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Navigation & Audio what causes engine whine in audio system?

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  #1  
Old 11-28-2004, 11:04 AM
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what causes engine whine in audio system?

I just finished installing all my stuff. but now I have whine in my system. I checked all my wires and don't seem to have any running close to a power wire except my amp is right over my battery in the boot. could this have an affect? at fdirst it seemed to only come from the right front speaker then I switched rca channel wires around and it didn't change. then I swiched front channel to the back channel on my 5 channel amp. the whine then stayed with the channel on the amp and moved to the rear speakers. so it seems it is not in the running of my wires but my amp is picking it up. It is a soundstream amp and I just had them service it so it is working like new.

Can I shield my amp somehow? maybe some aluminum sheet under it? what are your thoughts?

other than that my system sounds sweet. Had to get rid of the stock HU though. I origionally wanted to use it but the sound quality wasn't there after running it through an amp. Using my older eclipse HU and as soon as I can pick up a remote for it off of ebay I am going to order the I/R steering wheel adapter.

thanks for any hints as to what to look for.
 
  #2  
Old 11-28-2004, 11:16 AM
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Originally Posted by Pat W
I just finished installing all my stuff. but now I have whine in my system. I checked all my wires and don't seem to have any running close to a power wire except my amp is right over my battery in the boot. could this have an affect? at fdirst it seemed to only come from the right front speaker then I switched rca channel wires around and it didn't change. then I swiched front channel to the back channel on my 5 channel amp. the whine then stayed with the channel on the amp and moved to the rear speakers. so it seems it is not in the running of my wires but my amp is picking it up. It is a soundstream amp and I just had them service it so it is working like new.

Can I shield my amp somehow? maybe some aluminum sheet under it? what are your thoughts?

other than that my system sounds sweet. Had to get rid of the stock HU though. I origionally wanted to use it but the sound quality wasn't there after running it through an amp. Using my older eclipse HU and as soon as I can pick up a remote for it off of ebay I am going to order the I/R steering wheel adapter.

thanks for any hints as to what to look for.
good luck... did everything you did and it is still there ... sometimes it is not too bad
 
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Old 11-28-2004, 11:51 AM
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You need to put a capacitor on the alternator.
 
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Old 11-28-2004, 01:57 PM
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Does it sound like a ground loop issue? I have been looking for a decent ground loop isolator, and so far have come up empty.
 
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Old 11-28-2004, 04:32 PM
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Audio System whine

I had a Blaupunkt t class amp installed in my rear cubby. It too has the whine and in poking around, I noticed that it seems to dissappear when I put on the emergency brake, turning off the daylight running lights. Seems to be somehow related to them.

I would appreciate hearing of some solutions to this problem.

Rob
 
  #6  
Old 11-28-2004, 05:10 PM
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Pat W,

Do a search and find threads like this one on high pitched whiny noise-
See post #43 and others:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...+pitched+whine

You need to troubleshoot the source of the problem. Does the noise vary with throttle? Mine did.
 
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Old 11-28-2004, 06:30 PM
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If your noise varies with the throttle as most issues tend to then it most likey is a ground loop problem. This can be caused by multiple ground points in your electrical wiring (for audio on top of what is factory installed) in the vehicle. This tends to be a more common issue than your power wires or RCA's being too close another power wire.

A cheap option which seemed to work most times is getting a ground loop isolation device. THere are gimicky expensive ones out there that work but a cheap alternative is a wire that is coiled around a magnet (which is what the ground loop isolation device tends to do in the most simplistic form).

one end of the lead ties into the line to your ground wire to the equipment. The other end becomes the grounding line into your chasis. Any decent car stereo shop should have one for you to try or purchase for a few dollars.
 
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Old 11-29-2004, 10:58 AM
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minihune

your post may clue me in.

