engine whine
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=49971
Printed Date: May 03, 2024 at 8:52 AM
Topic: engine whine
Posted By: musicworx
Subject: engine whine
Date Posted: February 12, 2005 at 6:33 PM
Everytime i put a 4 channel amp into a vehicle i end up with engine whine. When i unplug one set of rcas, the noise go's away. The noise is only usually there when both pairs of rcas are plugged into the amp. The power wire is run down the opposite side of the vehicle that the rcas are. The deck, amp, and any other components are grounded to the same location on the vehicle- usually the floor of the trunk using a lock washer and a bolt-the paint is cleaned off ofcourse. i have tried everything. i even tried grounding the components directly to the battery and there was no change. The amps are mounted to wood and not metal. The only thing that seems to cure the problem is a ground loop isolator. However, this is only masking the problem, not solving it. Does anybody have ant answers or ideas? Much appreciated if you do. thanks, Rich
Replies:
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: February 12, 2005 at 8:27 PM
You have a ground loop. Probably bad RCAs, defective (or super cheap) amp and/or head unit. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: musicworx
Date Posted: February 17, 2005 at 6:42 PM
the rcas are usually efx and we only deal with alpine/clarion amps and alpine/clarion headunits. I recently did a mustang and used the best efx rcas they make, a pioneer deck, rockford amps and I even made a point of checking the resistance on all the ground wires as i did the install. There is less than a half an ohm of resistance between all the grounds and the battery. They are all grounded at one point using a distribution block. The rcas are run down the opposite side of the vehicle than the power wire. I still enede up with a very minor amount of engine noise. Any suggestions?
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: February 17, 2005 at 7:02 PM
The one thing that stands out in your description above is "a pioneer deck." Pioneer is known for marginal internal ground planes, and especially for introducing ground differentials (i.e. loops) between front and rear or sub line outputs. Try ensuring a good ground for the HU that is not the OEM wiring harness ground, and try connecting the two outer rings of the RCA cables together. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: musicworx
Date Posted: February 19, 2005 at 2:12 PM
the deck is grounded at the amplifiers, not the oem ground.....but i will try to connect the outer rings of the rcas together. i will keep ya posted.
Posted By: musicworx
Date Posted: February 23, 2005 at 12:40 PM
tried grounding the rcas outer conductor together and still no change. i also tried an alpine headunit and still no change. i replaced the amps and nothing. I am reading about .2 ohms between the battery ground and the ends of all other grounds for the stereo. I even tried different rcas. Help!
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: February 23, 2005 at 1:03 PM
You could maybe try grounding the deck where the amp is grounded. Go through the stickys on grounds at the top of the page.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 23, 2005 at 1:07 PM
To me if you are having noise with different head units, then it is either a bad amp or bad rca's. Have you tried running new temporary rca's over the tops of the seats just in case one of the installed ones was going to ground.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: February 23, 2005 at 1:13 PM
musicworx wrote:
tried grounding the rcas outer conductor together and still no change. i also tried an alpine headunit and still no change. i replaced the amps and nothing. I am reading about .2 ohms between the battery ground and the ends of all other grounds for the stereo. I even tried different rcas. Help!
OK, now you're down to ignition system noise. This is where it gets really fun. Could be bad spark plug cables, cracked or worn out distributor cap, a cracked spark plug, bad engine ground strap, bad coil, bad ground on the engine control unit (computer), bad brushes in teh alternator, or a faulty voltage regulator. ------------- Support the12volt.com
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