Relays clicking behind dash

[fueltheburn]

I occassionally seem to get relays chattering away behind the dash/speedo area.
Doesn't seem to affect anything though.
Is this a common problem?

[ttedj]

My fan relay does it as it turns on and off. New relay and still does it. Fans work so I've ignored it.

Ted

[royal]

Could be the valve on the brake servo making the noise, it appears to come from the dash area. Keith

[KevW]

My fan relay has always done this. When I first got the car I thought it was the sound of something shorting out within the dash. Now I quite like the fact it lets me know when the fans are kicking in.

[amarshall]

There aren't any relays directly behind the instrument panel that I can think of. There is, however, the control module for the intermittent wiper.

Chatter is not a good sign as it indicates something is trying to switch for some reason. Personally, I'd pull all the relays (one at a time of course) and open them up to check for signs of corrosion - they are prone to it because of their location and they way they are mounted.

[fueltheburn]

It doesn't make any sense yet because it doesn't directly affect anything. The only thing which is slightly intermittent is the electric windows which are switch based. Definitely sounds like it is behind dash though. May just pull it out anyway and have a dig. Got to re-wire the boot anyway. My glitch list grows.....complete front brake re-haul at weekend.

[tonypoll]

A long shot, but ...
I had a speedo cable that sometimes made a clicking noise from behind the dash.
It stopped when I replaced the cable.

[fueltheburn]

Not a bad guess, but it is definitely high speed relay chatter. It dies it whilst stationary as well though. I guess it's time to have a dig behind the dash to confirm things either way

[rbgosling]

I'd check the fuses and relays by your right knee first, if only because they are close enough that the sound could come from there, and it's a lot easier to access than the behind-the-dash area! Access via a panel below the steering wheel, held on by a couple of plastic thumb-screws and velcro, if you haven't found it already.

[fueltheburn]

I reckon that's probably where the sound is coming from. Haven't hear them clicking for days, so I am guessing there may be moisture getting in that is affecting it.