relay clicking while im driving - Help me locate all interior relays!

[g.lewarne]

ok this is a strange one....

a bit of history...over the last week I have been redoing all the stereo cabling in my 2. Previous owners had butchered it beyond recogniton, so I thought it best to start from scratch.

All speakers have been rewired with direct cabling to a new ISO plug in the dash. I made a new power supply, also feeding directly into the ISO plug in the dash. All the old "premium" amps have been disconbnected and removed, along with the now defunct (and butchered) original cabling.

The stereo works fine, everything else is working fine, all electrical items are doing as they should. However, when im driving along, there is a relay somewhere clicking away about every 15 seconds. I cant really hear it well enough to locate it, and most bizarrly it wont do it when im idling, ONLY when moving. This makes it harder to find the bloomin thing. Best I can tell is its coming from somewhere around the dash, but not sure.

any ideas what it is and where?

ta
gavin

[Quigonjay]

have you tried turning the wheel when stationary to see if you can hear the clicking?
possibly the power steering relay located in the frunk

[g.lewarne]

have you tried turning the wheel when stationary to see if you can hear the clicking?
possibly the power steering relay located in the frunk

great idea!...

but i dont have power steering

[BLZ-8027]

[quote="g.lewarne"]ok this is a strange one....

However, when im driving along, there is a relay somewhere clicking away about every 15 seconds. I cant really hear it well enough to locate it, and most bizarrly it wont do it when im idling, ONLY when moving.
any ideas what it is and where?

ta
gavin[/quote]

Being as it doesn't do it when stationary ,are you sure its an electrical clicking noise ,or a loose part knocking?
theres a couple of relays behind the stereo ,examples are ,1 for the key alarm and another for lights on reminder ,could have disturbed them and they are knocking around now?

[g.lewarne]

ok this is a strange one....

However, when im driving along, there is a relay somewhere clicking away about every 15 seconds. I cant really hear it well enough to locate it, and most bizarrly it wont do it when im idling, ONLY when moving.
any ideas what it is and where?

ta
gavin

Being as it doesn't do it when stationary ,are you sure its an electrical clicking noise ,or a loose part knocking?
theres a couple of relays behind the stereo ,examples are ,1 for the key alarm and another for lights on reminder ,could have disturbed them and they are knocking around now?

99% sure its a relay click - its far too regular to be something knocking, and does it on perfectly flat smooth roads as well.

Its interesting you mention the relays / control boxes behind the stereo - i will check these out as I may have disturbed or broken the wiring..just need to find a leccy diagram of them

[BLZ-8027]

[quote="g.lewarne"][quote="BLZ-8027"][quote="g.lewarne"]ok this is a strange one....

However, when im driving along, there is a relay somewhere clicking away about every 15 seconds. I cant really hear it well enough to locate it, and most bizarrly it wont do it when im idling, ONLY when moving.
any ideas what it is and where?

ta
gavin[/quote]

Being as it doesn't do it when stationary ,are you sure its an electrical clicking noise ,or a loose part knocking?
theres a couple of relays behind the stereo ,examples are ,1 for the key alarm and another for lights on reminder ,could have disturbed them and they are knocking around now?[/quote]


99% sure its a relay click - its far too regular to be something knocking, and does it on perfectly flat smooth roads as well.

Its interesting you mention the relays / control boxes behind the stereo - i will check these out as I may have disturbed or broken the wiring..just need to find a leccy diagram of them [/quote]

Sorry thinking about it more ,the key reminder is down behind the heater controls ,and the lights on is behind the ciggy lighter ,so i was wrong about them being behind the stereo,

[g.lewarne]

im gonna take the dash apart tomorrow and go for a drive, im sure its a relay somewhere above the drivers legs, its not down by the footwell fusebox or in the stereo area.

either that, or its right behind the drivers seat - its a hard one to pin down

[g.lewarne]

OK i have done some tests - still not solved!

Removed lower dash trim in drivers area, disconnected all the relays by the fusebox, the flasher unit, the central locking "door control" unit, and the "lights on warning" beeper.

Went for a drive, STILL CLICKING

Removed side trim behind both front seats - disconnected the "anti theft" module on drivers side and everything on the passenger side

Went for a drive, STILL BLOOMIN CLICKING

does anyone have any other ideas / locations of relays that would be audible in the car ?

There is one that I have not found - "aerial relay" (which I presume controls the auto up/down of the aerial), where is it? i dont need it any more so it might be that if its not getting a proper feed fromt he old stereo loom any more...I will also check the relays in the passenger footwell

[Slarty]

It's not something silly like the actual speedometer/milometer that's clicking is it? Easy enough to check, just pull the clocks out and take it for a drive....

[g.lewarne]

It's not something silly like the actual speedometer/milometer that's clicking is it? Easy enough to check, just pull the clocks out and take it for a drive....

dont think so as the clicking is regular - the timing does not change relative to speed.....will check this though

[Slarty]

Ah ok, was worth a shout. Struggling to think of what else could give a rythmic clicking sound, only when the car is in motion..hmmm!

[g.lewarne]

just removed the clocks while dash is in peices - no change

(lucky im doing this in a quiet industrial estate - im sure the cops would not like a car being driven no with appreciable dashboard or electrics working lol)

Going back up previous posts - whats this "key reminder" that BLZ is on about? (its not the lights on buzzer already found that)

[toxo]

Key reminder is a tiny little relay that goes bing when you have your keys in the ignition and open the door. It's so annoying that most owners disconnect it!!

It's attached to the centre tunnel almost at the front bulkhead, so a good few inches behind the heater controls.

Also, aerial relay is attached to the base of the aerial, so it won't be that Is your trip counter stuck? Happened to me and it clicks regularly as you suggest. I just pressed the reset stalk and the problem went away

Edit: Can't be that as you said it still does it with the clocks out.

[RyanRs]

Play with your fan blower direction selector buttons to see if it shuts it up. There is a linkage on the airbox which is moved by a solenoid thats operated by the blower direction buttons and the linkage can get stuck causing a constant 'Click Click Click Click' where the linkage is trying to move and cant. Mine is doing this and im pretty sure its because i have dropped something down the vents into the airbox whilst doing wiring alterations to the stereo etc. I have to keep my blower direction on the last 3 settings (feet,feet+demist or demist), if i try selecting 'Face' or 'feet and face' then it gets jammed and starts clicking.

to check, when you hear the clicking, try selecting different blower directions to see if it stops, alternatively stick your head down by the clutch pedal and look up the back of the centre console and you will see the linkage im on about (its white)

[g.lewarne]

Is your trip counter stuck? Happened to me and it clicks regularly as you suggest.

DING DING DING DING we have a winner!


double checked woith the clocks out, and it did actually stop. turned out pressing the trip reset fixed it!

many thanks! been spending days trying to find this LOL

[Slarty]

Ah I bloody said that too! Least you've found it though, good stuff

[g.lewarne]

Ah I bloody said that too! Least you've found it though, good stuff

Aye, I took my missus the second time and she said it deffo stopped, my hearing is so good at the moment....lol

[toxo]