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What is humming when the car is off?
My mom is 91 and drives a 1993 Park Avenue. When we were chatting in the driveway with the car off and the keys in her hand, we noticed some humming from under the hood. It runs for about 10 seconds and then shuts off...tracked it to a part next to windshield washer fluid. The part is kind of silver in front; kinda horseshoe shaped with a black part in back looking like a mini megaphone (sorry for the terrible description). Mom says she sometimes hears it doing this when she walks into the garage. Is this normal??? Any help would be appreciated...when she or I go to a local place, they always seem to "see us coming".
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Depends on what it is. If it's part of the cooling system, it's possible for something to run on after the vehicle is off, but the description kind of sounds like the horn, so not sure.
Agree that if it runs quite a bit, there may be a leak.
But, the only way to tell for certain is to see how often it runs while sitting.
The ride leveler is what levels the car when a load is put in the car/trunk. It "sees" the height of the car and will apply air or release air to level the car or bring it to the correct height.
When you put something in the trunk or someone gets in the car, the sensor tells the pump to start.
The pump supplies air to the rear shocks or air cushions and lifts the vehicle to the correct ride height.
That's the basics of it.
If the rear of the vehicle is low, then it could cause handling problems and it should be fixed soon.
If you are in an area with a good tire shop, Goodyear, Les Schwab Tire(west coast) or one of those, they can probably take a look at the lines and shocks for a nominal diagnostic price.
Another concern would be that if the pump runs too often and the vehicle isn't run for several days at a time, it can run the battery down and shorten the life of the battery. Which while not considered a safety concern, can be expensive and an inconvenience.