is tapping/knocking noise normal on '96 328is? (m)

[e36 wanna be]

this noise is steady and does not vary with engine speed. seems to be coming from driver's side of the dash.

also, is a running fan noise normal coming from the climate control area even when car is switched off?

any thoughts are appreaciated. thank you.

[Unregistered]

this noise is steady and does not vary with engine speed. seems to be coming from driver's side of the dash.

also, is a running fan noise normal coming from the climate control area even when car is switched off?

any thoughts are appreaciated. thank you.

Same thing here, noise in the dash is like a bump bump.......bump bump. Almost sounds like a relay. Very frustrating. Fan from climate control is normal

[Robert Platt Bell]

The evaporative emissions purge valve will make a ticking noise that sounds a lot like valve noise. There is a TSB on this to change the mounting bracket due to customer complaints.

If you open the hood while the engine is running, you can hear it. It is a small valve with small hoses, nestled near the intake.

The climate control sampling fan would "run on" on one car, for a time. I think this is the fan that sucks air into the console for sampling for the dual climate controls. It was very quiet, but it was there. One car did it, occasionally, the other never. Never seemed to hurt anything. It shut off after a few minutes.

If it is the main fan, I would suspect the Final State Relay, but usually those fail in the OFF mode.

Just some ideas...

[Unregistered]

Regular clicking sound behind dash, audible from the passenger compartment, is likely the heater valve cycling. This usually happens if there is air in the cooling system. Air that appears in the cooling system for no reason is usually caused by cracks inside the expansion tank that is attached to the radiator.

The repeating click that you can hear under the hood originating from the relay next to the intake manifold is normal, I believe.

[flyaway]

can you feel the relay and see if that is what is clicking? those things get LOUD when they do that, could be the relay. touch it and see ...