Strange electronic type "ping" sound in cabin

[KAB246]

Hi. Just joined after buying Phil's white VR4. All seems OK but, there is a weird ping sound in the cabin which can be a long or short note. I have tried all the combinations in the search box, but, got nowhere. The best description I can give of it, is that it sounds like one of those children's metal triangles which I (cos I'm old) used to have at junior school. The ping is not regular, can be long breaks between pings, or can ping quickly. Sounds daft, I know. I have tried to ignore it, but, it's becoming a pain. Yes, I know I can turn the stereo up, but, as always, I am concerned that this could be something serious. NB - This is not a joke! Can anyone help? I am hoping that it might be something to do with the aircon (as the ping is a bit similar to the aircon setting noises).

[John TheAntique]

Hi and welcome. We have heard of most things here but I don't recall this one. Have you tried asking Phil

[KAB246]

Yes, I asked Phil. He had never heard it, but, interestingly, his wife had!

[Nick Mann]

Any chance of recording it?

[exevoowner]

Could it be to do with lights ?

[KAB246]

Hi again,
Well, I have tried to record the noise on four separate occasions, but, the road/tyre roar and big bore exhaust mean that the sound is not picked up. It's a mystery. It may be related to speed, as everytime I get up to 120kph the sound is heard. But, at normal road speeds, there does not appear to be any correlation with other speeds.It does not appear to be anything to do with the lights, or the air-con, or the turbo timer, or radio. I have not heard it when the car is stationary. Anyway, if no-one else has heard it, then it does not appear to be indicating any impending doom. Thanks for considering my query.

[Atik]

120kph is 75mph so that suggests to me it might be something with the speedo converter which gives you an audible warning when you start to exceed the max speed limit?

A mate of mine bought a car a few years which had a similar device which was a radar speed trap alert and he couldnt work it out for ages. It was fitted behind the dash with a tiny sensor up the top of the windshield so not easily noticed.

[Erni902]

I have heard this in my car!! But my speedo converter/clocks were knackered and I was using a speedo app on my iPhone. When I muted the iPhone the noise disappeared but it sounds like it was pretty much the exact same noise and speed. Strange, but as above Iwould assume its a speed warning sensor in the car somewhere.

[KAB246]

Many thanks to you all for the info. The ping does seem to be speed related, but, not consistently so. It sounds (sometimes) at about 50kph and 60kph as well as 120kph. Anyway, it does not seem to be critical, so I will have to try and ignore it. I am hoping to have the kph display changed to mph soon, so that may fix it?