Fan Noise solution with pix

[skyguy]

My fan that draws air over the temp sensor, (located in front of handbrake) was making a clicking/buzzing sound and I was directed to the FAQ's under "what's that noise."

I tried compressed air and it helped a little but the noise was still there. I removed the center consol to get at the little bugger and unplugged it and took the two mounting screws off. Now I had it in my hands for inspection. I removed the two small screws holding the unit together and pulled the fan out of the housing, (see pix.)

I discovered a little ball of lint/crud on one of the fan spindles and that was causing some rotation/balance problems. (the housing and fan were free of crud). I carefully cleaned the fan spindles and with a toothpick applied some honda high temp greese. I reassembled the unit, plugged it back in, (prior to reinstalling the consol) and turned the key on.

The unit was now ultra quiet, problem solved. I hope this helps anyone with the same buzzing noise coming from the center consol. *Do try the compressed air trick first!

Regards,

skyguy

Complete assy.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Very helpful post - I've been putting off getting into mine and need to undertake this. The pictures are always a huge asset when a "fix" is reported!

 

[drew]

Some more hints:
I used a utility knife style razor blade to seperate the push on fastener washer thingies. Be patient when removing them.

Q-tips are nice to have. I used a small amount of moly grease.

The fan blade tension against the spindle is adjustable and has a lock nut. I ended up plugging just the fan in the car, turning the key on and adjusting it. I got it perfect after a few tries: completely silent and full speed..so much that I needed a flashlight to make fan blades were spinning. Then install it into the console.

Keep the windows open at night to let the fresh grease smell disipate.

A more detailed DIY, with close up pics, is located here:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16555

 

[hlweyl]

I did the same thing last year, that is, disassembled/cleaned/lubed and still very quiet now. To make sure I had the right tension before reinstalling, I just blew into the fan and it turned nicely. Too much tension on the screws and it will not turn.

 

[Cairo94507]

Yeah terrific post. This is why I love this forum. Not only do we benefit from the experience of other owners, we get step by step pictures and directions. I could probably do this myself. Thanks for the great, educational posting.

 

[mc-ca]

I did the same fix about 6 months ago. The buzzing started back up in about 4 months. My theory is that the push on washers/fasteners only work one time - at the factory. Once you pry them apart, they don't go back on strong enough and the assembly loosens up and starts buzzing.

Another fix is to just pull out the fan and leave in the temp sensor. It obviously quiets it down but I did not like the temperature miss-tracking. On a hot day the AC over shoots as the temp sensor cools much slower than you do.

I've given up and bought a new asperator fan assembly. It was $307 list and $230 with NSXCA discount (at Marin Acura).

 

[skyguy]

thanks for the great comments on this post. "We are all in this together."

The offending piece-o-crud/lint that was at the spindle base is pictured here for your amusment.

Skyguy

 

[Wild Turkey]

Resurrection! Another invaluable thread, 18 years later. Is your aspirator fan noisy? My aspirator fan was whisper quiet when I first bought my NSX. But when I reassembled everything after installing a GROM this winter, the sampling fan was making a racket. It was quiet because a previous owner solved his noisy fan problem by unplugging it. No way very much air could get to the thermistor.

Absolutely stuffed with 27 years of crud, about an order of magnitude greater than the pic above, but easily cleaned out with disassembly. Thanks for the clear pics for instruction. Based on what I found, external compressed air would be suboptimal. It would just drive the crud further into the fan assembly and block the blades - the clearance between the blades and the housing is very small. (It would be quiet though, especially after it burned out the stalled motor...) I used rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip to clean some greasy fuzz from th centrifugal fan blades.

(Also at: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/16555-How-to-FIX-your-Ambient-Temp-Fan-(Dash-Noise)?s=)

 

[Old Guy]

When I purchased my car in 2011 it came equipped with the tick-tick-tick from the aspirator fan. Removal and clean-up fixed that and it has remained silent ever since (or stopped working?). When I cleaned mine up, the interior and blades were coated with a slightly gooey film which was great for collecting fuzz. Compressed air would definitely not be effective as a cleaning solution. I think I ended up using a solvent for cleaning electrical contacts because it was plastic friendly. Based upon the goo film in the aspirator I think some previous owner had gone overboard spraying something like Amour All over everything in sight.

 

[warrenw]

Nice, 18 years ago. Original post on NSXPrime.com never die, unlike trying to find something on Facebook. Also https://www.nsxclub.co.uk/ has a Kaz writeup. More detailed with adjustment.

 

[Onsoku]

This link works: https://www.nsxprime.com/threads/how-to-fix-your-ambient-temp-fan-dash-noise.16555/

 

[Wild Turkey]

This is another link, including a CRV fan you can use for 1/10 the price, if you just want to pop in a new fan.

Awkward rattling noise behind center console ?Aspirator fan

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...

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