Clicking noise when Auto or Econ or Defroster is on
 

hey when ever i have Auto, Econ, or Def on there is a clicking noise that comes from near the glove box i think. the noise goes away after i click off. another thing i have noticed is that there is alot of heat that comes from under the car....more than other cars i have had before...ive never felt that much heat coming from the bottom of a car before....maybe thats just normal for the svx i dont know....another thing is that when i have it on Auto im guessing the a/c compressor goes on but the loud fan is on and its very audible from the front of the car....is it supposed to be like that?....i ask this because in my other cars when you have the air conditioner on you dont hear a loud fan like you do in the svx....you heare the fan in other cars just not as loud as the svx so i was wondering if any of you have the same thing or if its a problem with my car....the a/c isn't always cold either.....sometimes i will have my windows down and the setting to low and it will not blow out cold air but im guessing thats because the window is open or something....otherwise it works fine....haha this might all sound stupid but in my other cars i can have the a/c on and the windows open and it will blow out cold cold air...but this isnt the case in the svx...any input would be greatly appreciated

don't know about the clicks, never heard one, I think you'll have to do more investigation.

as to the heat, while I've not had it apart to verify, I believe there is a door that moves to block off the heater core when the system is set to A/C. It might be the door isn't fully closing.

as to the temp of the air, the system duty cycle varies with what the car thinks the inside temp is vice the setting in the circle to the left of the climate control buttons. So if the setting is around the ambient (outside) temp, then the duty cycle for the A/C is almost zero, all that's happening is a flow through from the vents.

I don't find my fan any noisier than most, it may be your fan motor bearings are going, or something is blocking up the air, making it labor to do it's job.

Mine has started making the same noise. I first heard it about a year ago & the dealer said it was "not unusual". But I swear, the noise is so loud that it gets attention from pedestrians! It's a clacking sound that appears to be coming from the AC compressor. It only makes the sound when the AC or DEF is on, and increases in frequency (but not volume) when I accellerate. When I let off the gas, it "spins down" to nothing. Could this be the "magnet clutch" that my service manual references? If so, is it internal to the compressor, and more importantly, can it be fixed without replaceing the whole compressor for a thousand bucks? Any A/C guys out there?

To pinpoint the source open the hood and have someone in the car reproduce the noise.

I had the exact same problem. If i were you i would stop using the def or auto from now on untill you fix it. Or just disconnect the Compressor.
If you dont you will end up with no AC sooner then you think (I know).

:( It's definitely internal to the compressor. I took it to the Suby garage and they verified that it's the magnet clutch, just as I was afraid. Unfortunately it's not really a serviceable part, and the rebuild costs almost as much as a new compressor according to them. So I guess I'm stuck buying a compressor. That, plus the fact that I need two new O2 sensors is really gonna set me back. Guess I'll have to forego that custom exhaust for another year.
Mark

Look into the rebuilds Dayle @ Motorsport Wareshouse is selling.

I believe ensteele also has an ebay source for compressors.

Do they use relay's in newer cars? , becuase in my 70 buick, I get clicks too (from the same area) , and they are the relay's. Might be totally wrong.

My quick fix, open the little door in the center of the dash, with the radio on locate the large knob on the top left corner. U will notice there is a flat on it turn that knob until the flat is facing to the right. That got rid of the confonded squeeking from my disk brakes maybe it will get rid of the clicking. It would help to have a Lenard Skinner or Stones CD in the CD player <LOL>

that fixed my brake squeek too :D

Hey, it worked. Only problem is my car is now 88 degrees inside. There's always a catch (LOL). OK I decided to belly up to the cash register & shell out the money for new compressor. The retail on it was $535, and the dealer wanted $499. I have a 20% off coupon for "genuine subaru parts", so my tally will be around $375. I'm planning on keeping this car for a LOOOONNNGGG time. I presume this is a genuine subaru part, even though Subaru is starting to really distance itself from the SVX. I couldn't even enter my two SVX's on the "My Subaru.com" website. It's like they forgot they made it.

Thank God for this forum!

Cap

So think Cool .