Leaf Making 10kHz Sound

[daveizdum]

My 2015 Leaf is making a sound that appears to be exactly 10kHz (determined using spectrograph tools). I am not referring to the pedestrian safety noise it makes when driving under 20mph.

The sound occurs when driving, and even times when main power isn't on. For example, here are some exact steps I can do to cause the sound.

1) With the car off, I open the car door.
2) I hear a click sound (presumably a relay). The 10kHz sound starts.
3) I wait a minute or two. I hear click (again presumed to be a relay) and the 10kHz sound stops.

From what I can tell, the sound seems to originate from the motor/charger area.

The problem is that I can hear this noise while driving. After a one hour drive yesterday, I went to bed with my ears ringing. Today, my 15 minute commute was all it took to make my insane, even with music playing in the background.

Any thoughts/help?

 

[goldbrick]

Just a swag/guess - it could a chopping frequency in the DC/DC converter that charges the 12V battery.

I think the 12V is charged when the wipers are turned on so you could test that theory by briefly turning the wipers on after the noise stops. If it starts up again, that it probably the cause.

I can't think of any mechanical parts in a Leaf that could resonate at 10kHz so it has to be something electrical based. Although all acoustic noise is mechanical in some sense it is most likely some electronic component that is vibrating at the frequency it is being driven at.

 

[Nubo]

I had a high-pitched sound in my 2015, that was being generated by the interior dome light. I assume there's some kind of PWM used for the little party-trick where it dims itself away instead of simply turning off. I ended up just setting the switch so it would never come on.