2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT (4.0/auto)

Recently my van has started clicking loudly from under the lower dash, driver side, in the area just above the gas/brake pedals. It sounds like
a screwdriver tapping against a plastic box, 2-3 taps per second.

There seems to be a 6" plastic box of some sort there. I can't get down and look due to physical limitations.

It begins when I start the car up, and continues for 2-3 minutes then
stops.

Then, when I turn the car off, it starts clicking again, and continues for a minute or so, even after the key is off, and I am out of the van.

The A/C is on all the time because of the hot dry climate where I live. A/C is blowing cold air out of the dash vents as it is supposed to.

I'll be taking it in to the dealer next week, but would like a heads up as to the problem from unbiased readers.

Thanks in advance

 

webhound,

I'm sorry to learn of your recent ticking sound.

Although you're living in a hot climate and rely on the A/C, have you tested different scenarios? Does the ticking occur upon start up and shutdown when the A/C is off, or with the heat on?

 

I turned off the A/C just before I garaged the car last night. When I started it up this AM, the clicking noise was still there. It's quite loud and annoying. Temperature settings don't see to make a difference. I turned the A/C back on, but the noise continued. The noise seems to be coming from a plastic box under the dash, directly above the space between the brake & gas pedal. If I reach down under the dash, I can just feel it. It's not way up under, just behind the edge of the trim panel. Once it starts clicking, it clicks for up to 4 minutes, then stops. Does not matter if I am accelerating, or hard braking, or any other variable I can enter. The clicking sounds like a screwdriver tapping against a plastic box. About 5 clicks per second.
I recorded it with a phone app, but it's in an .aif file and I can't upload it.

 

How to solve this problem?