Whurring noise under the hood when car is off

[Mailorder]

'94 Q45. I noticed that my car was making a whurring noise under the hood with the ignition was off. It was 2AM, so I didn't have time to investigate further. When I woke up in the morning, the noise was gone - and so was my car battery. I bought a new battery and the moment I connect it back to the car, the whurring noise returns. As of now, I've kept the battery disconnected.

The whurring noise comes from the top-left area, the area just above where my battery sits. I'm not sure what it could be when the car isn't even started - maybe there's an electronics issue? Let me know what info I need to provide and I'll do my best

Thanks!

EDIT: Problem solved... on its own, somehow
Modified by Mailorder at 11:50 PM 6/8/2008

[qship96]

stuck abs relay,unplug it til you replace it

[bigdog76]

Yes the same thing happend on my car and it drained the battery

Replace it I think it was like 20-30 Dollars problem solved.

[captainluigi]

Does discoing the relay cause any driveabillilty issues? How is that word spelt?

[qship96]

If you remove relay,brakes operate just like the prehistoric ones before ABS came along- no problem except you lose antilock feature.

[maxnix]

If you remove relay,brakes operate just like the prehistoric ones before ABS came along- no problem except you lose antilock feature.

And assume a little extra liability if you are in an accident.

[elwesso]

defintely better than being without a vehicle...

That definitely sounds like the problem however you will want to make sure that you listen for a buzzing in the passenger side near the firewall under the hood...

[Dabizzo1]

ABS relay indeed...replaced mine when rehabbing my Q even though it wasn't failing...relay panel is susceptible to engine heat and over so many years of exposure, expect others to be questionable as well. Angry relays could be a contributor to phantom battery drains as well. All internal metal conductors lose the ability to maintain constant resistance over time under load and HEAT. ABS prevents wheel lockup during short and sudden stops especially for such a heavy car...very cheap fix...and of course where did I learn this...right here...this forum in my opinion still has the best info for a car specific forum. Enough attention is paid to normal operation systems here to allow a fix for anyone. Guys like Wes, Jesda, Maxnix, Q45tech, and others set the bar...my Q is proof. No nonsense PREVENTIVE advice for nothing other than the love of a great car. Good luck! Boris

[Mailorder]

Hey guys, thanks. Somehow I didn't realize that the "ABS" light in my dashboard was on until after this thread. So far, I've been driving around by disconnecting my battery whenever I'm done driving for the day. Probably not the smartest idea - I think I'll just disconnect the ABS. I've checked the sticky on the board, but there wasn't anything on how to disconnect ABS. Sorry, but does anyone have a link to it?

[maxnix]

Disconnecting ABS is probably just short of criminal negligence, unless the person you hit dies, then it well may be.

Buy the fricking $20 relay!

The hiney you save may be your own or even a loved one.

[Mailorder]

Just thought I'd give an update on the situation. I had been driving around in my Q45, disconnecting the car battery every time I turned the engine off and reconnecting when I needed to drive again.

And after a few days, the ABS light went away and so did the whurring noise. It's been a few weeks now and my Q45 has been just fine. I have no idea why the problem fixed itself, but it did. Just thought people might want to know.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Disconnecting ABS is probably just short of criminal negligence, unless the person you hit dies, then it well may be.

Buy the fricking $20 relay!

The hiney you save may be your own or even a loved one.

You do realize that not all cars have ABS, right?And that you CAN stop a car without ABS? Maybe if you're criminally INEPT as a driver this would cause issues. You really choose some strange things to get wound up about. My Maxima didn't have ABS, neither did my Ford. I don't recall killing anyone in either car. In fact I only ever got in one minor fender bender in either, and ABS wouldn't have done anything to prevent it. I've driven in harsh winters with ice-paved roads for years without ABS without a single incident.

There's no reason to derail someone's troubleshooting thread with ranting. You made your point.

[Q45tech]

Unfortunately, your auto insurance has a discount for abs or at least it is in a listed category, so disconnecting it is insurance fraud. Just like seeing a warning light and failing to have it repaired is/could be contributory negilgence.

ABS has been around for 20 years and almost every brand has the same noisey worn/failed relay problem.

Search Google for ABS noise and see Honda, Mazda. GM, Ford, etc.

[maxnix]

There's no reason to derail someone's troubleshooting thread with ranting. You made your point.

If good common sense is a "rant" to you, you have a very difficult life indeed!

[NightRiderQ45]

If good common sense is a "rant" to you, you have a very difficult life indeed!

Maxnix and I bump heads every once in awhile, but he was making perfect sense in his last comment. Why go thru that incovience of unplugging/plugging the battery for a part that cost $20-30 . We spend wayyy more than that in gas which eventually burns away; so spend the $20 to get the correct relay and don't have to worry about anymore. To each its own...