What would you do to find a rattle?
04-28-2003, 10:40 AM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
What would you do to find a rattle?
For the past week I had this mind boggling rattle that drove me nuts! It sounded like a ball bearing that was loose in a metal tray. When I would accelorate it would roll. When I would brake it would roll. Hard corners it would roll. It absolutely sounded like metal on metal. This narrowed down things like stuff in the glove box, junk in the trunk, etc.
I thought the sound eminated from somewhere behind me or below the seats or console so I forced my wife to lay prone in the backseats, her feet hanging out the passenger window listening, while I drove chicanes in the neighborhoods reinacting the noise. She was not happy but carried on just shy of vomiting.
Finally, I removed the seat in my C4S and inserted a small stool in its place. We went out for another test drive. We switched places this time, my wife incredibly agreeing to drive the "bench" seat. With the help of an automotive stethascope I narrowed the rolling metallic noise to a ECU boxed area and a captive frame member below where the seat bolts in.
After returning to the garage and much more experimenting and searching we deduced that the nose came from a closed frame member directly below the ECU box under the seat. I drilled a 1/4 hole in the frame member and used magnets to no avail and finally used sticky grease on a wire and tiny long surgical tweezers to pull a fuse out of the hole I drilled. It seems that this fuse must have, at some point, fallen through the threaded bolt hole that holds the ECU to the floorboard. (on top of this frame member)That's the only explanation I can think of. Or it was put there by some German as a bad joke and finally got dislodged!
<img src="http://www.fototime.com/422942388D8A1EA/standard." alt=" - " />
The ECU is on the far left.
<img src="http://www.fototime.com/4A0182056EB4BA3/standard." alt=" - " />
Finally I have the hole plugged. Boy was it hard getting the fuse to come through that tiny hole! I ended up using compressed air to keep blowing in around until in rolled in the right spot and then grabbed it with sticky grease and stood it on end and pulled it out with tiny tweezers!
<img src="http://www.fototime.com/86782B8D990A51E/standard.jpg" alt=" - " />
I thought the sound eminated from somewhere behind me or below the seats or console so I forced my wife to lay prone in the backseats, her feet hanging out the passenger window listening, while I drove chicanes in the neighborhoods reinacting the noise. She was not happy but carried on just shy of vomiting.
Finally, I removed the seat in my C4S and inserted a small stool in its place. We went out for another test drive. We switched places this time, my wife incredibly agreeing to drive the "bench" seat. With the help of an automotive stethascope I narrowed the rolling metallic noise to a ECU boxed area and a captive frame member below where the seat bolts in.
After returning to the garage and much more experimenting and searching we deduced that the nose came from a closed frame member directly below the ECU box under the seat. I drilled a 1/4 hole in the frame member and used magnets to no avail and finally used sticky grease on a wire and tiny long surgical tweezers to pull a fuse out of the hole I drilled. It seems that this fuse must have, at some point, fallen through the threaded bolt hole that holds the ECU to the floorboard. (on top of this frame member)That's the only explanation I can think of. Or it was put there by some German as a bad joke and finally got dislodged!
<img src="http://www.fototime.com/422942388D8A1EA/standard." alt=" - " />
The ECU is on the far left.
<img src="http://www.fototime.com/4A0182056EB4BA3/standard." alt=" - " />
Finally I have the hole plugged. Boy was it hard getting the fuse to come through that tiny hole! I ended up using compressed air to keep blowing in around until in rolled in the right spot and then grabbed it with sticky grease and stood it on end and pulled it out with tiny tweezers!
<img src="http://www.fototime.com/86782B8D990A51E/standard.jpg" alt=" - " />
04-28-2003, 11:29 AM
#3
Rennlist Member
Brad - THAT is an incredible story of successful persistence! Very impressive. I'm sorry for your hassle but it your tale was kind of funny.
Reminds me of an urban myth/story I heard about Brian Bosworth. While in college, he used to work on the production line in Detroit. Being the wonderful human being that he was and wanting to shore up the public perception of American product quality, he would tie a bolt onto a door panel so that it would whack the innards while an owner was driving. To further the merriment, he would leave a note that said, "Glad you found me!" or something to that effect.
Charming.
Reminds me of an urban myth/story I heard about Brian Bosworth. While in college, he used to work on the production line in Detroit. Being the wonderful human being that he was and wanting to shore up the public perception of American product quality, he would tie a bolt onto a door panel so that it would whack the innards while an owner was driving. To further the merriment, he would leave a note that said, "Glad you found me!" or something to that effect.
Charming.
04-28-2003, 12:03 PM
#4
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Similar thing happened to me recently - it was a blue M&M which had got stuck in the seat runner. Weather isn't hot enough here to have melted it, so had to get the seat out to remove it!
04-28-2003, 12:22 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
my car had a terrible metallic 'clunk' occasionally, when making a hard corner. the sound would come and go. I finally narrowed it down to the interior of the car, driver's side. it turned out to be a combination padlock that had been lost by the PO. sliding and banging between the seat rails. sometime it would get lodged and the sound would go away for a week or two, only to come back on a quick turn. max
04-28-2003, 12:54 PM
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Hi smull nayle
Sounz lyk u hud a reelie hurd tyme a findin dat irritatin noyze. Itz a gud thin yur wif hepped u lyk she dun cuz it wood a bin hurd ta du all dat lissenin wit da stetascoop an dryve da car wit yur feet out da winda awl da while sittin on a small turd.
Ole JimBob wunse had a noyze nur da bak a my car butt onlie wen I wen arond rite turnz. Soes I did lyke wut u did an had Shirleen run next ta da car whyle I droev in a rite sercul. Butt we nebber did find da noyze caus she dun gut her foot run obber an den cuddint run no more. I hadda bye Shirleen a possum hat ta make up fur it. I noes u mus bee reel pleesed dat yur wif did wut she did fur u so wut did u bye fur yur wif ta thank hur?
yur fren
JimBob
Sounz lyk u hud a reelie hurd tyme a findin dat irritatin noyze. Itz a gud thin yur wif hepped u lyk she dun cuz it wood a bin hurd ta du all dat lissenin wit da stetascoop an dryve da car wit yur feet out da winda awl da while sittin on a small turd.
Ole JimBob wunse had a noyze nur da bak a my car butt onlie wen I wen arond rite turnz. Soes I did lyke wut u did an had Shirleen run next ta da car whyle I droev in a rite sercul. Butt we nebber did find da noyze caus she dun gut her foot run obber an den cuddint run no more. I hadda bye Shirleen a possum hat ta make up fur it. I noes u mus bee reel pleesed dat yur wif did wut she did fur u so wut did u bye fur yur wif ta thank hur?
yur fren
JimBob
