Behind dashboard crackling noise - Blend Door actuator?

Tiny
MOLLY37
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 HONDA CIVIC
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 147,000 MILES
The crackling noise originally would happen after a few hours of driving on the highway. The sound came from the radio buttons. When I opened my glove-box, the sound went away. Now, if I drive more than 20 MPH, I hear the noise all the time coming from above/in front of my glove box. The crackling noise is not happening all the time, only sometimes.
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018 AT 5:58 AM

7 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,137 POSTS
Hello,

It sounds like something is loose and is affected by the wind. Is the noise inside or outside the car? Can you please shoot a quick video with your phone so we can hear the noise? That would be great. You can upload it here with your response. Cheers, Ken
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, October 17th, 2018 AT 10:37 AM
Tiny
MOLLY37
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
The noise does not happen often enough, so Ia m not sure when I will be able to shoot the video. The noise is inside the car.

Also worth noting, every time my air is on, a buzzing noise comes from the vent. It does not matter the temperature or what vent is blowing, the buzzing always happens.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, October 17th, 2018 AT 2:53 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,137 POSTS
This sounds like you have a blend door actuator that is making the noise. (I had to see if the noise was inside or not) Here is a guide that will walk you through the steps and the locations of the actuators for your car. You will need to putt your hand on them to see which one is making the noise.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-blend-door-motor

I would remove the glove box door so you can get at the actuators.

Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

Cheers, Ken
Images (Click to make bigger)
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, October 18th, 2018 AT 9:53 AM
Tiny
MOLLY37
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Attached is a video of the sound. Let me know if you still think it is the blend door actuator.
Video (Click to make bigger)
Thumb
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, October 19th, 2018 AT 7:00 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,137 POSTS
Thanks for the video. That is not a blend door it sounds like the blower motor has something stuck in it like a piece of plastic/paper. Does it change with the blower speed? It could be a relay that is going out as well does all electrical components seem to work okay? Lets remove the glove box door to get a better idea of where the noise is coming from use the diagrams from above to remove the door.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Friday, October 19th, 2018 AT 11:28 AM
Tiny
MOLLY37
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Attached are videos of my blower motor. It looks clean to me? The sound does not change with fan speed, only MPH (must be going faster than 20 MPH).
Images (Click to make bigger)
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, October 19th, 2018 AT 2:17 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,137 POSTS
It has got to be something wind related. Can you drive it with the blower and glove box out to try to get closer to the noise source?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Saturday, October 20th, 2018 AT 10:01 AM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Related Blend Door Actuator Content

Blend Door Actuator Replacement
VIDEO
Blend Door Actuator Replacement
Instructional repair video
VIEW MORE