I have a 01 Ford Explorer Sport that runs great. However, recently a very loud clicking/buzzing noise occurs in something above the gas pedal up in the dash. I cannot see the part but can put my hand up there and feel it. I must remove the seat to have the room to examine it. The odd thing is, when I press the brake pedal the noise stops. Same when I use my turn signals. It started a few weeks ago then stopped for a week, now it's back again. Sometimes it will stop and will trigger when I hit a bump in the road. The noise sometimes continues even after I stop the engine and remove the key but eventually it will die out after a couple minutes. Perhaps a grounding issue with this mystery part? My car functions perfectly while this is happening.
I'm a huge Scotty fan from when I lived in Houston from 2001-2009 and still watch his videos daily. I bought my wife a '07 Toyota Sienna (no issues with that) because of his suggestions.
Thanks for any help. I have a short video of this if it will help.
164,554 miles
4.0L
Automatic Transmission
2WD
No codes
Upload the video on YouTube and share the link here.
I'm not sure but I'm thinking you can avoid pulling the seat by removing the plastic trim along the bottom of the driver's side dash. The turn signal/hazard relay is behind the plastic above the gas pedal. If the plastic part you're touching feels like a cube that's it. You might be able to just pull it out and plug in a new one without taking anything apart.
I believe the turn signal/hazard relay is what's making the noise. Brake lights and turn signals affect the way hazards work and hazards will operate without a key in the ignition. I'm thinking if you turn the hazards on, the noise will come and go with the flashers which is another indication of the relay being the culprit. If it's not the relay then it's likely a problem with the multi function switch for the turn signals/hazards/wipers on the steering column. I would try a new relay first. Good luck.
Thank you so much. I will see if the hazard lights have anything to do with it. It's odd it just suddenly happened, went away for a week, then came back. It's not affecting anything with my lights at all. I'm 6foot4 and 230 pounds so it's so difficult to get a look at this thing. I can reach up and feel the thing buzzing. I tried putting my phone up there and shooting some photos but it was just too dark. Car is running perfectly fine so I'll live with the noise for now but will look into this part. I really appreciate your suggestion.
One more that it's a really buzzing it runs okay I mean you could ignore it but to figure out which one it is just get a little electronic stethoscope they sell them auto parts stores for like 20 bucks and when it's making a noise you'll be able to pinpoint it then take a picture of that and send it to me
Thanks Scotty I will have to pull the seat out to get a photo of what is going on. I did post a video of the clicking noise on my Youtube account. It's very strange. I was able to put my hand on the plastic device that with clicking but cannot get a photo of it with my camera as it's up above the gas pedal in the dash and there's no light there. I hope someone can view the video and perhaps have had a similar issue and might be able to point out what's going on. I just want to keep this car going as long as possible and fix each and every issue as this car continues to throw them at me.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. OLD GUYS RULE nailed it. After driving around for the last few months with the annoying buzzing I had bought a replacement signal relay a while back but never had the time to put it in until last week. I found the little fuse box above the gas pedal, opened it up and I pulled the factory blue relay out and popped the new one in and no more buzzing noises. Turn signals sound different now but I'll deal with it. 🙂