Solution: Blower Fan noise, dash vibration and MICE

[MrZuiko]

Hi folks. 

 

I had some very loud blower fan and dash vibration symptoms similar to those reported by others. I had to employ a the multi-step fix, and thought others may benefit from this info. 

 

2018 TC XLT fan became super loud on 3 and 4 - with a thrumming vibration that shook the whole dash.

• I opened the cabin air filter and found a mouse nest. (See below) Cleaned it out and replaced the filter.
• Vibration continued.
• Opened the cabin air filter for the second time and found more material. Cleaned it out and replaced the filter. 
• Vibration continued.
• Opened the cabin air filter for the third time - no more material.  I  checked a few times for more debris - none to be found. 

 

I suspected that the squirrel cage blower was plugged. I checked around the forum and found out how to get at the blower. Just above the cabin air filter is a plastic 'cage'.  Using a small nozzle on the end of a vacuum hose, I was able to extract all of the debris from the blower. (See below)

 

Shown below: Air cabin filter clog, attachment for vacuum, 10% of what I pulled out of the blower, view of how to access the blower with a vacuum nozzle.

Process not shown: Removing the glove box.  This can be found elsewhere on the forum.

Tools and supplies required: Cabin air filter, trim removal tools, flashlight, vacuum, small nozzle attachment (I picked mine up years ago - no name on it) 

Final step in the process: Take a shower.

 

No more noise! 

 

I would welcome advice on how to tackle the potential future mouse residency problem...

Edited December 5, 2020 by MrZuiko
Found solution

[JackGrimshaw]

At a service last month(2016 LWB),the tech noticed rodent damage to my cabin filter so I did an "exploratory" to find the rodent path.There was a previous post by another member who had the same issue.

Carefully remove wiper arms(I had to buy a puller) marking shaft and location.

Remove plastic piece with intake vents.

 

Remove lower plastic piece.Cabin intake door(open) is seen on the firewall top center.

Now here is where Ford has screwed up.Certain combinations of heater controls and cabin air recirculation button will leave the intake door open when key is turned off. Pictures 2 and 3,opened and closed.

 

To be continued:

[JackGrimshaw]

 

I folded a piece of 1/2 in hardware cloth and with creative folding managed to create a shape that remained in place.Note the double fold.

Make sure any screen does not impact door operation.

 

With these 2 cowl pieces removed I vacuumed loads of maple seeds and rodent stashed acorns from this area.There are a few drainage channels above wheel wells that are easily blocked.

 

I would recommend all TC owners to periodically check your cabin air filter.There are many horror stories on the net of plugged filters,burnt out fans,macerated mice,mouse feces and persistent bad odors.

If your TC is still under warrantee and the filter is damaged ,go to the dealer and BITCH!  

There should be a software fix to solve this open door.

[desert_connect]

Sorry to hear. Been there done that while camping in the summer of 2018. And guess where the mice got the nest material, Ford installed it 3' away for their convenience and then gave them a path to the inside the van. 

 

 

[jrm223]

On 12/6/2020 at 8:38 AM, JackGrimshaw said:

 

Carefully remove wiper arms(I had to buy a puller) marking shaft and location.

 

 

A puller isn't actually needed. Lift the long part of the wiper arm up 90°, so it's sticking up in the air, then gently rock the mount back and forth while pulling up. The spring tension when the arm is laid on the glass makes it nearly impossible to pull the arms off by hand, but when the arms are sticking up into the air, there's no tension to hold the wiper arms onto the shafts and they come off easily. Figured that one out when I had to replace the front struts last summer, lol. 

[clb3092]

The mice thing really isn't just a TC problem. Yeah, I had it happen to my 2017 TC this previous fall. Mice crawled up in the vent and wrecked havoc. But! It also happened to my 2008 Toyota Highlander, my 2021 Toyota RAV 4 and to my sister's new VW crossover. The worst was actually the RAV 4. A family of mice had crawled into the RAV 4 and died. It smelled really bad. All this happened just this last fall after the first frost of the year. I guess the mice all decided that it was time to move inside. By the time I was aware of the problem it had happened to all four cars. 

