Air Ride, Popping Noise in Speakers

KPierson wrote: The compressor should not kick on and off every time you press the button. The compressor should only come on when air pressure is low. Therefore, it most likely isn't a problem with the relay - it is a problem with the solenoid valve(s) that actuate when you push the buttons.

The compressor only kicks on when the tank is at 120psi and turns off at 140psi thats why its ran to the pressure switch and the pressure switch is ran to the ignition wire. The compressor is run by the relay rather than a solenoid running it. The valves are powered by the switchbox, the switchbox gets its power from the battery. I just put new valves and switchbox wiring in the car a few weeks back and it does the same thing as the old setup which is what is still happening... Honestly, I have no clue what it is, but I will try with the diodes this weekend because I truly am dumbfounded on this.bp

Ween's suggestion of diodes across the coil of the relays sounds like the plan to me too.

Where is the switchbox grounded at? The problem is interference caused by the energization and deenergization of the (solenoid) valves. Simply swapping them out won't fix the problems. Making sure they have a good ground and diodes across their coils should help suppress any noise.Kevin Pierson

For my valves, I have an air engine kit and can't gain access to the coils. Since I can only get to my wires, but not to the internals of the valves, should I just put a diode on the positive side of my wires for the valves, or would that not do anything? I know it sounds like I'm just b.s'ing, but with this kit, it is just one steel block with everything built in and all you can access is just the wires, but not the wire ends for the valve side and where to plug the lines in at and absolutely no access to the solenoids for the valves, relays etc...bp

KPierson wrote: Where is the switchbox grounded at? The problem is interference caused by the energization and deenergization of the (solenoid) valves. Simply swapping them out won't fix the problems. Making sure they have a good ground and diodes across their coils should help suppress any noise.

The switchbox is grounded to the chassis. And I only swapped the valves because I wanted smaller ones and sold my old ones for more than what I paid for my new ones.(Gotta love dealer pricing)bp

I would consider running a temp ground right to the battery and see if that helps at all. The diodes can be installed anywhere, they just need to go across the + and - of the solenoid.Kevin Pierson

Now, I am going to sound stupid here, but why am I putting a diode with the cathode side on the positive wire between the positive and negative wires on each solenoid? Just so I understand, what is it actually doing that is going to prevent the noise? Thanks.bp

When the coil is energized the current running through the coiled wires of the coil create a magnetic field. It's this magnetic field that causes the relay to "switch" or the solenoid to "open". However, when you cut the voltage off the magnetic field collapses rapidly. This collapse creates a voltage in the opposite polarity and sometimes a much higher voltage. In your current setup this power has no where to go. By installing a diode "backwards" across the coil it will allow the voltage to be absorbed by the battery of the car, which acts as a large capacitor to suppress the voltage spike. It is this voltage spike that is most likely causing the "pop" to begin with. I can see the diode helping with turn off "pop" but I don't think it will help with turn on "pop". It's definitely an easy thing to try though.Kevin Pierson

Okay, thank you very much for the explanation! Also, if I remember correctly, it does NOT pop when I turn anything on, only when I hit the switches, so hopefully this will work. I will try and do it this weekend and see what happens, but my fingers are crossed.bp

Will a 1N4001 work? What would you recommend?bp