Whine/Noise/High Pitch Arg!
 

This noise was pointed out by my wife a few weeks back and I can no longer stand it. I found a thread here about it but it died out. Should I take it back to the dealer or what.

The noise is VERY high pitched. Happens on acceleration/ going above 10mph. When in idle i hear nothing. ONLY 10mph or higher and its like a whine. Feels all around me cant tell where it is coming from. Full acceleration seems to drown it out or if i have music moderately loud.

did u get an aftermarket sound system installed?

Are you referring to the electronic whine sound? You're right, there was another thread about this. People traced it all over the place...some thought it was the fuel pump, others from elsewhere in the dash or engine bay. There are times I notice it and times I don't hear it at all. Lately I've heard it while sitting at idle mainly.

At this point, I'd say it's not something faulty in the car as it seems to be present for many people. The true source still eludes us though.

yea i was referring to that sound. If it only occurs during acceleration usually its sumthing to do with a bad ground wire connection. If that indeed is the problem re-ground the wire & check your connections and that menacing sound should be gone.

I have done nothing to the car so guess I will take it in. Def sounds like an electrical sound.

It's coming from under the engine cover, not sure what is making it. When you turn your car off it continues for a few seconds then dies off. G37s have the same issue.

John

Sounds like the fuel pump to me. You can tell because when you dog it a bit, and the electrical system is strained, it temporarily lowers in pitch. I've heard fuel pumps in a lot of my cars I've owned, and it sounds almost exactly the same as all of the others. My vote... Fuel pump. Other noises... a bit of interference coming through the stereo system. I've also heard this in other cars that I've owned.

Fuel pump sounds logical.

I have a similar, completely annoying situation, but my description is different. Let's see if this jives with what others are hearing.

The sound is a high pitch, but not a squeal... Mire like a human voice humming at high pitch. It's not a stereo ground loop, because it's not coming from the speakers. It sounds like it's coming from the engine compartment, left side, maybe around the brake booster. At idle, the sound completely goes away. Above 2500 rpm I can't hear it either, maybe because the engine is making exhaust noise plus the thrashing about from the vvel. The sound is most prominent from 1000-2000 rpm under light load or no load. Driving slowly it's the worst. Once stopped, if you blip the throttle from idle to 2000 rpm you can hear it, but that only lasts for about 30 seconds. I tried trouble shooting it and prolonged idle time made it go away, despite blipping the throttle multiple times.

I thought it might be a vacuum leak, so after letting my car cool down, I thoroughly checked all the rubber hoses and everything seems to be fine. Could it be a vacuum diaphragm humming and that is it's normal functioning state?

I took my car to the dealer before I saw this thread and described what I was hearing. They looked at my car and said nothing was wrong with it.

^bump

I took my 370z into the dealer today because of it, and only one person could hear it, besides me. The one guy there that could hear it drove the other Z's on the lot, and could also hear it in them too, but he did mention that it was more clear with Z's with navigation, so maybe it has to do with that? I'm not sure but he said until the manufacturer issues a problem with it, they cannot find out what it is. It's driving me crazy!

my dealership said its the ecu,no fix yet:ugh2:

My car has the high pitch whine also, and it did not start until approx. 9500 miles.

at first glance i saw white noise in the title :icon14:

nm...

If the fuel pump is the suspect, u can check that by turning your car "ON" (not start) the fuel pump should run for a little bit then stop. You can hear if it's the same noise. The bearing on your vent fan can make some small high pitch noise too so make sure u have it/them off. :stirthepot:

It's the ECU...

BTW, I don't have Nav, but I've heard it at times when my radio isn't on.

I was the original person who posted about this whine. I have received calls from Nissan and they state they are aware of the issue but have no fix for it. I hired an attorney who is currently lemon lawing the car for me. Because I got in writing that they acknowledge the noise but do not have a fix the attorney said its a solid case. I am 3 weeks into it and he said it can take 90-180 days.

No it is not the fuel pump
No it is not the noise above the engine
No it is not a stereo ground

It IS the ecu. From what a tech told me they would have to follow every wire that goes into the ecu to find the issue.

what could possibly cause the ECU to whine?

Tech told me wiring. I do not know and I do not care really. All I know is whenever I drive the car I get a headache and if I remember right I don't recall seeing 'headaches' on the option list.

so if they replaced the ECU and the noise stopped you still would not like to keep the z?

Replacing the ECU does not stop the noise. I am not a techie so excuse my lack of knowledge but the tech tried to explain it to me that if there was a mishap in the wiring into the ECU it could cause the whine, almost like it was a power surge.

I think they all be listening to them loud musics and dey ears be ringin. Bose: Accept No Substitute. :tiphat:

Are you saying, that they are saying, that it is the design of the wiring system causing the ECU to emit the noise?

John

Thats what it sounds like according to what the tech told me. Again I know nothing about how wiring, ECUs etc work/operate this is just what I was told.

Also according to the paperwork I got from Nissan that I forwarded to my attorney he said Nissan clearly stats there is a problem and that they are aware of it but they do not know how to fix it.

:eekdance::eekdance:Hope they can figure it out and fix it soon. Transistors can catch on fire very quickly. I don't want my Z to be on fire :ugh2:

^^The sky is falling - again. :stirthepot: J/K

Anyone who has this problem GET AN ATTORNEY! The worst that happens is you get cash from Nissan, the best thing that happens is you get a new car.

Since I have already hired an attorney if Nissan finds a fix NIssan will still have to pay me a settlement for my hardships.

