Air con making weird noises.

[CMcK]

The air con in my 02 986S (UK model) has started making some peculiar sounds. There is a whine from the center/rear of the passenger compatrment. And there is also an intermittent sound from the vents. The sound is like that of the fans blowing normally but louder and higher pitched.

The air con is still blowing cold air OK and I have already had the condensors replaced 2 years ago and there was a leak in the suction pipe beneath the drivers door which was fixed a few months back.

Personally I suspect a problem with compressor but I dread to think how much that'll cost to repair!

[rsfeller]

The air con in my 02 986S (UK model) has started making some peculiar sounds. There is a whine from the center/rear of the passenger compatrment. And there is also an intermittent sound from the vents. The sound is like that of the fans blowing normally but louder and higher pitched.

The air con is still blowing cold air OK and I have already had the condensors replaced 2 years ago and there was a leak in the suction pipe beneath the drivers door which was fixed a few months back.

Personally I suspect a problem with compressor but I dread to think how much that'll cost to repair!

Regrettably you may not get to much help as your description is a bit vague at best, but I'll try to get the ball rolling and we can narrow down some options with some more accurate facts.

Have you determined first that the sound is ONLY heard when the AC button is on an the AC clutch is engaging? If you here a sound under those conditions then yes you may have a failing AC pump clutch or pump internals. I am speaking from generic AC troubleshooting and do not know the failure trend of the boxster AC units but I seldom see clutch/bearing failures on modern AC pumps. MOst have in fact failed internally from my experience.

If you have not determined that it's isolated to the engagement of the AC then there are many other system components that could make noise such as the water pump, idler and tension pulleys or rarely the power steering pump.

If you have a failure of the pump I would be rushing back to the guy who did the fix (replacement) of the low side hose and/or condenser. He most likely (impossible to prove) did not put oil back into the system properly and thus killed the pump prematurely. Negligence of AC system repair by tech is impossible to prove but I have experienced in my early years of AC issues. That is why I do ALL my own AC work now.

[CMcK]

Thanks for your help.

I can hear the whining sound most of the time while the air con is running not just when the air con clutch is engaging. The high pitch sound from the vents is seemingly random, I haven't been able to make a connection with any other event such as accelerating or braking.

The car is going in for a service soon so I'll make sure all the belts and associated pumps etc are all checked out.

[rsfeller]

Thanks for your help.

I can hear the whining sound most of the time while the air con is running not just when the air con clutch is engaging. The high pitch sound from the vents is seemingly random, I haven't been able to make a connection with any other event such as accelerating or braking.

The car is going in for a service soon so I'll make sure all the belts and associated pumps etc are all checked out.

CMCK,

I guess I assume the vent from the side of the car and not the dash board! The AC is technically ONLY running when the clutch is engaged, otherwise the fan is just blowing around ambient (or heated) temps. Noises due to compressor failures would come from the engine compartment behind you. Therefor the if the whining can only be the AC compressor when the AC compressor clutch is engaged and from the rear with the engine. If you hear a sound when the AC clutch is NOT engaged then sound is most likely something else.

I assumed you sound was coming from behind you but now you state up front. When you said vent I though you mean the air intake on the side of the car. If you hear a sound from the vents (random in nature) it would have to be the blower fan rubbing, blower motor failing or something lessor such as the air sensor on the passenger side. If you do not know what the later is please state so and we can help, they often make random but low annoying sounds. The blower motor and/or fan are very easy to get to and covered in my write up here:

http://www.carboncow.net/index.php?option=...6&Itemid=51

Shawn

Please clarify where all the

[CMcK]

All the sounds I have described have been while sitting in the car. The vents I am referring to are on the dashboard. From what you say it sounds as if I have more than one problem.

I will have a bit more time this weekend to play around and see if I can pinpoint where and when the noises occur.