engine noise coming through speakers

I have an aftermarket radio installed with speakers and an amplifier. I'm currently hearing a lot of engine noise going through the speakers. RCA's and power cables are opposite of each other and the amplifier is properly grounded with 4 gauge cable. The amplifier was grounded to bare metal. I also have a capacitor that is also grounded with 4 gauge cable. Any help is appreciated!

the car is a 1993 honda civic dx

Try a ground loop isolator as it's a ground loop that is causing problems, do a search on here for ground loop i found allot on here explaining it, good luck

Do you have a Pioneer Head Unit?

I've been reading up on ground loop isolators and they only "patch" the problem, is there anything i can do with the grounding wires or maybe a new approach to grounding to something to the car?

i am an idiot- yes i do the pioneer head unit that i have the is deh-p4200ub. a lot of people comment on the fact that they have bad grounding issues, is there anything i can do to fix it?

thank you everyone for your quick responses

awesome, the popping noise is coming through the tweeters, it does not go through the door speakers. can i take a wire connect it to the outer shield of the RCA and the the other end twist it and connect it to ground on the amplifier?

U can try connecting a ground from the amp to the head unit, some RCAs have a small wire in the middle for this, te other option is to earth the sterio at the same point as the amp, from what I read this brings the reference to the same point so there is no voltage change, if I'm wrong pls correct mr ad I'm new to this also :)

It really needs to be done behind the radio.  If you do it at the amp, you will create a ground loop.  The radio is what is supposed to supply ground to the amp.  If you ground the amp end, it will help some, but will not eliminate the noise.

so by attaching wire to both parts of the RCA's and then the end back to the body of the radio, then any noise should be eliminated?

If you performed the test at the top of the page and found that the shield of the RCA jack did not show continuity to the chassis of the radio, then yes it will get rid of your noise.  You really only need to do one of the cables.  If you do not have a meter, ground a wire to the chassis of the radio or to the radio's ground wire, then touch and hold the other end of that wire to the shield of the patch cord to see if it makes a pop then the noise goes away.  If it does, then solder the wire as shown.

jkats91 wrote:

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awesome, the popping noise is coming through the tweeters, it does not go through the door speakers. can i take a wire connect it to the outer shield of the RCA and the the other end twist it and connect it to ground on the amplifier?

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You mentioned that the popping noise is coming from the tweeters. Did you make sure that you have a good connection on your crossovers? Popping through the tweeters is commonly caused by the connections on the crossover not being tight.

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MECP Basic Installation Tech
Certification ID: CEA195600
Pioneer AVIC-X920BT
Polk Audio DXi 6500 - front
Rockford Fosgate Power T1693 - rear
Alpine MRP-F300
Alpine MRP-M500
Alpine SWR-1242D

yes all connections on the crossovers are tight, i even re did them just to make sure and it didn't eliminate anything :(

i am an idiot- i did exactly as the webpage that you posted said, and it did not get rid of anything, noise is still coming through all speakers, do you have any other suggestions?

Have you tried turning the amplifier's gain adjustment all the way down?

noise started to go away when the gain was turned down, but in the end this doesn't solve any problems does it? because gain should be set at a comfortable setting throughout the car. if the gain is down, in order to eliminate the clicking/popping noise then, problem still exists. on an amplifier is there supposed to be 4 or 8 gauge ground wire/power wire?

jkats91 wrote:

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noise started to go away when the gain was turned down, but in the end this doesn't solve any problems does it? because gain should be set at a comfortable setting throughout the car. if the gain is down, in order to eliminate the clicking/popping noise then, problem still exists. on an amplifier is there supposed to be 4 or 8 gauge ground wire/power wire?

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It will change per amplifier. It depends on how big the inputs are for the amplifier honestly. If it accepts a 4 gauge, then use a 4-gauge if you have it readily available. You can never go wrong having a bigger ground than the power, but never have a smaller ground than the power. It needs to be equal or bigger.

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MECP Basic Installation Tech
Certification ID: CEA195600
Pioneer AVIC-X920BT
Polk Audio DXi 6500 - front
Rockford Fosgate Power T1693 - rear
Alpine MRP-F300
Alpine MRP-M500
Alpine SWR-1242D

Turn the gain down to the point in which you can no longer hear the noise.  Turn the radio volum up, can you still reach your desired listening level? 

gained was turned down and the clicking/popping noise went away, but it is still there at a very low volume, so this problem can only be resolved by reworking the ground in the car? do you recommend i have 4 gauge ground cable at the battery terminal to match the 4 gauge ground at the amplifier? i also have another mono-block amplifier in the car that's connected to a subwoofer.

Would having a cheap amp kit contribute to having popping noise through speakers?