Odd one this...

driving around town today I notice a whirring that sounds like my Compressor, odd I thought as it was running constantly and never cutting off!!!!

Upon pulling over and checking the compressor, it was cool to the touch and obviously not running, however this annoying sound was still there...

I switched the heater fans on and they came on on problem, no untoward noises.

I did find out that it seemed to be coming from the interior temp sensor grill that is below the clock, It gets quieter when I cover the opening with my finger, or press the wood on the dash in with my hand..

When turning the ignition off there is a definitely whir of what sounds like a fan powering down...

I'm stumped!

doesn't sound like a heater fan.....

Any ideas?!

Cheers.

That would be the little aspirator fan which draws air in to measure it's temperature.
It is either going out, or has a lot of gunge on it's blades.
Pretty reliable part actually as you do not hear many complaints about them.

Bolt wrote:

little aspirator fan

Mine was clogged with (dog?) hair - used a little hooked spike made from a small paperclip, a torch and a vacuum cleaner to free it up.

Best to get it properly cleaned out about once a decade.

Had a SAAB 9000 with a non functional air con system due to the fan, duct and sensor being totally closed up by dust bunnies so it basically didn't register any temperature changes. Ex dust bunny is good insulator.

Clive

If it sounds like a fan, it probably is a fan. Pull the centre console switch panel, take it out and give it a proper clean.

Thanks Gents.

Time to pull the old girl apart!

I used a cocktail stick to scrape the heavy stuff out and then a hoover to suck the rest of it through the grill as I couldn't be arsed dismantling the dash. That was 4 years ago now and the fan on that car is still quiet!

David.