Constant Electrical Noise From Rear Nearside - Even When Switched Off

[bigcar]

My 2006 Rav XT4 6DR 2.2 DM was fine when I left it last night. There is now a constant, fairly loud, electrical noise coming from the rear nearside. This is there all the time, whether the engine is on or off. It appears to be coming from behind the removable vented panel at the side of the boot. I've tried locking/unlocking the doors, opening and clossing all the doors, moving the car, using the brakes and checked that all the lights are working. The car is parked outside and it was very windy and wet last night.

Any ideas?

[firemac]

My 2006 Rav XT4 6DR 2.2 DM was fine when I left it last night. There is now a constant, fairly loud, electrical noise coming from the rear nearside. This is there all the time, whether the engine is on or off. It appears to be coming from behind the removable vented panel at the side of the boot. I've tried locking/unlocking the doors, opening and clossing all the doors, moving the car, using the brakes and checked that all the lights are working. The car is parked outside and it was very windy and wet last night.

Any ideas?

Is it possibly the breather or fuel pipe in the tank filler? Have you tried removing the fuel cap to see if it makes any difference?

[crofter]

Hi Julie and first of all a big welcome to the club.

Do you have a tow bracket and wiring on your motor as there are sometimes components fitted in the circuit at the back?

Del

[gjnorthall]

When you say the noise is present with the engine on or off - do you mean the noise is there whilst the car is moving (with the engine off) or when it's stationary and the ignition key removed. Fuel pumps can make make an electrical buzzing noise when faulty and the pump is located in the general area you describe. However it doesn't quite stack up against the description of when the noise occurs - hence my aim in clarifying. If the noise is there with the car stationary and engine off - then a quick test would be to disconnect the Battery - if the noise continues - then it's not being caused by any electrical equipment.

[bigcar]

Thanks guys,

Removing the fuel cap made no difference.

We do have a tow bracket and wiring.

The noise was present with the car stationary, engine off, keys removed and with the engine on and the car stationary or moving. It wasn't making the noise last night when I parked, but someone passing today heard it and alerted me.

Can't try disconnecting the Battery as the noise has now stopped - no idea why. There is still power in the Battery. Before it stopped completely it changed to a 'fizzleing out' kind of sound (rather than the constant high pitch it was originally), so maybe not electrical?

[three5]

Hi Julie,

I think that Crofter is in the right street with this one but I need to ask, does your car have reversing sensors? The bleepy thing for these is in the same place as the "relay" for indicators on the towbar ( behind the near side boot moulding ) and could be a problem.

[bigcar]

Hi Chris

no, we don't have reversing sensors. How do we go about checking the towbar electrics? Since the car seems to be running okay (at least in for the short distance I moved it today, to try things out) I'm hoping it will be okay to drive it till we get to the bottom of this.

Julie

[crofter]

Hi Julie,you say it was windy and wet when this happened,

One of the pins in the socket is permanently live so it is possible that maybe water was blown into the socket causing a connection to one of the other pins/sockets and giving a reverse feed to a relay. The flap would then hold the water in for a while

The fizzling out sound could the be caused by the water drying out and reducing that feed voltage and when it dried out enough it would cease

This,however, is speculation on my part and may not be able to happen

There are some smart sparkies on here who may comment on this theory one way or t'other

Del

[bigcar]

Hi Del

sounds plausible, especially as the weather was coming right at the back of the car last night. Will have a look when the storm settles a bit - maybe time to get out the WD40?

Julie

[three5]

Hi Del

sounds plausible, especially as the weather was coming right at the back of the car last night. Will have a look when the storm settles a bit - maybe time to get out the WD40?

Julie

The electric socket for the towbar is in a dire place on the RAV ( - and most other cars! ) They are subject to corrosion and getting full of water. More recent designs have seals around the flap at the front of the socket and a soft plastic "boot" over the rear of the sockets where the 7/13 core cable enters. Unfortunately even the ones supplied by Toyota as part of the wiring kit still allow water ingress over time. Don't know if I should admit this - but I fill the back of the socket with vaseline whenever I fit one and I haven't had a problem with any car since I started doing it about 30 years ago. If you can find the time and energy ( at this time of year ), dismantle the socket and give everything a good clean up ( even if this means disconnecting it - don't forget to disconnect the Battery first, or, if you have the Toyota ancillary wiring loom fitted, remove the fuses from the in-line fuse holders adjacent to the Battery ) then reassemble and give the whole of the inside of the socket a thick coat of vaseline before !Removed! the back on. A tie-wrap around the joint between the cable and the protective boot also helps. Don't be tempted to give the thing a doing with WD40 and then attempt the above - the vaseline will not stick to a surface that is wet with WD40. HTH

[bigcar]

Thanks for that, Chris. Seems like this would be worth doing even if it wasn't the source of the noise - a fun activity for during the Christmas holidays?! Had the car out this morning and it's running fine, so it's hard to know for sure what was going on the other day.

Julie

[crofter]

Good to hear you are all hunky dory now.

Have you had chance to connect up what you tow to make sure everything is OK?

Del

[bigcar]

Need to use the trailer tomorrow morning...................so we'll see!

[bothwell_buyer]

Aye. the description o the tow bar electrics is the probable cause. especially in Ayshire waur the rain comes in horizontal.

One problem about taking the electric socket apart is that the wires will be a wee bit corroded and you might disturb a connection or even break a wire. I like the idea of packing the socket with vaseline though.

[Big Kev]

Julie........humourise me.......if you hear the noise again, listen closely with yer ear close to the door which is nearest to said "electrical" noise.......is that door locking properly.....? Is the wee vacuum operated solenoidical bit making and breaking very quickly, causing this noise.......? Is it a kinda chattering.....?

Jist a fought.......

[bigcar]

Well, when we tried connecting the trailer yesterday the electrics were dead, so it's seeming more and more likely that this was the source of the noise. The towbar was only fitted in the spring, so hopefully there won't be too much corrosion. The weather here is still atrocious so it probably won't get checked out till after Christmas.

I did try opening and closing all the doors when the noise was happening - the sound was there continuously. If it returns I shall be sure to get my lug down around the door!

Thanks for the input.

[bothwell_buyer]

Well, when we tried connecting the trailer yesterday the electrics were dead, so it's seeming more and more likely that this was the source of the noise. The towbar was only fitted in the spring, so hopefully there won't be too much corrosion. The weather here is still atrocious so it probably won't get checked out till after Christmas.

I did try opening and closing all the doors when the noise was happening - the sound was there continuously. If it returns I shall be sure to get my lug down around the door!

Thanks for the input.

When putting a lug to the door, of which it seems you have 5, ask a neighbour for help. They will be better equipped to shout if they hear a noise when you slam the door shut on their head.

[bigcar]

I do, in fact, have a neighbour who would be perfect for that job!

[Big Kev]

I do, in fact, have a neighbour who would be perfect for that job!

Good Grief.........what colour is his very small Toyota.....?

[bothwell_buyer]

I would of course have offered to help you myself, willingly. However i suffer from Tinnitus which can be quite severe and so unable to trace the source of the noise.... I'd probably end up sourcing it to a paving slab in the driveway!

[dog1]

remove side panel in boot, you'll probably find a control module that is full of water, thats what i found with my xtrail, exactly same sound and position, blocked sunroof drain was making the leak