Crackling noise behind scuttle panel/cowl trim

mjt · 1 Apr 2019 at 21:45

Here's a weird one.
My parents' Mk6 Golf GTI has developed a crackling noise behind the scuttle panel trim on the left.
If I disconnect the battery, the noise stops. If I connect it again, the crackling starts immediately.

This appears to be where the cable from the windscreen washer nozzles meets something else.

Any ideas? Is this a fire waiting to happen?

(courtesy of YouTube)

mjt · 2 Apr 2019 at 08:14

Howard said:
Have you taken the plastic trim off to get in closer / poke around?

Could you do that and then get a video?

Unfortunately not. I’ve done my shoulder in and cant faff with that now. That’s what I would’ve done but i guess I’ll just take it to the local specialist.

mjt · 2 Apr 2019 at 10:06

azibux1 said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mUbYVS3uEc

I had no idea the car had that, but it's not coming from there. It's coming from the corner where the wires meet. Interesting nonetheless!

mjt · 2 Apr 2019 at 11:19

Terminal_Boy said:
This! If there isn’t a pollen filter fitted correctly in the way, a piece of leaf stuck in the fan or even rustling in the airflow sounds just like sparking/arcing.

What airflow? The car is sitting in the garage with the key out of the ignition.

If I disconnect the battery, the noise stops. As soon as I connect the negative terminal, it starts again. I'll take it to the garage in a minute and they can deal with it.

mjt · 2 Apr 2019 at 23:02

ron3003 said:
Mice?

Martens chewed through some cables on their BMW that was parked outside, but no mice inside!

Honestly, the sound went away when I reconnected the battery this afternoon. Dash lit up like a Christmas tree as well, throwing all sorts of errors but that cleared after a short drive.
I honestly had no idea about that Soundaktor. Explains a lot as I always thought it sounded a bit weird!
If it comes back, I'll have a look under the cowling. Thx @azibux1

mjt · 3 Apr 2019 at 19:25

jpaul said:
the noise wasn't the Soundaktor though ... unless its broken, or provides cooling down noises ? and presumably they had heard it multiple times.

The first time they heard it was the other night when they went into the garage for something. They hadn't heard it before, and it appears to have gone. Weird.

mjt · 24 Feb 2024 at 08:28

Rustychain said:
Turns out it was the alarm horn crackling away. Seems to be a common issue.

@Rustychain is that what it was? It went away by itself in this case. Good to know what it was though

Is there a definite fix other than replacing the alarm horn?