Worst whine Ever in 40 years

Okay, THEN WHAT? Common sense says if you turn your gains all the way down you won't have a music signal. So, I'm guessing you turn them all the way down ONLY as a test. Okay, let's imagine I DO THIS? Why can't someone just TELL ME what I'm looking for, and what the outcome would be? If I still hear whine, then what? If the whine is gone, then what? Just suggesting I turn the gains all the way down "then getting back to you" isn't much help. I'll try it today anyway... and get back to you all since nobody wants to tell me what it would mean if the whine is there or gone.

It's kind of amusing how many times I've clearly stated that this entire stereo system connected totally the exact same way in my last car that was only 2 years old had NO whine, but now has whine, and people keep thinking it's the amp or an RCA cable or ground... when it was all perfectly fine when it was removed from the last car. 1999 Chevy Prizm had Same head unit. Same equalizer. Same 8g power cables. Same 8g ground cables. Same speakers. Same 12g speaker wires. Same amp. Same RCA cables. Power from same sources. Grounded at same locations. but now all of a sudden it's a problem with the equipment? I truly believe it's more of a problem with some kind of electrical interference from the engine or power equipment. The last car did not have power windows or power door locks or power mirrors or cruise control like this car, otherwise it was pretty darn close to the same. BUT I'll CHECK MORE STUFF. I'm not giving up just yet. I'd bet my last dollar that the problem is NOT any of the equipment, especially the amp. Like I've also mentioned countless times, I've been installing car audio and security for over 40 years and THIS is the very FIRST time I've had whine. Heck, I didn't even have whine when I was sportin' the ol' Spark-O-Matic deck with the Kraco booster and Jensen speakers back in the mid 70's. But it "must be the amp".

kenwood_nut wrote: It's kind of amusing how many times I've clearly stated that this entire stereo system connected totally the exact same way in my last car that was only 2 years old had NO whine, but now has whine, and people keep thinking it's the amp or an RCA cable or ground... when it was all perfectly fine when it was removed from the last car....

It doesn't matter if the same equipment was in a different vehicle or in an identical vehicle to what you have now with the same exact options. If the noise is only audible/present when the vehicle is running and it is a whine, then you have a difference in impedance to ground between the alternator (absolute ground when the vehicle is running) and one or more components in your audio system. A meter will help you find the culprit faster than trying anything else. You may find you need a better ground from the case of the alternator to the vehicle chassis as well as from one or more components to the vehicle's chassis. You want the least amount of resistance to the vehicle's chassis with all of these period.

kenwood_nut wrote: I truly believe it's more of a problem with some kind of electrical interference from the engine or power equipment. The last car did not have power windows or power door locks or power mirrors or cruise control like this car, otherwise it was pretty darn close to the same.

The mere existence of power windows, locks, mirrors, or a cruise control will not create alternator whine. In some cases, alternator whine can be diminished or eliminated by adding a capacitor to the output of the alternator. The size will vary, but a 500 micro farad cap should definitely work :D the12volt • Support the12volt.com

UPDATE: Turned both gains all the way down and whine is GONE! But the slightest increase and it comes back. Is my amp bad, or just what's picking up the static? Thanks for the suggestion.

[QUOTE]The mere existence of power windows, locks, mirrors, or a cruise control will not create alternator whine. In some cases, alternator whine can be diminished or eliminated by adding a capacitor to the output of the alternator. The size will vary, but a 500 micro farad cap should definitely work :D[/QUOTE] Thanks for that info! I was thinking something in the power stuff was emitting noise into the stereo. I've had friends suggest getting an RFI capacitor but wasn't sure exactly how to connect it on a Civic. All the pictures I've found on Google show old-school alternators and coils hookups. Also found out a typical automotive condensor is pretty much the same thing, and THOSE are super easy to find laying around probably any friend's auto repair shop or even a wrecking yard.

With the gains all the way down, are you able to reach your desired listening level?

i am an idiot wrote: With the gains all the way down, are you able to reach your desired listening level?

Barely. Only if I crank the volume a bit, but I still have a bit of whine. Thinking seriously about a new amp anyway. Running out of options on what to test and reground. As I mentioned, grounding the RCA outputs on the deck helped drastically, but not totally. New RCA cables made no difference. Moving the head unit and equalizer grounds made no difference, and I'm on my third ground point for the amp with no luck. Sounds to me like my last resort is that RFI capacitor. If THAT doesn't take care of the whine, sounds to me like I just remove the amp and equalizer and go back to head unit level of volume. UGH! The only thing I can think of that the amp might be picking up noise from is the wires under the passenger seat, but even pulling it out and away from those wires made no difference. Gains are now set lower than they have ever been. Still hear whine with volume all the way down though.

Have you tried running a heavy ground from the case of the alternator to the chassis of the vehicle? A little bitty RFI cap is not what I mentioned, but you can try it after running a new ground to the alternator case if the whine is still present. the12volt • Support the12volt.com

Have you read the sticky titled "What is a proper ground"?Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

the12volt wrote: Have you tried running a heavy ground from the case of the alternator to the chassis of the vehicle? A little bitty RFI cap is not what I mentioned, but you can try it after running a new ground to the alternator case if the whine is still present.

No, haven't tried that, but I certainly will. Thanks for the tip! The RFI cap was suggested by several of my personal friends, but I still haven't tried one. I like the bigger ground idea.