I have a 2001 Hyundia Accent 2-door, 5-speed. When I turn on the rear defroster my Am/Fm radio has a lot of static. It is the factory radio and has done this as long as I have had the car. Now I have installed an amp and when the amp turns on the radio goes static. The antenna is located on the rear driver side. I figure the defrost wire is running next to the antenna wire, and now I have installed the amp's power wire in the same area.
What can I do to prevent this static? Is there a device I can buy or will I have to relocate one of the wires?
Thank You
What kind of amp did you install? The power supply of some older Rockford amps had a tendency to generate RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). It sounds as though this is what you are dealing with.
I have a MMATS D1100.1 (new). It is not even connected to any subwoofer yet, just at idle it causes static. Today I installed a Kicker crossover in the same area being powered by the same wires and it caused no interference while at idle. I also have a 2 farad capacitor installed next to the amp; when it's powered on it causes no interference. the only things that cause static are the amp and the rear defrost.
The size of the power supply in the crossover will not even come close to generating any noise that could make it out of it's case. Even without speaker wires connected, the amp will make enough noise to be a problem. Your only options are going to be moving the amp to a location further away from the antenna. Option 2 will be to shield the amp inside of a metal container of some sort, and grounding the metal box.
The static from the rear defogger is caused by one or more breaks in the rear defroster grid. If you can get your window to fog up, turn on the defogger. Watch for the areas that don't clear as fast as the rest of the window. The break will be in the area that doesn't clear. You can buy repair kits at most auto parts stores. As for your amp, does the static only happen with the rear defogger on or all the time. Does it happen only while listening to the radio and not CD? The most likely way noise enters a system is a bad ground. Make sure that both the radio and amp have a good ground into a clean and paint free spot on the body of the vehicle and not just a metal brace someplace. Try rerouting RCA cables too.
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sparky
I have literaly installed over a hundred speakers, amds, radios, ect... and have never ran into a problem like this. The only time it gets static is when I turn on the defrost or the amp. The amp is not hooked to anything but power right now, I am waiting for my sub vai mail and I need a hi-lo converter for rca's. The radio is a tape player so I have never played it, I only play the Fm radio. Today I will extend the power wires and hold the amp away to see if it cures the problem. If so I was thinking about buying an antenna wire extension (5-10ft) and rerouting the antenna wire. It doesn't need any adaptors so if I can get the factory wire loose it shouldn't be a big problem. Will the extra long antenna wire affect my Fm radio signal? The reson I would rather do this is because I was able to find a very nice tucked away location for my amp, cap and x-over to hide with plenty air space.
P.S. I would have never thought my defrost was broken causing the interference.
Thank You
Adding another antenna lead extension to the install will only diminish the FM signal quality. Fix the grid and that problem will be gone. Then tackle the amp issue. It's possible the amp itself is the culprit.
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sparky