 

My cat is fired...

[BlaineBug]

My Father's 2014 Transit Connect developed the vibration when the blower motor fan is on speed 3 or 4.  Yesterday I finally had a chance to rectify the issue.  I removed the glove box and turned the blower fan on with recirculation on which opens the recirculation door and allows easy access to the blower fan blades without removing the blower motor itself.  If you turn the car OFF the blower fan will turn off and the recirculation door will remain open until the next key start.  I didn't use a vacuum cleaner but used a flexible grabber for grabbing dropped bolts and such and pulled out a variety of small pieces of foam.  I also found a small mount of these under the hood.  I am not sure if it was from birds or mice.  This is NOT the insulation from the front wheel well liners, so I am not sure what it is from.  My question is, how does this get by the cabin filter?  I just replaced his cabin filter a few months ago in September and replace it annually.  Wouldn't any foreign debris introduced from the outside get stuck on the cabin filter before reaching the blower fan wheel?

[mrtn]

Sometimes this foam rips and detaches (base image from moreysintransit youtube channel)

 

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by mrtn

[BlaineBug]

4 hours ago, mrtn said:

Sometimes this foam rips and detaches (base image from moreysintransit youtube channel)

 

 

I thought of this foam too but it's too small.  These chunks in the blower fan wheel were larger, and also different colors too.  And I found some under the hood too, just a very tiny amount but it looked to be the same stuff.  Broken up chunks of similar size.

[BlaineBug]

On 12/24/2022 at 3:10 AM, mrtn said:

Sometimes this foam rips and detaches (base image from moreysintransit youtube channel)

 

 

Your cabin filter appears to install in a totally different orientation than my Father's 2014 which installs in a vertical installation (or perhaps your TC is a pre-2014 model?)  I did find the source of this FOAM though, there are 2 black bags which are stuffed with miscellaneous pieces of foam of different sizes and colors in each of the front fenders, closer to the doors, in-between the door hinges and the wheel wells.  I ripped them out and removed them from his van and noticed the black bag on the driver's side did have a hole in it allowing foam to escape.  I'm not sure how the foam is making its way into the air intake ducting from the fenders though?  These black bags filled with foam must be there for some sort of sound insulating purpose and are slightly adhered to the inside of the fenders, so you will likely tear the black bags if you so choose to remove them.  For the last year or so his HVAC blower motor blades have been catching a few pieces of foam causing a vibration when set to the highest fan speed.  I have changed the cabin filter at least 2 times thus far since reading this thread and have pulled out foam each and every time.  Maybe this problem will stop now, unless there are residual left over foam pieces still inside of the ductwork somewhere!  Also it appears that the cabin filter is in-between the blower fan and the evaporator, so any exterior debris can still get caught in the fan blades before they reach the cabin filter.  It would be nice to filter before the fan blades but I suppose they couldn't find the room in the vehicle to do that and had to put the cabin filter where it is.  Luckily the vehicle's HVAC system can be set to recirculate, turned off, and the recirculation door will remain open so that the debris can be pulled out easily enough with an extendable reach grabbing tool with the glovebox removed from the dashboard.

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by BlaineBug

[mrtn]

8 hours ago, BlaineBug said:

Your cabin filter appears to install in a totally different orientation than my Father's 2014 which installs in a vertical installation (or perhaps your TC is a pre-2014 model?)

No that's just a random image to illustrate what I'm talking about.

[BlaineBug]

1 hour ago, mrtn said:

No that's just a random image to illustrate what I'm talking about.

I gotcha.  The opening for that glove box door almost looks reminiscent of the 2013 Transit Connect, I could be wrong as it has been awhile since I've seen them.

[BlaineBug]

https://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/8303-what-is-this-bag-of-absorbent/?_fromLogin=1

 

These are the foam filled blag bags!