5th & 6th Generation (2002-2006 & 2007-2011)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 2002-2006 & 2007-2011
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Whenever my fan is on, I noticed a very faint static coming from near the driver side speaker. I was worried that was some kind of interference with the speaker or electrical components.
I discovered this is normal. The manual says:
Quote:
Plasmacluster(TM):
"A low noise may be heard during operation. This is not a malfunction. Static electricity may be discharged near the driver's side vent because high voltage is used to operate the (Plasmacluster) system."
I thought I'd share this with any XLE owners worried about this. I was going to take it to the dealer to see where the noise was coming from. Now that I know what it is, it doesn't bother me anymore
Well, thank you for sharicng that casue I have been hearing the same noise and I was told from the dealer that the noise is coming from the air intake box.
thank you
__________________
2007 Toyota Camry XLE V6 , Aloe Green Metallic
Toyota should have designed the Plasmacluster to discharge on the passenger side vent so that it doesn't bother the driver, and since there is not always a passenger.
Probably because in Japan, their passenger side is our driver side!
I changed my mind. I am not concerned about the static noise anymore, but I am still bothered by it.
This is because the XLE V6 is very quiet (fan OFF), but as soon as you turn the fan ON, the static noise stands out from an otherwise quiet interior. Maybe if the car wasn't so quiet, I wouldn't notice it, but the XLE is luxuriously quiet, so this static noise sorely sticks out.
We have "ionic breeze" air purification systems in our house and they make the same crackling or static noise. I was really wanting the plasmacluster, but I'm glad I don't have it now that I know it uses the same technology. I agree that the car is so quiet, it would probably drive me nuts.
It might also have something to do with the humidity in the air.
I can't say that I have ever heard my Plasmacluster crackle, though I'm familiar with what that must sound like. But, I'm here in rainy Oregon, with plenty of humidity in the air, though usually not "overly" humid. Certainly nothing anywhere near "dry."
And, the rain also tends to clean the gunk out of the air, too, so we don't have too much of that floating around, either. We've had like a couple of weeks or so of "blue sky" weather since I bought the car nearly three months ago (yes, this is Rainy Oregon), so we'll see what happens this summer, and maybe I'll finally hear the thing some day....
The static noise from my Plasmacluster is completely gone now! As I said before, the noise is very faint, but did bother me because I do hear it. For whatever reason, it is now gone. I know what I am listening for, tried my hardest to hear for it, but I can't.
I wonder why? Perhaps the static noise is only there when it detects dust or other particles in the air and it it "zapping" it. Maybe after weeks of zapping, the air running through my vent is now clean, and further "zappings" will only be intermitent if needed.
P.S. Now that I think about it, the static noise was most prominent a few weeks ago when the air quality (hight temps and smog) and pollen was very high in the city. The pollen level has died down now. Maybe this is the reason.
Could be that it was Brand New as well. "Zapping" factory gunk. However, the pollen idea in spring could be a good answer. It seems lodgical...
__________________ "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."Albert Einstein
I'm glad I read this post. I figured my HVAC system was malfunctioning or there was something loose in the driver's side vent. I have found that partially closing the driver's
side vent restricts the airflow enough to cut down on the noise. I realize now that this may impact the performance of the air filtration, but I guess that's the tradeoff.
We came up on a van with black & blue smoke coming out of the tail pipe. I was surprised to find out there was no smell what so ever. Damn good filter system....
__________________ "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."Albert Einstein
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