Hello. I own a 2001 S60 (relatively low mileage for the age of the car, around 115,000 km). I recently had a significant amount of repair/maintenance work done on the vehicle, as a few things were reaching the usual worn out stage due to the age of the car. One of the items was replacing the heater fan and motor, as some of the internals had worn out and the fan was knocking around when it was turned on. It now works perfectly, with the exception of the fan sometimes makes a very high-pitched noise (with heater or a/c on). If I turn the fan speed down a level or two, sometimes the high-pitched noise will stop. It isn't very loud, but it is a high enough pitch to hurt my ears. I took the car back to the shop that did the repairs, and they were unable to hear the noise -- the mechanic said it was most likely due to his vintage and bad hearing! Any how, there isn't much they could do.

I have to admit this noise is driving me a little crazy, and with winter coming soon, I am not looking forward to having the heater fan on and listening to this noise. Has anyone experienced this and if so, are you aware of what needs to be done to fix this?

Thanks very much!

 

I have this issue only when the heat is on. I used the AC all summer and never heard it. Actually I forgot about that since I haven't turned on the heat yet this year.

I dont know what the problem is.

 

Usually you have to replace the blower motor.

 

I believe I did just have the blower motor replaced (is this the same thing as the fan motor)? About one month ago, I had the fan and the motor (assuming this is the blower motor) completely replaced. The high pitched noise did not happen until after I had this work done ... I don't know if I hear the noise now because the other noise from the loose fan is gone, or if this noise is new because of the work that was done?

 

Does it kind of sound like an old rusty hinge moving?

 

No, the noise from the heater does not sound like a rusty hinge. But that being said, I have heard that type of noise when I am stopped idling at a light or stop sign - and that noise appears to be coming from the engine area, not the heater - do you know what this may be caused by?

As for the high-pitched squeal coming from the heater / A/C blower/fan, I don't really know how to describe it other than similiar to a high-pitched hum. It is like air being blown quickly and with lots of force through a straw ... but only with a much higher frequency.

Regards,
arhood

 

Do you have recirc on?
Do you have a lower air flow?

 

No recirc on (have not tried it with recirc on to determine if whine/ringing still happens at this time ... will do so tomorrow when driving to work).

Doesn't appear to be lower air flow - that seems to be the same as it always has been.

I didn't notice the noise before having the heater fan and motor replaced. But then the heater fan was making a lot of noise, and that may have been covering up this noise. Or is it possible it is related to the installation of the new heater fan and heater motor?

 

Could be the new motor.

 

Thanks ... I have to take the car in to get winter tires put on. I will ask them to look into this noise (again).

By the way, you had asked earlier if the noise sounded like a 'rusty hinge'. Over the last week or so, I've been trying different things to determine if the noise is actually coming from the heater motor/fan or elsewhere. During this testing, I did notice a sound similiar to a rusty hinge (but it also sounded rather hollow, like it was inside a tin can. It isn't incredibly loud, but it is definitely noticable. Mostly when I am applying slight pressure to the gas peddal. And the speed is usually over 30 km/hr before I hear the noise start up. It is not happening when the car is not moving or idling. The heater motor/fan was turned off, so I know this other noise is not coming from that part of the vehicle.

 

No,I don't think so.