kill the battery.

Hi mate, mine is doing the same and its killed the battery. Everything seems to point to the fsr. Im going to try get one and change it tmrw (mon). How did you get on with yours? If you sit in the car and take the keys out, do you get a fan sound coming on very quiet and stayin on for about 20seconds, then going offf for a min and back on??