Engine Noise

[ramrod]

Alright ready for the first big ordeal to tackle? As narfdanarf knows I've been having a little bit of stereo trouble lately. Started off with a faint sound that could barely be heard switched out rcas and it was still there no clue what it is think it might be coming from the head unit. Lately I’ve also been able to detect my engine coming through my subs. Other forums have suggested I get a ground loop isolator or a noise suppressor, but I’m thinking about just going through and reinstalling everything ha-ha. Does anyone know how I can actually pinpoint my problem? Cause all i can think is that its either the head unit or the amp cause I’ve switched rcas only to have the same problem.

[Feedman]

bad ground....?


Make or break a good system.... 8)

[ramrod]

For my amp and power cap i only have on ground. Basically its amp--->cap---->chassis ground. Today i went out and made sure to scratch away the paint really good had some nice shiney metal showing through still had the same prob. Loud thump on turn on with engine noise in the background if the car was on.

[C_Note]

How do you have your cables run? Are the live/ground wires running next to each other? Wire from the amps to the subs next to the live/ground?

I used to install part-time at AC back in the early 90's over in Lubeck, but now I forget most of the troubleshooting...

[ramrod]

the power runnng, remote turn on wire, remote bass knob control, and the rcas are all run down the leftside of the car with a ground branching no where near the power wire. Even running the rcas outside of the car though the noise was still there. Went as far as to pull the headunit out alittle bit and still got noise.

[Feedman]

the power runnng, remote turn on wire, remote bass knob control, and the rcas are all run down the leftside of the car with a ground branching no where near the power wire. Even running the rcas outside of the car though the noise was still there. Went as far as to pull the headunit out alittle bit and still got noise.

eliminate the cap for the time being....take it out of the equation and see what happens.... 8)

[daveb91]

As said seperate the RCAs and all power cables you will get alt noise through them. Ground loop isolator is a good idea I have used them with good results.

[ramrod]

Alright ill take out the cap tonight see if that helps. And illc about the rcas but im gonna need some long ass rcas lol.

[Feedman]

Alright ill take out the cap tonight see if that helps. And illc about the rcas but im gonna need some long ass rcas lol.

normally I believe you run the rca's and remote wire down one side and the power down the other. with the ground running off the amp to a bolt in your trunk. take some sand paper and sand away the paint to the bare metal so its shiny looking.

Try that and see what happens. If you still hear "noise" then you have a faulty amp or headunit.....


Btw...I am assuming the "noise" you are hearing is coming out all speakers, not just one, correct? 8)

[xjoewhitex]

well i Since ive been in electronics we have repaired amps.. and we have came across Some Faulty amps that iT HAD a constant noice running thru the speakers.. And you also Say that you can hear your motor thru the speakers...think of this When your Car is running more the alt. is puttin out more power giving the amp more Amps... :wink: .. So maybe its just the amp is the problem.... 8)

well the only speakers i hear ot from are the subs, none of the interior ones have it. At first i thought it was the amp but the noise isnt there when the engine is off. Dont really have much wire to run so il ahve to get some and try re running the wires down the otherside

[quote="SiAdam"]
normally I believe you run the rca's and remote wire down one side and the power down the other. with the ground running off the amp to a bolt in your trunk. take some sand paper and sand away the paint to the bare metal so its shiny looking.

try that and see what happens. If you still hear "noise" then you have a faulty amp or headunit.....


quote]

ALready took care of hte paint and saw the shiny metal stil ahd the same problem, so next im gonna try rerunning the cables.

[Feedman]

whats with the guest? 8)

[ramrod]

sorry bout that the guest was me lol

[xjoewhitex]

i don't know what to tell yah then.. I would just go ahead and rebuild it like you said, That would be the only way that ur gonna find the problem.. :?

[ramrod]

heheh that means i get to start a new topic :-).

