So the other day I started up my GS and there was an odd tapping sound coming from the middle/upper part of the dash... It was a very distinct tapping, almost like Morse code. When I turned the car off, it went away and stayed away when I turned it back on. My brother told me about this before, but it doesn't happen all the time. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

tapping or gargling? do a search, there are many threads on sounds behind the dash.

 

Could this be your servo trying to work? Did you turn on any heat of ac? try turning off these two elements and listen for the noise. if these two components are off and there are still some noise, then it may not be the servo. I think. Good luck.

 

+1ivnnin, I think it's the servo

 

did you forget your ex girlfriend in there?

 

just so you guys know....IF the servo is out....it will make noise at start up or the turn of the key. THE AIR DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ON....as soon as it gets power it can and will start making noise. sigh im fixing to do my drivers side now. hoped to have pulled my dash and changed my a/c box by this winter but it appears not to be. oh well will do so when i change my interior

OP if it sounds like a computer hard drive or similar its a servo man.

 

what happens if its a servo? I think I have this same issue.

 

our gs's are notorious for bad servos...... if its a servo the air wont start blowing hot or cold on one side.....wont switch from feet to face to defrost. something like that. if u look through my threads i made, i wrote up a DIY awhile ago.

 

The heat/vents all seemed to work just fine, but maybe the servo is on its way out. Thanks for all the responses and I will look a bit more into the servo repairs.

 

I gotta check it out, i thought everything was working, but it's probably my GF not telling me she doesn't feel the AC on her side. I know the vents do move for me

 

just so u guys know.....there were weeks when mine would function fine when making the noise. heat on both sides/air flow where it was supposed to be but eventually the noise got louder and air started acting up more and more often. ALSO i'll tell u this guys...me and a few others have problems with our a/c box (the white box in my DIY the servo's are attached to) the door gears on my a/c box have sheared so im gonna have to replace my a/c to get my heat going right again. i really think (but im not 100%) it may have been caused by me not fixing the servo's for almost a year and them constantly rubbing/sticking/vibrating. i will replace my drivers side soon as it has gone out and will replace the a/c box when i do my interior conversion

 

i've got 'tapping' as well. i too thought it was coming from the center-upper parts of the dash, near the center vents. however, i narrowed it to the oem changer...think the mice in there are running my cd's

my tapping def doesnt sound like a hard drive tho.

 

u sure its the csd changer? the servo's are right behind and below that

 

my 2001 gs300 does the same noise... but my cd changer is on the trunk!... btw what is the servo?? im new..

 

Seriously, it does sound like mice especially when I saw a dead one lodged in cabin air filter earlier this year.