Hi,

Whenever I turn on my fan, I hear a whirring noise from the engine bay. It sounds like it's coming from where the belts are on the passenger's side. I don't think it's actually the fans making the noise. Any idea what this could be?

Thanks,
Matt

 

Is it whenever you turn on the fan? Like heat or cool? Is it just when you turn on the A/C?

 

Yeah, the A/C or defroster triggers the noise.

 

i know people describe noises differently but is it a ticking sound? you say its coming from around the area of the belts and im wondering if possibly the tensioner pulley is shot. i had my unorthodox pulley put on and shortly after i heard a ticking when the a/c was turned on. turned out my tensioner was shot, the bearings let loose and you could see the grease coming out of the pulley. the ticking came from the compressor putting additional stress on the pulley.

 

When you use either the defroster or A/C it turns on the A/C unit. I have an intake and whenever I turn either one on I hear it start up and it makes my intake hiss louder and my car buzz just a little bit louder. I wouldnt really worry about it because most cars are like this anyway. If its just a little louder than normal it's probably nothing, but if its making a bad noise then I would have it looked at. If you have an intake open your hood with no stereo on and turn on your A/C or defroster and you'll see what I mean.