Help! Crackling popping noise after windshield replacement

[joe36]

Hi all! I need your help in determining what this crackling popping sound is. My car is a 1997 BMW 328is 2 door coupe. I had the windshield replaced at my home. After the install, i let my car sit for a day and a half before I used it. Since then, while driving I heard crackling popping sounds which seem to come from the edges of the windshield. I took it back to the shop that installed it, but they kept insisting it was my dashboard. i told them off because clearly the sounds were coming from the windshield.. anyhow, after a while they agreed to re install the windshield. thereafter, while driving home, the same sound is still there but much louder.

Could it be the windshield hasn't settled in.. like should there be a cure time or something? or did they just use crappy sealant? please advise... the sound is making me furious... thanks

[Glasseye]

The windshield sits very close to the edges of the dashboard, "A" pillar panels and inner roof trim edge. It sounds like the glass is rubbing against these panels when the car is in motion, more than likely the dashboard. One of the ways is to try and pinpoint the source of the noise when you are driving, it might help to have a passenger with you to help with pinpointing the location. Then use a piece of A4 paper and slide it between the glass and the trim and see if it has any effect on the noise. If this is successful, use a silicon spray and squirt it into the contact area which, hopefully, will cure it. If not, the gap between the glass and the offending trim will need packing out with some soft material such as felt to stop the surfaces rubbing together. Normally the dashboards have felt pads fitted from manufacture to stop the "rubbing" problem, but these can easily be lost during replacement or simply just come unstuck from there anchor point. Hope my advice helps, I would be very interested to know the outcome of this problem.

[sunshine wr]

I would have one of their techs take a drive or ride with you . First determine when the noise happens speed , bumps, stopping ,turning, etc so it will be easier to pin point for the tech.

[GlassGod]

Was a factory style molding used ? Or was some kind of universal molding used . That could set the glass at a different height ,either too low or too high . Try removing the cowl and driving it as well . If the glass was dove ,possibly it could be air noise as well . Usually if correctly installed there is enough room so that the garnish moldings never touch the glass.

GG

[benswindshieldrepair]

As a glass installer, I think Glasseye has got it right. It's very possible that due to foam damming being lost during installation the windshield is rubbing against the plastic A-pillars or the dashboard. Typically, the cowling is not going to make enough noise for you to notice. This is most likely coming from the interior. It is why as a professional glass technician, I always impress upon my customers to try to repair glass instead of allowing it to crack and having to replace. It's sometimes hard to make it "like it was" and inevitably, though this doesn't seem the case, customers notice things about their car that they didn't notice before the installation (this usually applies to moulding fitting etc- NOTE pre inspection!!!!). As Glasseye said, try to pinpoint the source and do what you can there...aside from that, request the tech to ride with you to try to get them to hear what you are hearing. Perhaps they need to use a bigger bead of polyurethane to raise it up a bit. Good luck.