Idea - sound library

[CharlieS]

I was chatting with another member recently who had a strange noise that eventually led to a particular repair.

It made me wonder whether we could come up with a library of sound clips and the resulting diagnosis/repair? Maybe make it a sticky post or add to the FAQ so it is easier to find?

We’ve had a couple of good ones recently: worn rear wheel bearings, rear gears not quite aligned, and then there are the common serpentine belt, failing idler pulley, cabin fan motor, etc.

It might be a good way to crowdsource this as a troubleshooting tool?

Or not.

 

[kcjaz]

I was chatting with another member recently who had a strange noise that eventually led to a particular repair.

It made me wonder whether we could come up with a library of sound clips and the resulting diagnosis/repair? Maybe make it a sticky post or add to the FAQ so it is easier to find?

We’ve had a couple of good ones recently: worn rear wheel bearings, rear gears not quite aligned, and then there are the common serpentine belt, failing idler pulley, cabin fan motor, etc.

It might be a good way to crowdsource this as a troubleshooting tool?

Or not.

Interesting idea. Imagine the "car noise" feature added to Shazam. You hear something weird, listen with your iPhone and it tell you what it is. OK, that may be a ways off.

How do you think you would search a noise data base. You could filter by approximate location but after that what? Maybe define attributes like clicks, hums, squeals, etc?

 

[bloc]

Great idea, but to make it more effective we might share cost effective ways to actually get good sound recordings.

For me, as good as an iPhone is at its basic job, it really struggled to capture the sound I had on the freeway. Not sure whether this is a software or hardware limitation, but if it turns out some $30 basic plug-in microphone can address the issue, it could be really helpful.

I figure with the depth of experience on this board someone might have the right info to address this..

 

[CharlieS]

The two most recent examples used chassis ears to home in on the sound. I’d think any recording has potential to help someone, regardless of device. Some people just don’t know where to start when they hear a strange noise.

While an app would be cool, I’m not trying to make extra work for anyone.

I was thinking if posts with clips could be tagged with the area of the car the sound seems to originate from, and the final diagnosis/source of the sound, it might be enough to be useful.

...or maybe not. I haven’t had a lot of coffee yet today.

 

[Sandroad]

The two most recent examples used chassis ears to home in on the sound.

While an app would be cool, I’m not trying to make extra work for anyone.

I was thinking if posts with clips could be tagged with the area of the car the sound seems to originate from, and the final diagnosis/source of the sound, it might be enough to be useful.

...or maybe not. I haven’t had a lot of coffee yet today.

My wife made a very strong pot of coffee this morning, so I’ll help you out. This seems like a fun and useful thing to try. So many vehicle diagnostics start with sounds. In some cases it wouldn’t necessarily need a audio clip, just a note about where to look for a particular type of noise. A search on Mud would turn up the universe of sound possibilities for the 200s then setting up something searchable and with quality sounds per @bloc and @kcjaz . Might be best to keep a sound database separate and not a post in a thread because I could see a sound thread ending up with MANY posts.

 

[linuxgod]

Those chassis ears I bought recently were a great purchase. I’m game to help. Happy to host a separate website/database/etc as well if need be, though it’s be great if we can use something publicly available.

Disclaimer: I’ve had a mechanic tell me they don’t like chassis ears because it often sends people looking in the wrong places unless they really know what they are doing. I think this kind of library would be great, but I also think we’ll need to provide some info on how to use diagnostic tools correctly

 

[indycole]

I like this idea especially as I’m always tracking down one thing or another. As a higher level starting point, I’ve considered some kind of dictionary/grammar/language for simply describing sounds. Common examples of chirps vs whistles, clanks vs clunks, etc.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

Well it wasn't until I posted a video with sound that I was told by folks on this board that the snarky gas tank canister was the culprit and was totally NORMAL. It saved me a trip to the dealer. I'd vote for a library that hosted sound, video and photos. Sound all by itself I guess could be helpful but for me sound alone without an accompanying visual that sources where the sound comes from would be harder for me to use. I dunno. Maye sound with a detailed description would be just as good.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

I like this idea especially as I’m always tracking down one thing or another. As a higher level starting point, I’ve considered some kind of dictionary/grammar/language for simply describing sounds. Common examples of chirps vs whistles, clanks vs clunks, etc.

I remember my poor mother trying to describe some problem to a mechanic who was teasing her.
It happened a long time ago but it went something like this:

Mom: It sometimes makes a squeak squeak thunk sound.
Mechanic: Are you sure? Was it a squeak squeak clank sound?
Mom: No
Mechanic: Because if it was a squeak squeak clank than that's REALLY bad.
Mom: No, it definitely was a squeak squeak thunk.

And so on...
It was a bad U joint or joints IIRC.