Car geeks help me: what is making this noise in my car?

[sonofsanta]

So about a week ago my car started making this noise through the speakers. I'll be driving along fine, then my stero system will flash up CD PLAYER ERROR (or sometimes USB ERROR) and that sound will start to build. Sometimes it then cuts out (completely and immediately) of its own accord, but other times it keeps going for minutes at a time, even if I pull over, kill the engine, get out the car and lock it. The only way I've been able to stop it and prevent myself going insane is to pull the fuse out behind the glovebox and kill the audio system entirely (specifically fuse 20 from page 120 of the manual).

 

I've tried reinserting the fuse in the hopes that running without it would have reset it, but no joy; within ten minutes this morning it was building again. It's loud; louder than I'd play music, normally, perhaps a handdryer level of volume.

 

All I can think is that there's a wire behind the stereo unit or clock display that's gone funny somehow, and isn't grounded, but that'll be an effort to pull out and look at and I don't really have a clue what I'm doing, so I wondered if anyone else had any ideas before I accidentally damage my car or lock my stereo!

[Dos_Box]

I'm tempted to say your car is possessed by the souls of the dammed.

A couple of questions, what car is it, how old is it and how long have you had it?

It could be moisture ingress. My Android head unit has a moisture sensor, so at this time of year won't fire up until he car is warm, just wondering whether it could be a moisture related issue.

[sonofsanta]

I'm tempted to say your car is possessed by the souls of the dammed.

A couple of questions, what car is it, how old is it and how long have you had it?

It could be moisture ingress. My Android head unit has a moisture sensor, so at this time of year won't fire up until he car is warm, just wondering whether it could be a moisture related issue.

 

 

D'oh! Knew I missed something off. 2012 plate Ford Fiesta, 1.6 diesel (the Econetic one). Had it since September, so about 6-7000 miles at this point, and it's only recently started. Standard stereo system, nothing aftermarket. This'll happen after an hour's driving with the heater on as well, so I don't think it's cold/moisture

[Dos_Box]

Could be a similar problem to this. Solder or component gone bad possibly.

 

[sonofsanta]

Could be a similar problem to this. Solder or component gone bad possibly.

 

 

 

He says in the description that he ended up buying another stereo, but others in the comments say it worked still, so I might give it a go. I mean, my IT instinct is just to try reseating all the cables anyway, gotta be worth a pop (and if nothing else it's shown me how to pull it all out, was worrying I'd have to work from the passenger footwell)

 

Bit concerned at all the people saying it was a flaw with the 2012-13 stereos. Certainly my 2010 Fiesta never had any trouble before it was written off, but this model has the USB input too so it is a different stereo

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Definitely possessed!

 

Replace the car!

[bald_pig]

Definitely possessed!

 

Replace the car!

 

Agreed! I'll save you the guilt of trying to get rid of a possessed vehicle by taking it off your hands, I'll even help you out by not charging for the exorcism!

[sonofsanta]

If any of y'all are willing to fund the replacement I am more than happy to, but otherwise I'm lumped with it!

[sted]

If any of y'all are willing to fund the replacement I am more than happy to, but otherwise I'm lumped with it!

and with those stereos unless you want to upgrade to the ford "sony" one its going to be a pita as its iirc canbus connected so replacing it with aftermarket isnt a simple affair.

 

if i had to guess its inadequately shielded/damaged/part unplugged wiring and its picking up noise from somewhere. does it alter with revs? is it from a specific speaker? my mk6.5 fiesta did something similar from time to time but "tapping" the centre speaker fixed it lol)

[sonofsanta]

and with those stereos unless you want to upgrade to the ford "sony" one its going to be a pita as its iirc canbus connected so replacing it with aftermarket isnt a simple affair.

 

if i had to guess its inadequately shielded/damaged/part unplugged wiring and its picking up noise from somewhere. does it alter with revs? is it from a specific speaker? my mk6.5 fiesta did something similar from time to time but "tapping" the centre speaker fixed it lol)

 

 

Not connected to revs, no--I get that sort of whine sometimes if I have my phone on charge and connected to Aux, so I know what you mean--and as best I can tell is from every speaker, though as it's white noise it's pretty hard to tell directionality (is that a word? I've decided it's a word). I was thinking it might be some shielding or something, but going to have to pull the whole bloody thing out to check that :/

[PyROm]

It could be something completely random has lost its suppression capacitor, eg. radiator fan, power steering, air con etc. Do you get it when the engine is turned off? what about if you turn the aircon and blowers off?

