Hey friends, I'm back! Haven't been very active lately because I got a new car back in August and took the stereo out of my last car but never installed more than just the deck and speakers into the newer car, a 2001 Honda Civic (from the original owner, with only 54,000 original miles on it!).
Yesterday, I finally found time to install the same equalizer (Clarion EQS746) and 4-channel amp (Boston GT-40) into the Civic that I installed in the 1991 Prizm. I had the same head unit also (Kenwood KDC-355U) in the Prizm. I haven't installed the tweeters and bass blockers into the Civic yet. Ran out of time.
Anyway, in spite of installing every stereo and alarm in every car I've ever owned since the mid 70's (over 40 years!), all of a sudden I have MAJOR WHINE from my system! I'd call it alternator whine, but not sure it's from the alternator. All I know is it's the absolute worst I've EVER had from ANY stereo! I'm serious, I've had Spark-O-Matic decks and Kraco equalizers hooked to Jensen speakers that sounded better than THIS does now! LOL!
So, everything was clear, with no whine at all, up until yesterday when I put the equalizer and amp in. Now I get the loudest whine I've ever heard from ANY vehicle! Funny thing is, I've connected everything exactly the same way I had connected it in the last car, but had no whine at all in that car.
Here's the simple (I know, kinda cheesy, but I wasn't looking for IASCA quality, just decent sound) installation technique I used:
1. Head unit installed 2 years ago still connected to factory radio wiring, including power and ground.
2. Equalizer power and ground shared with head unit connections.
3. Amp laying on carpeted floor under passenger seat, not touching metal. I zip-tied it to seat brackets instead of bolting it down.)
4. Amp power 4 gauge power cable runs directly to battery through thick factory rubber grommet (only one I could get to).
5. Amp grounded to seat bracket bolt.
Nothing out of the ordinary here. What kills me is that everything is hooked up the same way as the last car, yet I had no whine in that one.
So, does anyone think it could be that my amp power cable is too close to a factory wire harness? Would disconnecting deck and eq from stock wires and wiring power and ground directly to battery eliminate the whine?
I'm not ready to do any Big 3 stuff just yet, only because it's only one amp with gains set pretty low. Once I get the sub amp and subs in, THEN I'll consider the Big 3.
Oddly enough, I've had 1,300 watts of power from 3 amps in a Nissan Sentra with 6 speakers and a pair of 12's that had NO WHINE!
Thanks for any advice or opinion. OH, everything is crystal clear and sounds perfect with the KEY OFF. Like it should with car running!
NOTE: I checked a LOT of forum topics on this but couldn't really find the answer I needed.