Do you hear a constant whine?

[HIOJim]

I suspect that it is more the fact that most computer speakers have no response to speak of at those frequencies...

Good point. Do ear buds do any better? That's what I used for myself.

 

[planet4ever]

I suspect that it is more the fact that most computer speakers have no response to speak of at those frequencies...

What about cheap headphones? Would they have the same problem? I was surprised that I couldn't even hear anything at 10K, but then my ears are 73 years old. At least I did hear the 8K tone. (I just now tried again with my laptop computer's built-in speakers, same result.)

Ray

 

[SanDust]

Any of the rest here, notice this constant high frequency "feedback" during Leaf operation?

I hear it. My wife hears it. How big a deal it is probably depends on how sensitive you are to high pitched whines. It's not really an issue much less a big issue for me because it's a faint whine not an ear shattering screech.

If people say they can't hear it then either some cars whine and some don't or some people don't have the best hearing.

 

[Packet]

Honestly, I can hear it, but it gives me no problems. (And considering I'm a migraine sufferer and certain sounds are a migraine trigger for me, I'm relieved by the fact that it doesn't bother me.) I just joke it's the warp drive powering up.

 

[mpm3710]

I fly turbine aircraft and it sounds the same
You gotta love it! :mrgreen:

That is exactly what I said to my husband when I explain the noise, it sounds like a turbine when speeding up and slowing down. After I told him that he now started hearing it when he knew what sound to listen for.

 

[Nekota]

The X-axis is time, the Y-axis is frequency, the color is amplitude.

If you look at the LEAF plot, you'll see that there is a narrow band of sound that ramps up - holds frequency then ramps down. That correlates with vehicle speed as the test involved accelerating up to 50 mph or something, then slowing back down to a stop.

The sharp vertical lines in the plot are the car hitting bumps.

Still doesn't tell me what the actual y-axis values are. I'm fairly sure if I make such a graph in college it would have been rejected ...

The Y axis values are in linear Hz. There is an open source sound editor "Audacity" that can display this psuedo 3D graph for a recorded sound, and if you have microphone you can record your own and have a "sonogram" displayed.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

The graphs shown in MT have the default coloring of MatLab 'spectrograms'.
http://www.mathworks.com/help/toolbox/signal/spectrogram.html

For more background on this type of sound analysis try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrogram

The MT plots show a tone that follows vehicle velocity and is not 'constant'. There is no evidence in any of the MT plots of a constant frequency tone. Maybe attaching a pizeo microphone element to the inverter and motor will help resolve the source.

Maybe this is a topic we can cover in one of the LEAF rallies.

 

[gbarry42]

I had a headache the other evening after coming home. I recalled reading about that here. Then, I remembered that I had driven the Prius that day Maybe I have have a dependency on whine? But I am aware of only the lower-speed-related sounds.

Someone mentioned hearing it when they pass other objects with the windows down. That suggests it come from outside (like under the hood).

Of course, the Prius makes noises of its own. I was under the hood with it the other day and I noticed some significant inverter-whine action with the car powered up and not going anywhere. Which suggested to me that there is probably more than one inverter in these systems. At a minimum, there should be a high-voltage to 12v supply that is used to run the accessories and keep the 12v battery charged. This one wouldn't vary much...but maybe you could influence it by turning on high powered accessories, like high beams and the heater (if that's powered from 12V?)

 

[DaveEV]

Then, I remembered that I had driven the Prius that day

LOL! I have not driven my Prius since getting the LEAF - may have to later today depending on how much opportunity charging I can get in.

 

[LEAFfan]

Someone mentioned hearing it when they pass other objects with the windows down. That suggests it come from outside (like under the hood).

If they are going around 18mph, that's definitely the VSP (which should be renamed PVS because it would be shorter [3 words vs. 4] to say) sound. It seems ten times louder pulling into the garage.

 

[LEAFfan]

Since I can hear the subtle whine of the electric motor, then it seems that the inverter is the high pitch noise that some people claim gives them a headache. My question is at what HZ frequency is it? If it is over 11K, then I wouldn't be able to hear it anyway. :mrgreen: Thanks Lanzer for that hearing check link.

 

[LEAFer]

Then, I remembered that I had driven the Prius that day Maybe I have have a dependency on whine?

Whine withdrawal symptoms !!! :lol:

 

[DougMarker]

I have been hearing a constant whine from my wife and I don't have my LEAF yet.

 

[buddf]

I definitely hear the jet engine noise and so does my wife. I have not heard much of the high pitch constant, but I will definitely listen for it. They did a great job with the VPS since I rarely can tell when it is off or on with the windows up. The "jet engine"'noise is much more Audible.

I just had my ears checked for a physical and was told I have excellent hearing.

By the way, this is my very first posting as an owner - I am still grinning like mad whenever I get to drive it! ;-)

 

[garygid]

Congratulations.

Now, you become a Shepherd to others following in your path.

 

[LEAFfan]

I just had my ears checked for a physical and was told I have excellent hearing.

Super! Would you please take that hearing test someone posted on here and tell me the number of Hz you can hear? I have excellent hearing too, but could only hear up to 10Hz. I'm hoping it's my inexpensive speakers and headset.

 

[evnow]

The graphs shown in MT have the default coloring of MatLab 'spectrograms'.
http://www.mathworks.com/help/toolbox/signal/spectrogram.html

For more background on this type of sound analysis try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrogram

The MT plots show a tone that follows vehicle velocity and is not 'constant'. There is no evidence in any of the MT plots of a constant frequency tone. Maybe attaching a pizeo microphone element to the inverter and motor will help resolve the source.

Do you think these graphs show correct amplitude relative to each other i.e. is the red on the leaf graph equal to the red on Prius graph ? Otherwise it is quite misleading.

 

[TEG]

Having listened to too much loud rock music in years past is a good pre-requisite to being a happy Leaf driver.
It sounds very quiet to me! (What high frequency noise?)

 

[daleph]

I posted this reply before , the Jet engine sound IS the AC motor.... nothing else, nothing to do with inverters or anything technical, thats what happens when you spin an electric motor at plus 10,000 RPM.

 

[buddf]

I definitely heard tones up to 18k. I need to play the test tones downstairs on my sound system to hear the others. Most normal speakers don't do those higher tones very well unless they have good tweeters.

I'll report back again later after I figure out how to play it down there (make a disk maybe? or hook up the CPU...). I'll have to be motivated though ;-)