MBP - noise coming from left speaker?

[cdpilkington]

Hi all,
I've had a MBP since late August, and recently, within the past month or so it's started acting a little unusually. The most constant of the problems is that a "new" noise has started up, coming from about the middle of the speaker on the left side.
At first I thought it was the fans, but after maxing them out under smcFanControl they seem to be in a different part of the computer.

Does anyone know whats located under the left speaker of the mbp that could be making a constant noise?

 

[yellow]

A whine or a buzz? Does it go away when you turn down the brightness?

 

[cdpilkington]

A whine or a buzz? Does it go away when you turn down the brightness?

Nope, it stays whichever brightness it's set to, and keeps going for about 2 minutes once I close the lid and set it to sleep.
I'm not sure what sort of noise I'd say it was. Best I could describe it is as the sound of the fans, but roughly 1/2, maybe 1/3 as loud.

 

[yellow]

Well, another test is pop your Mac into the fridge for a little while, take it out and start it up. The fans really shouldn't be on if the Mac is nice and cold.. so if there's no sound, then it may be fans, if there is sound.. it's probably not fans. (just guessing)

 

[cdpilkington]

Well, another test is pop your Mac into the fridge for a little while, take it out and start it up. The fans really shouldn't be on if the Mac is nice and cold.. so if there's no sound, then it may be fans, if there is sound.. it's probably not fans. (just guessing)

Alright, the fridge test means its definitley not the fans
I can hear the same noise underneath the left handrest a bit as well. I think the hard drive is under there, but I can't see why that would be making a constant whirring noise

 

[mad jew]

Does it go away when you mute the speakers? If so, are the speakers' balance set to the left?

 

[cdpilkington]

Just tested both of them now, muting the speakers does nothing, and the balance is in the middle. Shifted it both to the far left/right, and no change.

 

[mad jew]

Maybe run the Hardware Test from the OSX restore discs (boot whilst holding D with the disc inserted). Even though it probably won't find anything wrong, it'll sequentially and relatively exclusively utilise various pieces of hardware in your machine. Listen up for the noise making any changes in pitch or volume as it goes through the various components.

 

[mrtbone]

Same probelm with right speaker

i got the same problem with the right speakerr of my 15" MBP

i'm pretty sure that a damaged capacitator in the amplifier for the right channel
causes that problem, but it i'm not interested in sending in my macbook because of that. Making speaker silent does not solve the problem,
Are ther others with the same problem out there? Did you have them repair it... how log did it take?

 

[madmax_2069]

how about opening energy saver panel and set the hdd sleep to one minute and let it sit for a minute or 2. another thing to test the fan's with is fan control app that allows you to spin up or down the fan's. that is the only way i would be able to know for shure

 

[cdpilkington]

how about opening energy saver panel and set the hdd sleep to one minute and let it sit for a minute or 2. another thing to test the fan's with is fan control app that allows you to spin up or down the fan's. that is the only way i would be able to know for shure

Tried both, no joy.
I guess either until I know what's underneath that part or I can afford the time to send it in again I'll put up with it.

 

[mrtbone]

Definitely the amplifier

thanks for the hints , now i am realy sure that the amplifier is the problem , as it disapears imediately after pluging cable into the headphone jack. Is it the same with your speaker cdpilkington?

 

[cdpilkington]

thanks for the hints , now i am realy sure that the amplifier is the problem , as it disapears imediately after pluging cable into the headphone jack. Is it the same with your speaker cdpilkington?

Nope, still does it when I plug anything in.
Nothing seems to be wrong with the speaker itself on mine, sound is perfect. It seems to be a whirring noise from the bottom part of the left speaker than the speaker itself.

 

[madmax_2069]

what i was trying to get at was seeing if it was the hdd or the fan's. i was just hoping that by setting the hdd sleep to one minute allowing the hdd to go to sleep (AKA turn off) to see if the noise went away. and the fan control app that you can set the fan speed , i was hoping you could turn both fan's off for a second to see if the noise stopped. if it dont allow you do turn the fans off for a second maybe you can increase the fan speed to see if the noise changes.

those are the only 2 things i could think of that would be causing the noise in that area.

 

[cLin]

Sorry to barge in but I was wondering what happens if I just turn it on from a long cold night and it still has the fan sound? I guess it's the same as putting in fridge since the laptop is super cold and the fans shouldn't need to turn on. I just have this annoying fan like noise, and usually I wouldn't. It just started happening yesterday after I turned it on when i got home. Sounds like it's having trouble "breathing" or something.

If anything, what is the turnaround time to get laptops fixed from Apple? It's midterms this and next week and this laptop is sort of important since all my study notes is on it and I lack another computer.

 

[yellow]

It depends on the problem, the availability of parts (if needed), and the current workload of the technicians.
So.. no one can really tell you with any accuracy on what the turn around time will be.

My seggestion would be to keep an up-to-date backup and wait until you can scrape by without the Mac for a month, in case it takes that long.
Which it shouldn't, but it might. Murphy's Law and whatnot.

 

[cdpilkington]

Sorry to barge in but I was wondering what happens if I just turn it on from a long cold night and it still has the fan sound? I guess it's the same as putting in fridge since the laptop is super cold and the fans shouldn't need to turn on. I just have this annoying fan like noise, and usually I wouldn't. It just started happening yesterday after I turned it on when i got home. Sounds like it's having trouble "breathing" or something.

If anything, what is the turnaround time to get laptops fixed from Apple? It's midterms this and next week and this laptop is sort of important since all my study notes is on it and I lack another computer.

It sounds more like the hard drive which I confirmed mine as being, a "breathing", or "exhaling" sound is what I'd describe mine as making. It should really be as simple as swapping the hard drive I've been told.
Same position in terms of not being able to send mine in though, so I can't help you with that. Best bet is to ask at your nearest apple shop.

 

[cLin]

It sounds more like the hard drive which I confirmed mine as being, a "breathing", or "exhaling" sound is what I'd describe mine as making. It should really be as simple as swapping the hard drive I've been told.
Same position in terms of not being able to send mine in though, so I can't help you with that. Best bet is to ask at your nearest apple shop.

The sound is really getting on my nerves. I usually take it to school to take lecture notes + record but in Microsoft Word, the microphone level bars are now also hovering around halfway point when it use to be like only 10% (2 bars).

God, this is pissing me off. Is the hard drive located under the left speaker? And i already scheduled an appointment with the Apple store. HOPEFULLY, they can fix it today cause I need this to study for my midterm tomorrow. Otherwise, I am going to have to bare this annoying ass sound for this weekend.


EDit/UPDATE: I just went to the Apple Store and they told me it was the left speaker that is messed up and it'll take 5-7 days for them to return it to me. I told them no since I needed to use it for studying and I'll come back later. Do they overnight their packages? Would they do it if I called AppleCare? I really need to use this laptop for school and even a day or two without it is a hassle for me. Also, should I take pictures of it before I send it off? I don't want it coming back with cosmetic damages and them telling me they didn't do it.

 

[cLin]

bump, anyone?

 

[cdpilkington]

bump, anyone?

Can't help you with the repair times, as I'm in the UK, but taking photos of it before you send it off is probably a good idea. Also, do you have all your data backed up? Before you send it off thats the most important check.

For reference I'm attaching an x-ray I found online of either a late-rev G4 powerbook or a 17" MBP, because the components seem to be laid out fairly similar to how they are on the MBPs. Hopefully helpful if anyone searches this thread in the future.