This is something interesting I've noticed about the high-pitched noise.... It starts out pretty much silent if your car has sat overnight and is cold. You'll notice, once you pull out of your driveway, it "rings" (like after you've been at a loud concert ear-ringing) when you press the accelerator lightly... Only at a certain position. Once the car warms up after about 2 minutes, it does it constantly. Mine has been taken to a dealer and we're waiting for the next step.

Roo is not crazy. If you can hear it, it really does give you a headache. It's that bad. My ears now ring that same pitch when I get out of the car after a little trip. I'm not lemoning the car, but it really should be fixed. That's bad. Really bad. (For those of you with the problem.)

I have this issue as well and it can be quite annoying indeed. The noise is pretty much constant for my car, when it's running. Actually, on a daily basis, it's probably what bothers me the most with the car since I got it last June. Sure you can crank the radio or what not to cover up the sound but you shouldn't have to do that in a brand new car, sports car or not. It is a problem and needs to be addressed by Nissan.

this high pitch sound is indeed very irritating! Does everyone have this or just a select few?

Also, if it is the ECU, would changing the ECU to the Mines ECU fix the problem?

I heard it, but it doesn't bother me at all. Mine is not that loud, you can't hear if you are not going to pay attention to it.

i think you should get crap for money. you sound like some homeless bumb that will try to sue someone for looking at them the wrong way. ... your "hardships" lol. thats about the funniest thing ive read on the forums. your case wont go anywhere because you dont have a case. if nissan doesnt have a fix for it they dont have a fix for it. and your most liekly going to have a lemon looking face from pouting than anything else. and your lawyer should realize also yall have no basis for getting money from them or filing for lemon law. now if Nissan had said.. yes we know there is a problem.. and "we dont care" or "we are going to live it as is". then yes you would have a leg to stand on.

He already got a refund from Nissan for his car and he mentioned that he will never buy a Nissan again.

wow im surprised at that. nissan lawyers must have been having a vacation lol.

If that is a hardship for you, then you've had one easy life!

Quoted from multiple:

"Replacing the ECU does not stop the noise. I am not a techie so excuse my lack of knowledge but the tech tried to explain it to me that if there was a mishap in the wiring into the ECU it could cause the whine, almost like it was a power surge."

"Are you saying, that they are saying, that it is the design of the wiring system causing the ECU to emit the noise?"

"Also according to the paperwork I got from Nissan that I forwarded to my attorney he said Nissan clearly stats there is a problem and that they are aware of it but they do not know how to fix it. "

"This is something interesting I've noticed about the high-pitched noise.... It starts out pretty much silent if your car has sat overnight and is cold. You'll notice, once you pull out of your driveway, it "rings" (like after you've been at a loud concert ear-ringing) when you press the accelerator lightly... Only at a certain position. Once the car warms up after about 2 minutes, it does it constantly. Mine has been taken to a dealer and we're waiting for the next step. "
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Putting all the above info together, I have an idea:

Solution: Embed the wiring block in rubber and put a rubber block around the wiring every foot or so. Also, may need to build a rubber case around ECU itself.

Rationale: Aternating current in a wire will 1) emit radio frequency and 2) set up it's own magnetic field. This is how electromagnets work on cranes in wrecking yards that pick up the junk cars. Also, ignore the part about emitting radio waves. I'm not saying it has anything to do with your car radio. From a physics standpoint, they will emit EMF (electromagnetic frequency). If each wire in the block is turned into an electromagnet with it's + and - poles alternating many cycles per second based in inputs and outputs from various sensors in the car, it would cause the wires to vibrate back and forth like guitar strings, making multiple, faint, tones in the audible range. Building a rubber block around the moving parts would significantly dampen the sound they emit.

supporting evidence: 1) MRI scanners have the same phenominon. If you've been in one, the "pop, pop, pop" or the "nnng, nnng, nnng" sounds are from wires in the send coils. They run about 5kw energy through a set of coils of wire that serve as an antenna to make RF. The RF is around 94mhz, which is too high to hear as a tone, but the current is pulsed on and off, so you repeately hear the wires move, hence the 'popping'. To keep the noise down, they embed the coils in a plastic table that you lie on. Between your weight and the damping characteristics of the plastic table, it makes the noise livable. 2) The noise gets worse as the car heats up. When a metal heats, its eletrical impedance rises. If sensors and send units rely on electrical impulses, the amplitude (voltage) of those signals hase to increase to compensate for the higher resistance in the wire. The higher voltage leads to a stronger magnetic field, which would lead to more wire movement and more noise.

Anyways, it's just a theory. I'm too busy with my work life to test it, so I'll just have to keep dealing wath the constant annoyance. I wrote to Nissan. Let's see if they reply...

This is an issue with the '09 Infiniti Gs as well... the "fix" is to replace the ECU... it's worked for most, but not all. I would guess improper installation as the culprit for those who had the noise return. The G thread is here:

*FIX for high-pitch frequency noise* - MyG37

'10s do not have the problem.

I took my car to Nissan to get it checked out here in hk. I sent them all the links to the threads, I took a tech out with me and he could hear it. I told them to change the ECM but they said they have to gather enough evidence before they can get a new one for me.

So at the moment they ripped out my Bose system to make sure it aint the stereo. I told them i want my car back cause I need it to go to and from work. The service manager said" I'll try to give it back, but We really want to fix this for you and it would be wrong to give you your car back with out at least figuring out what is causing the noise"

So I'll keep you posted.

Quick question: Where exactly is the ECU located in our car?