[daveb91]

well i Since ive been in electronics we have repaired amps.. and we have came across Some Faulty amps that iT HAD a constant noice running thru the speakers.. And you also Say that you can hear your motor thru the speakers...think of this When your Car is running more the alt. is puttin out more power giving the amp more Amps... :wink: .. So maybe its just the amp is the problem.... 8)

WHAT?

[daveb91]

well the only speakers i hear ot from are the subs, none of the interior ones have it. At first i thought it was the amp but the noise isnt there when the engine is off. Dont really have much wire to run so il ahve to get some and try re running the wires down the otherside


If you seperate the rcas and the power wires, check all your grounds and still have problems try the ground loop isolator. You are getting alt noise, also are you running a seperate crossover? You could be getting the noise from it also do the same to it check the grounds. Hey I feel your pain I have had this same problem and had to reroute wires a few times you will get it eventually just keep us updated.

[xjoewhitex]

well i Since ive been in electronics we have repaired amps.. and we have came across Some Faulty amps that iT HAD a constant noice running thru the speakers.. And you also Say that you can hear your motor thru the speakers...think of this When your Car is running more the alt. is puttin out more power giving the amp more Amps... :wink: .. So maybe its just the amp is the problem.... 8)

WHAT?

what?

[daveb91]

When your Car is running more the alt. is puttin out more power giving the amp more Amps... :wink: .. So maybe its just the amp is the problem.... 8)


What?

If it is in the amp it could be in the filtering section of the pwr supply or really any thing in it like a bad ground on the board. Hey I have an old Targa amp I bought at least 14 years ago and have repaired that thing more times than i should have. Some problems with noise were Output transistors getting ready to die and other components that were border line good when i had A diode fry (tested good but problem was eliminated when changed) and bad solder joints.

[xjoewhitex]

When your Car is running more the alt. is puttin out more power giving the amp more Amps... :wink: .. So maybe its just the amp is the problem.... 8)


What?

If it is in the amp it could be in the filtering section of the pwr supply or really any thing in it like a bad ground on the board. Hey I have an old Targa amp I bought at least 14 years ago and have repaired that thing more times than i should have. Some problems with noise were Output transistors getting ready to die and other components that were border line good when i had A diode fry (tested good but problem was eliminated when changed) and bad solder joints.

thats kinda what i was saying i just didn't go into detail with it.... :wink:

[daveb91]

That not what I said what about I was talking about what I quoted it makes no sense could you clear it up?

You could also try to reground the ground wire behind the radio. If the radio is picking up noise and transferring it to the amp via the rca's it isn't going to help to reground the amp. Also you could try some rca filters.

[narfdanarf]

what the heck is up with the forums, I clearly logged in before i posted the above post.

[xjoewhitex]

well In electronics when we were repairing car Audio Amps... we had this buz comming thru some of them that were going bad.. And the more power(amps) you put thru them the louder they got. Caused from some Shorting out Transistors/cap/Resistors.. Ect.. I was just saying maybe thats why the motor noise comming thru the speakers.. Just more power going thru it made the sound Follow the motor..

I hope that helped.... :wink:

[ramrod]

well i jsut think its weird that you can adjust the osund liek it was a regular signal. turn the bass boost up noise goes up turn the bass boost down the sound goes down. Its kinda wierd lol

[xjoewhitex]

well i jsut think its weird that you can adjust the osund liek it was a regular signal. turn the bass boost up noise goes up turn the bass boost down the sound goes down. Its kinda wierd lol

yea that is kinda weird... Amps are something ive never liked messing with.. :?

[ramrod]

While looking at the power wire running through the engine bay I noticed that I could see a little bit of the wire going into the fuse holder. Could that maybe allowing a lot of additional noise into the stereo through that? Because the other day just messing around I took out my cup holder and just ran the rcas out through the cup holder through the center of the backseat and to the amp still to get that forsaken noise. Yesterday when i was watching my power cap it seemed to be fluctuating alittle while the car was idling without any music playing, I think it was going between 12.90 to 13.02 or sumtin, but i thought it was suppose to stay at a more consistent level?