Annoying Whistle Solved! Not what I Initially Thought…

[LeftCoastOverland]

For weeks I’ve been plagued by a whistle / high pitch whine coming from what I thought was the HVAC system like so many here have experienced.

So, while driving I’ve attempted to diagnose the issue. I’ve listened intently while shifting every HVAC knob and button into every conceivable configuration on the console trying to see if anything made a difference. Weeks of dealing with the annoying sound, and still no solution. Until now…

I noticed the whine continued after key/engine off, but would immediately cease upon opening the driver door to exit. Simultaneously the radio and infotainment screen also shut down. This lead me to believe it was an electrical gremlin (of which time in the last two days I got a phantom check engine light)

So, I kept the ignition on, and opened the passenger door and held my ear close to the speaker, and sure enough the whine (not a whistle) was indeed an electrical interference coming from my stereo.

My solution was to unplug my phone charger/magnetic dash mount which has completely remedied the solution.

And the Check Engine light subsequently extinguished as well. Win win.

The cable has been plugged into the center console USBC port, and runs to a unit like this: http://Wireless Charger

Server Busy

Sadly the unit has worked great otherwise, and even over rough terrain the magnet holds. I’m glad to have figured it out though, and will have to come up with a new solution for phone mount/charge. Hopefully this can help others dealing with undiagnosed sounds.

 

[Rok_Dr]

Well done. I’ve had a few rattles which after a bit of effort have been found to be due to stuff under a seat.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Snipewench]

I've seen the USB phone charger interference thing happen in other vehicles too. You could try using a magnetic choke around the charge cable (try putting one on at both ends of the cable) and see if that works.

My phone holder is attached to the windscreen, and is wireless, with the charger cable running into the centre console USB port. That's another option to try - see whether it's just positional.

 

[parb]

I am certain that it wasn't the cable emitting RF but the wireless charger.
Next time check to see if it's certified. There is much junk out there that isn't certified that tends to radiate in frequency spectrums they have no business being in.

The grenadiers power system isn't the cleanest either, I had to put on a filter on my the power from my radio to remove some harmonic distortion prevalent in the 1-2khz spectrum. That's not very uncommon in cars and good filters are cheap.

 

[LeftCoastOverland]

I am certain that it wasn't the cable emitting RF but the wireless charger.
Next time check to see if it's certified. There is much junk out there that isn't certified that tends to radiate in frequency spectrums they have no business being in.

The grenadiers power system isn't the cleanest either, I had to put on a filter on my the power from my radio to remove some harmonic distortion prevalent in the 1-2khz spectrum. That's not very uncommon in cars and good filters are cheap.

Yeah, Amazon special not likely certified. Haha.
Plugging the cable into the phone direct works fine.