When the Air Con is on I am getting a whining/ whirring noise that appears to come from behind the centre consul.
It stops immediately the AC is switched off.
To me it sounds like a fan with a failing bearing but as far as I can see there is no separate fan for the AC - or is there?
Two garages have looked at it and can't decide exactly what is causing it.
One does not want to start replacing units unnecessarily (perhaps the main LR service centres could take note)
The other thinks it may be one of the pulleys driven by the 'fan' belt coming under increased load when the AC kicks in - but it may not be the AC Compressor pulley. They are try to locate a 'bypass' belt in order to eliminate pulleys one by one - I suggested using a ladies stocking but they were unimpressed with that idea!
has anyone else had this problem? Tattoos - Why would you choose to look like the wall of a public toilet?

Road Toad
My dear Lady's FL2 had a strange "squealing" noise a month or so ago on tick over which I could not identify. I contacted a good friend of mine who is very knowledgable re matters relating to the FL2 and he suggested the following. His comments therefore may also be of assistance to you in identifying your own problem:

I quote:
As for the belt, it has on it three power hungry things: steering pump, a/c compressor and generator.

1. Steering pump can give that sound but it should change pitch or intensity as you move the steering wheel. Is this the case?
2. A/C compressor. If you switch off the A/C system (ECON) it shouldn't be heard anymore. Is this the case?
3. Generator. If you load it (demisting, heated windscreen, rear screen and seats etc) it should intensify the squeal. Is this the case?

And does it squeal only during/after driving in the rain or along a flooded road or wading across a river. It could be just the wet belt drying out. Good luck tracking the problem down.

Athelstan.
It is not a squeal, not the sort that indicates a slipping belt but thanks for the reply. Tattoos - Why would you choose to look like the wall of a public toilet?

Hi Road Toad or any interested Freelander 2 owners.

I know this was a long time ago but what was the solution?

I have the same issue. I ONLY get a noise when the aircon is on. First I changed the clutch bearing. Second I replaced the belt and tensioner. The noise is still there. The airconditioning is cold its just a little annoying. The last thing I was going to try was to replace the entire clutch.

Has anyone solved such a problem?

Sorry, have not had this problem - sold the Freelander a couple of years ago and gone over to the dark side with Hyundai!
Hope you get to the bottom of it Tattoos - Why would you choose to look like the wall of a public toilet?

Hey thanks anyway for your swift reply on a 7 year old post!

Not landrover but son's vw polo, a/c was making a low pitched squealing noise and not very cold ac specialist immediately diagnosed low refrigerant topped it up and all good.

If belt or pulley related I'd remove the aux belt and check each of the pulleys and idlers and tensioners for signs and sounds of a failing bearing. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

Mine makes a noise that is reminiscent of gearbox whine, and it changes with engine speed. When it started I assumed it was tranny or PTU.

By process of elimination I determined it was actually the cabin blower... apparently it's sensitive to engine RPM (bus voltage?). I've ignored it for years, maybe replace the blower when I have time someday. Don't notice it at highway speed or with the radio on.

If the aircon gas gets below approx half full you will often get a rumbling whirring noise that when sitting in the car appears to come from footwell or engine bay and is louder in the cabin but barely audible outside of the car. Refilled the gas and it's now silent. I suspect the noise is coming from the pipes or evaporator but it sounds mechanical like a whirring pump.

merlinj79 wrote:

Mine makes a noise that is reminiscent of gearbox whine, and it changes with engine speed. When it started I assumed it was tranny or PTU.

By process of elimination I determined it was actually the cabin blower... apparently it's sensitive to engine RPM (bus voltage?). I've ignored it for years, maybe replace the blower when I have time someday. Don't notice it at highway speed or with the radio on.

Remove the wipers and cowel and drill a hole and lubricate the bearing.

If its the blower this should eliminate the noise

Click image to enlarge

Here is my post about this

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic36467.html

Good luck

Paul

Thanks for that; doubtless that is something I will be doing in time. I don't think the fan is the cause of my noise. I've already changed the compressor clutch bearing but I think the clutch or a low level of refrigerant must be the problem.
The bearing in the clutch is not really meant to be replaced. It has some little tabs holding it in that I had to grind down with a dremel to get the old bearing out. Maybe that was enough to unbalance it??? Anyway, the rotation of the pulley that spins when the ac is not engaged is really smooth but if you spin the plate in front of that (the one the pulls in to engage the compressor) it does not have perfectly smooth spin. The other thing I notice is that the sound does appear to come from behind the dash. It is a sound that I would believe is the blower fan except that when you press "econ" the fan stays on but the noise goes away! I shall investigate further and report to you Freel2 gents.

That makes sense. My cabin blower whine remains in Econ, but goes away if the HVAC is off.

Ingenious-al wrote:

If the aircon gas gets below approx half full you will often get a rumbling whirring noise that when sitting in the car appears to come from footwell or engine bay and is louder in the cabin but barely audible outside of the car. Refilled the gas and it's now silent. I suspect the noise is coming from the pipes or evaporator but it sounds mechanical like a whirring pump.

Ribama1
I've had the same noise and situation in my XS 2008 has the re gas eliminated the noise altogether?
I was thinking that the gas might be old and has lost its lubricant over the years, but didn't want to waste money on re gas if that wasn't the problem.

Yes the noise has gone completely. Putting the gas in did not make the aircon colder but it completely eliminated the noise. It was very surprising. That was weeks ago and it has not come back.
The trouble is now i am listening for noises and I can hear a kind of knocking noise that could be the injectors that I also want to eliminate. I have bought a stethoscope