[jbh123]

My 2007 Spectra5 has been making a continuous, rapid "chirping" noise below the dash on the passenger side – somewhere between the glove box and the center console. It seems to be related to whatever blows air for heating and air conditioning because:

• The noise occurs on floor mode, defrost mode and every setting in between – except for "OFF" mode, when it doesn't occur at all
• The noise gets quicker as the fan speed is increased and slower as the fan speed is decreased (on both heating and AC).

I'm guessing it might be a bad fan motor or perhaps a bad bearing in such a motor, but I don't really know what's hidden under the dash down there.

A little confusingly, the noise keeps going when the fan is off - but it's a slower oscillation, and sometimes it stops for a while, only to start again unpredictably. Interestingly, it sometimes stops briefly upon braking, accelerating or turning, but then returns when the car is moving at a steady pace.

Can anyone help diagnose this noise, determine whether it's fixable, and ideally suggest how to fix it? DIY preferred. Thanks!

 

[DavesSpectra]

That may be a bearing in the blower motor but I would first check the cabin air filter located behind the glove box for its being plugged... If it's missing you may have something like a leaf/twig hitting the squirrel cage... With the car moving the cage will turn due to the outside air pressure even if the blower is off... The cabin air filter is usually ignored and gets quite dirty... Do a youtube search for 2007 Spectra cabin air filter to see how you go about checking/replacing it...
Dave

 

[jbh123]

Thank you for the response and the excellent suggestions. I'll do what you suggested and report back.

 

[jbh123]

COLD weather has delayed this update. Brrrr. Anyway, I didn't find anything sticking into the fan motor. I did replace the (very dirty) cabin air filter. The noise stopped for a few miles ... and then came back again. So I'm kind of back in the same place I was when I first posted this thread. For whatever it's worth, here's a video of what it sounds like: