My best guess is the heater control switches. They are ran on vacuum and when it loses vacuum it’ll make noises. Or could possibly be a air blend actuator but I doubt that it would be making clicky noises while still working normally. Do you notice any other symptoms like being stuck on one air setting?

 

Nope - no other symptoms. Heat/AC both work fine.

 

Probably something to do with the heater box door closing to close off heat. As long as you get off and on I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Kate,
What kind of car do you have (year, model)?

Paul

 

2012 Ford Focus SE

 

I have a similar problem in my 2012 Ford Focus SE.

I get a "click, click, click" noise happens with a repeated clicking a bit faster than once a second (maybe as fast as twice a second) when either

(A) I turn the heater/AC fan speed to "0" and then turn off the ignition. The clicking noise commences as soon as the car is turned off. The clicking noise stops if I turn the heater/AC fan back on to "1."

(B) Press the "recirculate air" button for the heat/AC controls. When the control is in "recirculate" mode (dash LED lights), the "click, click, click" starts. The "click, click, click" stops again when pressing the "recirculate" button a second time so that "recirculate" mode is off.

From reading other postings, it seems that the problem is likely with one of the HVAC door actuators having some broken gear teeth and that the proper repair is to replace the broken actuator. I haven't done this yet. It sounds like the repair requires removing the glovebox to get access to the actuator, and then the actuator itself is tricky to remove. Maybe I'll have a go at making the repair myself after Christmas.

Kate1532, are you still having the problem?

 

I have a similar problem in my 2012 Ford Focus SE.

I get a "click, click, click" noise happens with a repeated clicking a bit faster than once a second (maybe as fast as twice a second) when either

(A) I turn the heater/AC fan speed to "0" and then turn off the ignition. The clicking noise commences as soon as the car is turned off. The clicking noise stops if I turn the heater/AC fan back on to "1."

(B) Press the "recirculate air" button for the heat/AC controls. When the control is in "recirculate" mode (dash LED lights), the "click, click, click" starts. The "click, click, click" stops again when pressing the "recirculate" button a second time so that "recirculate" mode is off.

From reading other postings, it seems that the problem is likely with one of the HVAC door actuators having some broken gear teeth and that the proper repair is to replace the broken actuator. I haven't done this yet. It sounds like the repair requires removing the glovebox to get access to the actuator, and then the actuator itself is tricky to remove. Maybe I'll have a go at making the repair myself after Christmas.

Kate1532, are you still having the problem?

Yes,

I have a similar problem in my 2012 Ford Focus SE.

I get a "click, click, click" noise happens with a repeated clicking a bit faster than once a second (maybe as fast as twice a second) when either

(A) I turn the heater/AC fan speed to "0" and then turn off the ignition. The clicking noise commences as soon as the car is turned off. The clicking noise stops if I turn the heater/AC fan back on to "1."

(B) Press the "recirculate air" button for the heat/AC controls. When the control is in "recirculate" mode (dash LED lights), the "click, click, click" starts. The "click, click, click" stops again when pressing the "recirculate" button a second time so that "recirculate" mode is off.

From reading other postings, it seems that the problem is likely with one of the HVAC door actuators having some broken gear teeth and that the proper repair is to replace the broken actuator. I haven't done this yet. It sounds like the repair requires removing the glovebox to get access to the actuator, and then the actuator itself is tricky to remove. Maybe I'll have a go at making the repair myself after Christmas.

Kate1532, are you still having the problem?

Yes, this is still occurring and sounds very similar to what you described.

 

My 2012 Focus does the same thing. This looks like the problem here -