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alternator whine


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sab0276 
Copper - Posts: 61
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Joined: April 21, 2006
Location: United States
Posted: May 26, 2006 at 10:24 AM / IP Logged  
I have a 2002 GMC Yukon. It has pretty bad alternator whine.
Here is the details of the wiring:
I ran the 4awg power wire down the drivers side door sill to the rear doors. I then have a distribution block to run 8awg to the 2 amps.
The amps are mounted under the middle seats. The speaker wire for the left speakers also goes down the drivers side door sill but is about 1.5" away from the power wire. The speaker wires do cross over the power wire, but does so at a 90* angle.
The RCA wires and remote are ran underneath the center console. There is wiring for the factory rear stereo and 12v port in the center console tunnel as well.
Also the speakers pop when ever I turn the system on or off.
Any ideas?
I'll try to take pics and post them later this weekend.
-Scott
p.s. Is it ok for RCA cables and speaker wire to run along next to each other?
2002 GMC Yukon SLT non-Bose
Pioneer AVIC N3
benneeb0y 
Member - Posts: 16
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Joined: May 16, 2006
Posted: May 26, 2006 at 2:49 PM / IP Logged  
im bit of a novice when i comes to car stereos but i always run power and remote down the side of the car with the battery on it and the rca and speaker wires down the opposite. i guess best case you would want to seperate rca and speakers but i have never had any whine. and im guessing you mean whine as in you hear it thru the speakers? you could try insulating with wire loom at the point they cross. also there could be wiring for the cars electronices by your speaker wires like in the console or somewhere along the your run.
forbidden 
Platinum - Posts: 5,352
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Location: Alberta, Canada
Posted: May 26, 2006 at 3:29 PM / IP Logged  
More info is required. We need a breakdown of what equipment is installed and where it is installed.
Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
dwarren 
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Posted: May 26, 2006 at 3:30 PM / IP Logged  

RCA and speaker wires together is ok. The RCA's with power cable is a problem causing situation. Running amplified speaker wire next to power cables is generally ok too.

Unfortunately you have a vehicle that is notorious for egine noise. The alternators in many GM vehicles are prone to being noisy. Secondly there are very few solid grounds in that vehicle. You should start by metering all of your grounds, making sure they match and have the least amount of resistance possible, I hope you have read the grounding sticky above.

crcustoms45 
Member - Posts: 29
Member spacespace
Joined: February 15, 2006
Location: United States
Posted: May 29, 2006 at 5:08 PM / IP Logged  
alternator wine is the hell of the car stereo world.  i need info on specific components of every piece of the system. 
Chris
CRCustoms
sab0276 
Copper - Posts: 61
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Posted: May 30, 2006 at 10:09 AM / IP Logged  
I ripped out the power wire and RCA's to test them separately to try to find the source of the problem.
I ran the power wire outside of the car over the top and in through the sunroof. I also had some 20' RCA's and I ran them from the head unit, outside the front door, and then back inside the rear door to the amps. The alternator whine was still there. So I put everything back in place.
Then I hooked up the original RCA's and amp's to a home CD player and it played perfectly, even with the car running.
I then disconnected all of the RCA's from the head unit and pulled the power wire fuse in the engine bay so that there couldn't be any feedback from wiring and hooked up a Bose Wave Radio that accepts RCA-In's and I could still hear the alternator whine through the head unit.
I ended up upgrading the Big 3 which reduced it significantly and also ran more ground wires on the head unit which also helped some.
The whine is still there but almost unnoticeable. With the volume all the way down, you have to put your head to the speaker to hear it at idle, or you have to rev the engine up in order to hear it now while seated. Te only time I can hear it while driving is with the volume low, windows up, and while accellerating or at above 3000RPM.
I am pretty satisfied with it, and will just live with it as is, unless there are some more easy things I can do to try to make it even better.
Thank you guys for your help!
-Scott
2002 GMC Yukon SLT non-Bose
Pioneer AVIC N3
sab0276 
Copper - Posts: 61
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Joined: April 21, 2006
Location: United States
Posted: May 30, 2006 at 10:28 AM / IP Logged  
crcustoms45 wrote:
alternator wine is the hell of the car stereo world. i need info on specific components of every piece of the system.
Components:
Pioneer AVIC N3 Navigation head unit with voice command
Visonica 13" drop down screen
RF 160.4 4-way amp for the door speakers
RF 100.2 2-way amp for the Subs
Pioneer TS-A1781R 6.75" door speakers (front and rear)
Pioneer TS-A878 3.5" rear speakers (powered by the HU)
Infinity REF850W 8" Sub
RF HX2 12" DVC Subs
The 12" subs are powered by the left channel of the 100.2 amp and the 8" sub is powered by the right channel of the 100.2 amp.
-Scott
2002 GMC Yukon SLT non-Bose
Pioneer AVIC N3
DYohn 
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Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: May 30, 2006 at 10:30 AM / IP Logged  
You can try running a dedicated ground wire from the HU all the way to the case of the alternator, but it sounds like your vehicle simply has a noisy alternator.  There's not much else you can do on a vehicle with a noisy alternator except replace the alternator.  Or, if you're using a Pioneer head unit, try a different brand head unit.
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Drewt 
Copper - Posts: 183
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Joined: January 04, 2005
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Posted: May 30, 2006 at 6:53 PM / IP Logged  
also - it's ok to run speaker and power wires beside each other. It's probally better to run speaker and power together than speaker and RCA.
sparkie 
Platinum - Posts: 2,061
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Joined: November 06, 2003
Location: Canada
Posted: May 30, 2006 at 8:35 PM / IP Logged  
Your truck will require that you clean up the ground cable from the battery to the front bumper. Above and to the driver's side of the front tow hook, you will find a 10 mm bolt that holds one or two cables. The large one is for the battery to chassis ground. Clean all the corrossion off the cable and bolt and bumper to help get rid of the alt noise. Make sure that both of your battery cables are clean and tight to the battery. Make sure you ground your amps to one spot and scrape the metal to insure a good ground. Don't use any existing bolts especially ones for the seats. Use your own bolt into a thick area of the body. A good location is the pillar post between the front and rear doors as it is fairly thick metal.
sparky
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