Awkward rattling noise behind center console ?Aspirator fan

[ashah1991]

Hi Everyone,

New member to NSXPrime and proud owner of a 91' 5-speed LHD NSX here in the UK.

Over the past year or so there's been a worsening high-ish frequency rattling noise coming from behind the center console - still present regardless of whether or not the AC is on/off. Has no correlation to the rev count. Have also recently swapped out ABS system for new S2000 system so am fairly confident its not ABS related and am fairly confident its not the spare wheel rattling away.

Hoped to just ask if anyone has heard anything similar and if it is likely to be aspirator fan before going ahead with anything furhter?

Video:

-

- Youtube video of noise

Thanks a lot!

Ash

 

[Wild Turkey]

WELCOME to Prime! A LHD NSX in the UK!?! Cool!

Hard to tell from the video, but it sounds like the aspirator fan. @Old Guy has an early thread on it. Surprised Honda didn't wire it to shut off with the CCU. My first one just needed a good cleaning. 2nd just got noisy & I'm planning to do a video of fixing/replacing it in March.

The good news is that you can pull the console trim in 5 minutes & 24 seconds and rule it in or out:

or:

DIY: Shift Boot Change (Center Console Removal) (91-05)

In this video I'll show you how to remove and replace your 1991-05 Acura/Honda NSX Center Console. Whether you need to remove it to replace your shift boot like we did here, or you need to access your radio, climate control or shifter, there are a lot of reasons to need to know how to remove it...

www.nsxprime.com

I'd watch both if you've not done it before. Note that neither of them use the technique of a couple of credit cards under the clips when the vent comes out to protect the console trim; I'd recommend that. Also, the ashtray pops out much more easily if you just gently lift the lid (see the label on the lid that says "Push" above, in the cover picture for the first video), as opposed to pulling on the ashtray.

A lot of people have been spending a lot of time repairing/rebuilding the fan because it's $700, but it's recently been noted that a european CRV fan (80530-SCA-G21, ~$50 shipped from Japan) is compatible, so perhaps replacement is a better strategy now. Available locally in GB? As detailed in this thread, put the NSX thermistor in the CRV aspirator fan unit. (The fan is the same but the thermister is not. The actual NSX fan 80530-SL0-A01 is also available from Japan ~$160?)

Aspirator fan fix

A number of members have posted information on NSX Prime about aspirator fan noise. This was of great assistance to me in diagnosing the annoying clicking noise that had been present since I acquired my NSX. I thought I would share some observations about the aspirator fan fix which may be of...

www.nsxprime.com

Or, you can do what both previous owners of my NSX's did - just unplug it and let the next owner wonder why their climate control works so poorly.

Let us know how it works out,

 

[Old Guy]

The air inlet for the aspirator fan is that little grill on the right towards the bottom of the centre console. Crawl in on the passenger side and bend down so your right ear is near the inlet. With ignition on; but, engine off it should be pretty apparent whether the noise is originating from the fan.

There are a number of threads covering fan cleaning so I won't cover that. There are different Denso fan / motor part numbers that are identical in appearance to the NSX aspirator fan / motor; but, I believe that the temperature sensor element is unique to the NSX. So, if you elect to replace the aspirator fan assembly (with a non NSX fan) you will likely have to transplant the NSX temperature sensor element into the new fan assembly. You can confirm this by measuring the resistance of the new temperature sensor element and comparing it to the NSX sensor.

 

[Wild Turkey]

Electrical manual (60-2) says the aspirator fan is supplied by the CCU, so you could also check if pulling fuse 33 stops the noise?

 

[ashah1991]

This is really helpful - thank you very much everyone. A real breath of fresh air, i've been part of other vehicle forums which have been 'less-than-helpful/borderline aggressive' at the best of times so genuinely really appreciate the support with this.

I've gone back into the car and had ignition on/engine off and sound is 99% coming from the little vent in front of the gear lever - sounds very much like a rattling fan too without the engine noise droning it out. By chance, I'm going to be in Japan next month so will get the replacement unit (80530-SL0-A01) there and come back to do the fix.

Thanks again and will no doubt get more involved within the forum over the coming years!

 

[drew]

The CRV one is $26.50.
now $28.54 as of 2024/04/18

Honda 80530-SCA-G21 (80530SCAG21) SENSOR ASSY., IN CAR

Honda 80530-SCA-G21 (80530SCAG21) SENSOR ASSY., IN CAR. New & genuine Japanese car parts. Fast shipping. Low prices. Request a quote from Amayama Trading Co. online.

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