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grounding rca wires on a non noisey hu

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jmelton86 
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Posted: November 05, 2007 at 6:38 PM / IP Logged  

We all know that by grouding out the negative RCA wires will 'fix' Pioneer/Premier output noise, what will it do on a HU that's all good?

I'm asking b/c Monster claims it'll reduce noise. If the noise isn't there in the first place, what'll it do?

2013 Kia Rio -90a alternator
DDX470HD GTO14001 GTO1014D (x3)
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i am an idiot 
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Posted: November 05, 2007 at 6:48 PM / IP Logged  
Try it and let us know.  It won't hurt anything.  The shield of the RCA is at ground.  When the Pioneer units break all we are doing is putting the shield back at ground.
jmelton86 
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Posted: November 05, 2007 at 6:56 PM / IP Logged  

Well, i've had the MonsterXLN's (wire from each channel negative to ground) going to my sub amp for over 2years (before I found this site!) with no problems. I've recently found out that it doesn't help if the HU (the internal ground to be more specific) is good.

Just wondering if it's hurting, if anything.

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Big3 in 1/0G
1/0G to GTO14001
haemphyst 
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Posted: November 06, 2007 at 9:01 AM / IP Logged  
Nope... Can't hurt. In fact, there are some manufacturers of RCA cables that actually provide a ground pigtail just for the purpose. It's recommended that it be connected, even if there is no noise... I'll try to find a link for some.
It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
offroadzj 
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Posted: November 06, 2007 at 4:47 PM / IP Logged  
do add the new ground do I just strip back the outer shielding of the rca's and solder a new wire to it and apply that to ground? or should I skip the solder so I dont risk burning into the inner shielding?
Thanks
Sorry for the hijack
Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205
stevdart 
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Posted: November 06, 2007 at 7:40 PM / IP Logged  

offroadzj wrote:
do add the new ground do I just strip back the outer shielding of the rca's and solder a new wire to it and apply that to ground? or should I skip the solder so I dont risk burning into the inner shielding?
Thanks

Unscrew the connector of the RCA.  You will see which terminal is connected to the outer shell of the connector.  Thread the small ground wire through the terminal casing that you unscrewed (it will be a tight fit because the insulated RCA wiring is taking up most of the opening space)...solder it to that outer shell connector.  Screw the connector back like it was.  You will now have a ground wire feeding out of the connector along with the RCA wiring.

The soldered terminal connected to the outer casing is shown at the top in this photo:

grounding rca wires on a non noisey hu -- posted image.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
offroadzj 
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Posted: November 06, 2007 at 9:37 PM / IP Logged  
do you do this will both/all 4 (2ch vs 4ch) rca connectors?
Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205
stevdart 
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Posted: November 06, 2007 at 10:16 PM / IP Logged  

Just one would work.  The RCA connector is grounded to the unit chassis when fully inserted, so wiring to the other cables would make no difference. 

The problem that you are correcting, if I can put this coherently, is that the troublesome source unit has differing ground potentials between its chassis (which grounds directly to the car's chassis) and its output (via RCA terminal).  This difference in ground planes is connected directly to the amplifier when the connecting RCA is inserted because the amp chassis is also grounded to car chassis as well.  This is a  ground loop and the result is an audible hum.  By attaching the separate wire from RCA ground to chassis, you are stabilizing the ground reference.

Edit for my post above:  photo credit goes to www.bcae1.com

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
offroadzj 
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Posted: November 06, 2007 at 10:31 PM / IP Logged  
awesome clarification. This will definately be something i try on the dreaded alternator whine cars. Unfortunately, customers just refuse to understand that it isnt always an installation error, or even something that can always be corrected.
Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

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