Oshin11

There were always weird tick noises that would either a.) come from my steering wheel area, b.) come from my cd player area, or c.) come from the passenger side of my car. Today the noise pissed me off so much that I got a light and started digging through the front seats of my car. Turns out that there is a small black covered wire that is located right under the dashboard compartment on the passenger side. It leads almost into the passenger right blower for the AC that comes into the cabin. As I wiggle this wired i got clicking noises from the passenger side and every other time from the cd player and steering wheel. As I suspected they sounded like some spark jumping and grounding or something. Now here is the problem, how in the world do I correct this? Duct tape the wire so it absolutely cannot wiggle? Now if I can only connect this to my cruise control never working and my cd player/stereo not working every once in a while.

Dan Cobb

Sounds as if you have a problem where this wire is supposed to be solidly connected (at which end though?).
You need to trace it to each end and fix the connector. probably broken during a previous radio installation, or ????
+++

autobonrun

+1

Either that or the insulation on the wire is bad at some point, allowing the wire to intermittently touch ground.

Typically black is hot (+12v) so if the insulation is worn and it touches the metal frame, you would hear clicking from the units that get their power from this wire as the power is interrupted. As Dan states, the only real solution is to trace the wire from one end to the other. Can you tell if this is an OEM wire or part of an aftermarket install?

Andy_Ash

I have a relay buzz that I get like that sometimes. It's pretty rare though (2-3 months) so I havn't been able to track it down specifically. I'll have a look for the wire, I'm due to sort the windscreen washers in the next month (the pipework is fouled), so I could check it out then. If this turns out to be connected to the problem I have, then I'll post here with details.

autobonrun

Several things can cause a relay to buzz. One possible reason is low voltage to the coil. If the voltage gets down to the minimum level for holding in the coil, you can hear it buzz. A corroded terminal at the the relay can cause the coil to buzz; or more aptly, you can hear the contacts chatter. This is just one more possiblity for you to check once you determine which coil is making the noise. The first check I would do is to use a voltmeter to check the voltage at the relay terminals. Corrosion could be at the coil or at the fuse that supplies the voltage to the coil.

Oshin11

I will be taking the door panels off this weekend so maybe that will give some insight as to why my cd player/radio stops working. I will try tracing the wire to the ends. It doesnt seem like an OEM part, I am guessing it is aftermarket but I cant be sure. I'll take some photos when I get the chance.

old man neri

Make sure you lube everything while you are in there.

Oshin11

Do I use the same lube/moly grease that I used for the steering rack boots when I changed my tie rods?

old man neri

I just used white lithium grease. I, no doubt, assume it was the wrong grease to use however it was all I had at the time. Hopefully others will chime in with better advice. Think about it, it has probably been 20 years since any of those moving parts have been greased.

autobonrun

Pay particular attention if the wire goes through a metal bulkhead or over a sharp metal edge. This is frequently where the insulation gets rubbed away.

Andy_Ash

Many thanks for that.... The big problem has been *which relay*. I also suppose it's more of a ticking than a buzz, but I am with you on the thinking. As I say it doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's just at the point where you're trying to figure out where the noise came from that it stops!!!!

Edgy01

Oshin,--as others have suggested, metal fatigue is now affecting your wiring. If it has been laying over a rough spot anything could happen in 20-25 years. Need to really take a close look. I think your stereo problem is in that right door,--recall when you would slam it,--things would start to work!

mthomas44

I had a similar clicking noise coming from the same area that absolutely drove me nuts for months. I would hear the noise when I turned the steering wheel left or right. Turns out the white thermostat wire for the A/C was rubbing up against the steering column linkage in the smugglers box. Moved the wire aside - no more noise

Mark
1987 Granite Green Coupe

ron mcatee

Be sure to check any wires that have crimped connectors on them. If you find any, I suggest you get some shrink tubing, remove the crimped pieces and solder all connections and heat the shrink tubing to protect the wires. I recently found on a couple of cars I am working on that the crimps had come loose and when the wires were moved the least bit, there was an interruption of the voltage. When I soldered the connections, the problem went away.

Oshin11

One of my symptoms is exactly this, and I just opened the smuggler's box a few months ago to remove A/C equipment, I bet I this will correct one of the 3 symptoms.