I noticed my whine does change with the rpm of the engine. it is also there if I mute the HU. I do have my 4ga ground wire bolted down to the same ground stud as the battery. I thought that would be a good spot for the ground but maybe not. My RCA wires are not the shielded variety but of a twisted nature. they were 80 bucks so I would think they were good wires. Like I said before I do not think it is from my wiring. Also I am pretty sure my whine gets louder when my zenon headlights are on. But it is always there sometimes quieter than others. like when the alternator does not have much of a load on it when the battery is fully charged. Where does the ground loop isolator wire in to the headlights? under the dash or under the hood.

Also where is the best place to ground the amp if not by the battery.

I have not made my false floor yet or bolted down my amp so messing and experimenting is pretty easy right now. My stealth box is not bolted in yet either.

I have got to get this figured out or I may have to rip it all out. and I don't want to do that I love the bass I get from the stealth box.
 
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Old 11-29-2004, 11:05 AM
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Your ground wire should be as short as possible. If you can bolt it to the chassis right next to your amp or distribution block. This should eliminate your problem.

The biggest issue is that it shares the ground. Moving it will help but keeping it as short as possible will also make it better.

Chris
 
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Old 11-29-2004, 04:48 PM
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  #11  
Old 11-30-2004, 09:55 AM
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this is strange

ok well I moved the ground to a ground stud in the pass rear compartment. It was a just a test. still had noise. But it wasn't nearly as bad as it was. then I disconnected the rear speakers from the amp. Now I have no noise at all. seems just the channel 2 on my 5 channel amp is making the noise. if I move the channels around the noise will travel with the channel of the amp and not the speaker wire or the rca wire. humm. why would I only pick up noise in one channel of a 5 channel amp? strange. well I could just leave the 6X9 disconnected or run them off the deck power as it is a high power deck and right now I am not using any deck power. the 6X9 don'e seem to be adding much to what I am hearing anyway with my 6 1/2" mb quart components in the front and my stealth box. Humm. I will need to do some more experimenting.
 
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Old 11-30-2004, 01:50 PM
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You probably have a cold/bad solder joint in the ground or circuit somewhere in your amp.

There may not be any easy way of isolating it short of sending it in for repair.
 
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Old 11-30-2004, 01:58 PM
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Phase, there is no need for a capacitor in this system, its not powerful enough. Now first you need to bolt the stealthbox like i did and make a false floor for the amp and make sure it is a snug fit and won't move around. I have the same setup, stealthbox, five channel amp and Eclipse HU and replaced front and rear channels. No whine at all. it's all in the setup and how you put it together. and when you wire the amp and sub make sure you keep it clear of any other wires. BTW what kind of wires are you using? I'm using Gamma resistant in a weave pattern to reduce this whine. btw, do some adjusting on the 6x9 speakers, if you have the JL 500/5 amp it's simple and easy, just slide the switch on the back over a lil bit.
 
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Old 11-30-2004, 02:03 PM
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The first thing you should do is disconnect the RCA cables from the amp. If the whine is still there, then it is coming from the amp. If the amp is well grounded then the whine should go away. If the whine goes away when you disconnect the RCA's then you know that it is coming from the RCA cables or teh head unit. Make sure that the head unit is grounded to the chasis. You should actually run a ground cable from the metal on the head unit itself to the metal in the car. Another trick is to run a ground cable from the head unit to the amp, this might alleviate the whine. If all else fails, a ground loop isolator might work. You can actually pick up a ground loop isolator at Walmart fro about five bucks!
 
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Old 12-01-2004, 12:19 PM
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Couldit simply be that you need new wires?

I recently installed 6 new speakers and 10" sub plus an amp (also above the battery) and I got the guys to upgrade me to the best wires they have...he guaranteed me no noise with those wires.

L
 
  #16  
Old 12-04-2004, 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Pat W
I just finished installing all my stuff. but now I have whine in my system.
I has the same, only happened some of the time, when I was playing Techno, Trance or Break Beat CDs, espically from UK artists.

Eventually figured out it was the wife!

Sorry, couldn't resist

Best of luck with your ground fault.

Chris.
 
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