[bald_pig]

It could be something completely random has lost its suppression capacitor, eg. radiator fan, power steering, air con etc. Do you get it when the engine is turned off? what about if you turn the aircon and blowers off?

 

From the OP:

other times it keeps going for minutes at a time, even if I pull over, kill the engine, get out the car and lock it.

[PyROm]

I re-read first post, before posting, and somehow managed to completely miss that.

[sonofsanta]

I re-read first post, before posting, and somehow managed to completely miss that.

 

 

I have only heard it start while the engine has been running, FWIW, though admittedly that may be because I don't tend to sit around in my car in silence going nowhere!

[PyROm]

Maybe noise from radiator fan (radiator fans carry on running to cool engine even after car has been turned off)? does it only start when car is up to temperature?

[sonofsanta]

Maybe noise from radiator fan (radiator fans carry on running to cool engine even after car has been turned off)? does it only start when car is up to temperature?

 

 

Seems like it can be pretty much immediate, and it's always after flashing CD PLAYER ERROR. Definitely a speaker sound too, not a fan sound (though could the fans be inducing interference if there's some sketchy wiring going on?)

[bald_pig]

As a guess, I imagine that there's some voltage regulation going on in the cd player, and that's where the fault lies imo.

[sonofsanta]

As a guess, I imagine that there's some voltage regulation going on in the cd player, and that's where the fault lies imo.

 

 

tbh I don't use the CD player--just the USB port and the line in. Is there a way I could disconnect the CD player specifically? Happy to live without that if it means living without the noise!

[bald_pig]

tbh I don't use the CD player--just the USB port and the line in. Is there a way I could disconnect the CD player specifically? Happy to live without that if it means living without the noise!

 

Not too sure, it could be shared power for a number of things, you said that sometimes it shows a USB error as well?

 

I'd probably try the trick that was shown in the video, but I'd probably leave it unplugged for about half an hour in case there's a capacitor not draining properly or something along those lines.

 

I think that those units are connected to the canbus, so it may report errors to the ECU to be checked via OBD, that might be worth checking.

[MYK-IT]

Perhaps you disabled the 1.6l diesel option, and enabled V8 mode!

 

[sonofsanta]

Update! Spent a bit of time over the holidays trying different things. Untwisting and reseating the cables didn't make any difference, nor did disconnecting the aerial cable. But! The stereo box itself is pretty easy to get into (once you make the effort to go and buy the correct size Torx screwdriver, anyway) and then the CD player is connected via a simple ribbon cable that you can just tease out, not even any clips involved or anything. Since then I've gone 5 consecutive commutes without any weird noises at all--it still says CD PLAYER ERROR when I turn the car on, but I'd expect that now as I've deliberately broken it--so I'm feeling pretty optimistic at this point that it's sorted. I've not yet been brave enough to screw the dashboard back together completely, mind you--my god, getting that plastic fascia off is a nightmare... I only ever managed 4 of the 6 clips and just lived with having to squeeze my screwdriver into the gap!

 

Cheers all

[bald_pig]

Now that you've isolated the issue, bring the box to BETT for everyone to poke

[noelmm]

If the problem doesn't occur again o you know anyone with the ford diagnostic software that could possibly see if the CD player can be coded out in the car configuration settings (assuming this is possible)? I know it's a little thing but my OCD would hate seeing an error every time I start the car.

[sonofsanta]

Now that you've isolated the issue, bring the box to BETT for everyone to poke

 

 

It's back in the car now! Just with one little internal cable disconnected

If the problem doesn't occur again o you know anyone with the ford diagnostic software that could possibly see if the CD player can be coded out in the car configuration settings (assuming this is possible)? I know it's a little thing but my OCD would hate seeing an error every time I start the car.

 

 

I don't think I do, but honestly I can live with it--it's an exciting race each morning to see if the CD PLAYER ERROR or OIL CHANGE NEXT SERVICE warning comes up first!

 

(I have checked my oil, it is fine, the service is due in the next month anyway, I promise I'm not ignoring the important message...)