Hey all, got my car back from the body shop and noticed this when I got home. Seems like the condenser or condenser fans go full blast after a few seconds once the ac is turned on, this also lasts for a few seconds after the ac is shut off as well (previously it made no noise when shut off). This has never happened to me in my prior 2 years of ownership. The condenser was replaced as well as some of the ac lines, and obviously the system was recharged. Was wondering if anyone had any ideas of what it could be.
Also to note, I did notice it was dripping in my garage as well, something it never did before, and it was cooling my interior much faster than ever before too (the only positive in this situation).
Was wondering if maybe my AC had always been malfunctioning and this is actually how it should've been running or if your AC doesn't do this. Please post videos if you could as it helps a lot, especially since the shop says it's totally normal on all cars and that I just never noticed before. The noise is extremely annoying and I would've never been okay with it ever.
I realieze that because the car itself is so loud it really tones down the noise when the ac is on, but it is still evident in the video the ramp up in sound. And no I ordered all the parts myself, everything is OEM.
Yep, I can can hear a fan type noise that appears a few seconds after the usual AC clatter. Is that what you’re hearing? Mine definitely doesn’t sound like that.
What work was carried out? Does that fan noise come from the front or the back? Best you get out of your car to investigate as we know the trouble locating the sources of sounds due to the echoing in the tube while you’re in it.
The sound you are hearing there is when the condenser fans run - it is normal for them to cycle on and off when you are stationary... you wouldn't normally hear them when the car is moving, as the airflow alone is enough to do the job, but you will always hear them when the car is stationary with the A/C on.
If you didn't hear it before, it would not have rejected the heat from the car and the A/C would have not worked properly.
You just got used to the sound that the car always made, in a week or so you will get used to the sounds it makes now.
Some of our forum brothers and sisters live in climates that don't need air conditioning too often and because of that, they find the normal operating noises to be unusual.
You should run the A/C at least once a week and let it cycle a few times to keep seals lubricated and cycle the relays - if you don't, you are asking for trouble.
Dude, I live in South Florida, I used the AC every day for the past 2 years, it has not once made that noise. My AC is never off, so it always starts at startup.
I wonder if that inner plastic fan shroud is not attached correctly? I could make a lot of noise.... was it ever apart or the lower belly pan off? There are a lot of screws in that thing
I was thinking that too, as it's two pieces an upper and lower shroud. And yeah lower belly pan was definitely taken off, as the ac lines going to the engine all had to be removed.
So still having this issue, but beginning to wonder if the wiring was set up properly as both the radiator and condenser were changed. Maybe they aren't running parallel to one another. Another theory is the possibility that our car may have an adjustable temperature setting for the fans to go full speed instead of half and that needs to be changed. Can one of you brilliant people shed some more knowledge on the subject. Car is away getting PPF atm so I can't do any more digging for now.
Could that shroud be rubbing against a fan blade. Years ago I had a FIAT sedan that had that problem from new. Took a few trips before they finally figured it out. As the heater got hotter the plastic would slightly distort causing the problem....when cold it cleared the fan blade.