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really strange interior noise: not yet mentioned

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Old 12-28-2004, 11:54 PM
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I'm pretty sure this has not been mentioned, so perhaps some of the gurus out there can help.

When I am driving slowly down a smooth street, I can distinctly hear a motor whirring away somewhere around the center console. But, it modulates! It basically goes like this:

pitch up rrrrrr (2 seconds) pitch down, just up and down, up and down, up and down. just imagine a small motor, low pitch, being cranked up and down in rpm. it's about as loud as the DVD navigation spinning up when you enter and start the car.

it's the strangest noise. whenever it's quiet, it's quite distinct. it gets hidden by the engine noise at rpm, of course, but otherwise is really damn loud! and I have no idea what it could possibly be.

help! anyone here have an idea? it's a May 04 545i. it's not a real nuisance as it gets masked half the time. but the other half I think I'm going nuts!
Old 12-29-2004, 07:20 AM
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Sounds like alternator whine. This occurs when there is a poor ground in the elctrical system, so the alternator bleeds sound into the audio system.

But this is more of a problem you'd run into if you did an aftermarket stereo system. It's not common with a car that has not been modified in some way.
Old 12-29-2004, 07:53 AM
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The NAV drive does operate durring driving... also the Climate control fan adjusts speed to maintain the desired comfort level.
Old 12-29-2004, 07:57 AM
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Could it be the fan that cools the lower part of the glove box in the center console??
Old 12-30-2004, 11:25 PM
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nope, don't think it's any of those. I know the sound of fans and motors, and this just sounds weird. the pitch is pretty low, it's not correlated to climate, and seems pretty constant throughout the trip. definitely not the DVD sound because I can hear that, and also because it oscillates on such a cycle. I'll try to record it one of these days! thanks for your thoughts.
Old 12-30-2004, 11:34 PM
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My Ride: [i][b][u]Since 19 august 2004[/u][/b][/i]: [color=red][b]530i[/b] High Executive[/color], Silvergray with beige interior, Popular wood, Servotronic, Sportssuspension, electric foldable and dimmed mirrors, dimmed interior mirror, pappelmaser braun wood, cupholders, styling 123 18" wheels, Logic 7, Steptronic, alarm class 3, electric sunscreen in the rear and suncreens for sidewindows, Comfort seats, heated seats, Xenon with headlightwashers, Adaptive corner lights ALC, Advanced airconditioning, lightpackage, Nav Pro, 6 cd changer, side airbags rearseats, bluetooth siemens S55, chrome kidneys, gearlever with wood, voice recognition retrofit, front windshield with green band. Waiting for trunkopener button from Hobi :)
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I've heard it too but it only does that when my engine is cold (so for the first 10 minutes of my drive)
Old 12-30-2004, 11:41 PM
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I think its the Climate Control. Heard it when I first got the car. Think I checked on the forum here and it was due to the Climate Control. I believe the sound occurred in the E39 5 series too, can't confirm this as I never owned a 5 series before now. I had 2 E46s and never experienced that noise though.
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