my system sounds terrible

I just installed my system and it sound terrible.  I have considerable amount of engine noise and when I turn my lights on and off my subs make noise.  I ran my speaker wires and my rca's on the opposite side of the car from my power and remote I scraped down the ground real good with a automatic wire brush.  I don't know what the problem is.

Check your engine ground, Negative battery cable to engine block.  Also is your system noisy when the car is not running? Is you amp mounted right to any metal?  Ckeck your Rca's, use another pair of Rca's and see if this cuts out your noise.  Or try adjusting your gains on your amp again.  Turn them gains down a little and see what happens. Harv

Ahh, sounds like PYLE equipment.... Seriously tho what are u running in there? You might not be using a big enough power and ground cable or you might not have a good set of RCA's. I'd try MONSTER and STINGER. Adjust gains accordingly, until distortion dissappears."I don't play games. I play Nakamichi and that for real yo" - Probably some japanese kid said this in the early 80's trying to sell stereo out of his trunk lol.

First, read through the 'ground' thread (stickied at the top of the page) to see if you can pick up some troubleshooting methods for eliminating a ground loop.

Exactly the right thing to do.Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

I am using a kicker kx1200.1 I tryed several different rca's I tried running a new cable from the car ground over to the alternator.  It does still make noise when the car is off but it is not nearly as loud.

its defineitely the ground or something to do with the ground.  Whether it be the ground itself or the amp is in contact with metal.  Make sure the amp or the screws holding the amp are not touching metal.  What you hear is commonly called "Alternator squeel".  How long is your ground wire?  You said that you have a good connection, what do you have at the end of the wire?  Is it frayed or is there an end cap on it?  Your ground should be no longer than 18".  The shorter the better.  Also, ensure that the ground is on part of the frame of the car rather than the frame of the back seat or something along those lines.  These will all help with the ground connection.Cpl Moose

USMC Iraq