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So, an interesting update.
I contacted the garage i bought the car from, who were quite happy to do whatever was required to get it fixed, but first of all wanted me to take it into a specialists that do re-gassing (at the garages expense of course).
I took it to one about 17 miles away from me and let the guy listen to it and straight away he said it needed re-gassing as it was low.
The sound, like a very fast ticking, was a solonoid valve opening and closing. It was doing this due to low pressure he said.
BMW i8's apparently have 630 grams of AC air/liquid? inside of them.
What they do to re-gas is hook it the machine, which will remove the old gas (measuring it in the process). Clear out the pipes of any condensation, and then re-fill it with the correct amount of gas and a specific oil.
The machine took 70 grams out of mine (instead of 630), so was WAY low.
I then drove it home, plus another 30 miles and the noise has gone completely.
I have no idea where the gas went, but the car is 10 years old and may not have ever been refilled. It may still have a leak of course, which i will find out when the weather warms up probably.
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