Tried searching on this because I think it's come up before.. but couldn't come up with anything. Anyway, just got my 99 355F1 B.. Every once in a while it makes a weird popping/clunking noise that seems to come from somewhere behind the dash. It sounds a lot like a bag of popcorn that's almost done popping (loud pops spaced about 2-3 seconds apart). It seems like cranking up the fan to level 4 for a few seconds makes it go away, but it sometimes comes back a few minutes later. It doesn't sound like something that should be happening.. any idea what it could be? -R
Open your hood and then have a look under the trunk lining. Look on the left side of the car. What you are looking at is the condition of the fuses that are on the side of the air blower. Those have been know to go bad. The problem is that as the fan gets older it tends to draw more current. As it does this it over works the fuse. There is a way to fix it, by putting a bigger fuse, one used in the stereo world, in it's place. Also, the "clunking" you are hearing could be the air flow director moving. You may also want to have a look at you connection behing the air control unit, to make sure that things are plugged in properly.
It could be the Circus Midget... Doody... :O Or as Ernie mentioned - most likely it is the Air Flow Valve opening and Closing... Makes kind of a hollow popping noise. Sometimes they get a little tight and when it closes - it will stick a little and when it does close it will make a popping noise when it does finally close. Just open the boot - just below the windshield is a box in the middle. The flow Valve is on the passenger side - take a little silicone and spray a little in there to see if that helps a bit. You can also take the unit out - make sure that the motor is does not have issues, etc. I would think it wouldn't be the fuses - the only popping you would here (I think) would be if they are blowing out... If they are popping - you have a bigger electrical issue. I only say this - with my old 1960's F-cars - when a fuse went - it would pop - but you only usally here it once - since it is pretty much dead after that... Unless the fuses are blowing one by one.. And again this is bad. Try to look at the blower unit first and let us know what you see! Rich
Thanks guys! I had circus midgets in my last car but sold them to the porn industry. They should leave me alone for now... The air handler issue sounds like the likely culprit, as the sound comes from directly behind the stereo/gauge cluster in the center of the dash, and goes away when any changes are made to the fan speed or vent selection (appropriately enough, the big STOP button in the center console seems to make it stop too). I'll pop the thing out and take a look at it. It doesn't seem like a big problem, although it was a bit embarassing taking someone for a ride while the damn thing made popcorn popping sounds -R
