Strange Sound, seems to be A/C related

[cschnider]

I just purchased an 03 Explorer XLT. I'm really liking it so far but it is making an odd noise. Of course it didn't make the noise when I test drove it and looked it over.

I don't know how to describe it other than saying it is a "whoop" or "hoot" sound. Not quite a whistle or a chirp. The sound is usually very brief and comes and goes sporadically. I can't really tell where it is coming from.

So far it has only happened when it is pretty hot (mid 90's this week) and when the A/C is on. It is usually most noticeable when I am starting from a stop. It will go away instantly if I turn the A/C off.

The Explorer is a V6. It has the vents on the back of the center console but there is no additional rear A/C other than that. I did search and read that some people had similar issues but it sounded like it was on trucks that had some additional rear A/C elements for the 3rd row.

Any thoughts?

 

[lamoglinsgal]

I just had the AC compressor blow on my '02 XLT. It was making a chirping/whistling sound whether the AC was on or not, that got faster with acceleration. It was almost immediately after noticing the noise that I went to start it up and it blew.

 

[cschnider]

This definitely isn't a chirp and doesn't seem to change at all based on acceleration. I hope the A/C isn't about to fail though, too hot for that.