E46 noisy fan

[Speed addicted]

My E46 330ci interior fan whistles annoyingly at low to medium fan speeds, it has to be at least half way up before it goes reasonably quiet.

Other than the noise the fan/aircon works fine. There is a slight noise as the car starts that I'm assuming is the vents opening.

I've read that when the hedgehog resistor fails one of the symptoms may be that the fan gets noisy, could this be a culprit?
Or any other ideas how I can fix this? I can't just keep turning up the radio....

[phelix]

A failed hedgehog means the fan speed is wonky and no longer under the direct control of the climate system. Whistling makes me think there's an issue with the ducts/flaps? My fan squeals a bit when it's very cold but quiets down within a minute or two.

[Speed addicted]

The whistling isint constant, it goes away with higher fan speeds, which is why I was thinking it would be an electrical issue.

So it's probably not the hedgehog as the fan speeds are fine, how hard do you think it would be to get to the blower motor/flaps etc?

[carlosvalderrama]

I had an E34 525i that did the same thing. I spent ages thinking 'I'll sort it out next time I look inside' until one day I got a bit frustrated in traffic and smacked the top of the dash above the vents with the ball of my hand hard enough that it bruised and was sore for a good long time. It instantly shut up and never started again. I assumed it was a bit of crap on one of the fan axles or something which I knocked loose.

Worth a go but wear some gloves or something...

[Speed addicted]

Hmmmmm....

Worth a try I suppose!

[5 wh]

carlosvalderrama said:

I had an E34 525i that did the same thing. I spent ages thinking 'I'll sort it out next time I look inside' until one day I got a bit frustrated in traffic and smacked the top of the dash above the vents with the ball of my hand hard enough that it bruised and was sore for a good long time. It instantly shut up and never started again. I assumed it was a bit of crap on one of the fan axles or something which I knocked loose.

Worth a go but wear some gloves or something...

Thats similar to the method I use to fix dash related problems-clench hand into a fist and bring it down as hard as you can on the dash top.Ive fixed rattles,dodgy gagues,air con problems,intermittent radio reception problems and much more...

I tried it in an old Alfa Romeo one time though and some of the needles on the instruments fell off!!