weird noise

[marcmsj]

i just got back from my lunch break, i was sitting outside in my car and put the car in "acc" to roll up my windows and remembered to check my oil. i left the car in acc and popped the hood open. there was a weird noise coming from what seemed to be below the throttle body. kind of hard to explain the sound but it was crackling, at diferent intervals... sorta like rice crispies in milk but a lot deeper. sound went away when i took the key out of the ignition. any takers?

 

[marcmsj]

so i went to take another look at the car and it was still doing this same thing. this time i leaned in further to try to see where it was coming from. i removed a wire harness with about 4-6 wires that goes under the throttle body (not sure what it connects to) and the noise stopped. i put it back in and the noise is gone and didn't come back... anybody know what i disconnected?