Hey guys, i was wondering if there was a quick fix for engine noise going through my speaker amp. my old speaker amp didn't have a problem with engine noise, but the rca inputs died so i had to replace it with a newer one, and now the noise goes through. any ideas other than a noise filter? thanks!
-
Looking for a radio code for your K12? Go to the official thread
Speaker noise
- Thread starter Burfy
- Start date
yea, i've got the power running down the left and the rca/remote on down the right... i used the exact same grounds as before, so i'm a little baffled... I have taken some pictures (poor quality ones, i apologize) you'll find them herehttp://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/Burfoot/My Car/ my next thought (other then replacing the rca's with something a little higher quality was that my power cord is too close to my coil ("mycar007.jpg") although i didn't have this problem before even when my power cord was there... I have my sub amp attached to my 8awg ground, then i attached my x-over and speaker amp through the sub amp's ground (bad idea?) then i tried isolating the speaker amp and giving it it's own ground, still didn't help... btw when i turn on my lights the noise gets louder, and when i hit the brakes my speakers get a quick surge of power... i know you all may call me a complete nob for doing this, but i used housing wire to connect the x-over and speaker amp for power and remote turn on (you'll see that on "mycar002.jpg") much appreciated all :upside:
O
odienoo
Guest
First thing I would do is replace the crappy cables with decent quality ones and give each amp their own earth! First possibly try upgrading your earth cable to a 4 guage one rather than the 8 guage one see what difference that makes.
With regard to the noise coming through the speakers, where have you got your earth connected to the car because moving this can help reduce the interference, for example with you saying when you use your lights it causes the interference to get worse I would imagine it's near to the rear light clusters, so try using the rear seat / seat belt mounting bolts as these generally in my experience seem to produce less problems.
Hope this is of some use,
All the best, Chris.
With regard to the noise coming through the speakers, where have you got your earth connected to the car because moving this can help reduce the interference, for example with you saying when you use your lights it causes the interference to get worse I would imagine it's near to the rear light clusters, so try using the rear seat / seat belt mounting bolts as these generally in my experience seem to produce less problems.
Hope this is of some use,
All the best, Chris.
Retepetsir
King of Subsonic
Urban legend.
You wont pickup interference from the power cable, it runs DC.
Edit: Please dont post if you dont know what you are talking about!
Don't replace the cables, copper is copper and 8awg should be fine.
Don't give each amp its own earth to a different place on the cars chassis, you want all the earths going to the same place to avoid grounding issues and grounding differences. You had the right idea by using a distribution block for the earths.
Size of power cable will not result in picking up less interference.
Right, the condensor on your alternator may be faulty and need replacing, a failed condensor usually results in engine noise being introduced into the electrical system, does the pitch of the noise vary with engine rpm?
Try redoing your headunit earth, it could be the source of the noise problems. Have the amp turned on and unplug the rca's from the amp with the headunit on, does the noise go away? If so, the interference is most likely coming from the headunit itself.
When your previous amp failed, the rca's could have damaged the ground connections on the rca connectors in the headunit, I've experienced this before. So try disconnecting your headunit signal cable to see if the noise goes.
The best place to earth is a brand new dedicated earth, but otherwise try and use the seat bracket bolts, making sure the paint/primer is stripped back to bare metal for best electrical contact.
ok..i have seperate earths for each amp except the crossover... the crossover is in series with my sub amp... and yes, the noise basically acts as a tach, only instead of numbers it's sound lol... i hope it's not alternator, i got a quote for that and it wasn't pretty... it might be my rca cables... the one channel coming out of my crossover is dead (still works but is ridiculously quiet, probably getting signal from other channel) my next thought would be the earth for the headunit...it's an older unit, but it works! i definately have a good earth location though... i put a self tapper with a washer straight into the body lol... thanks again!
Retepetsir
King of Subsonic
Unplug the crossover too (RCA cables), take that out of the equation as that could be the source of the problem.
Also, you dont need to replace the whole alternator, just the suppressor
ok, so i unplugged the rcas going into my crossover and the majority of the engine noise went away, but there was an extremely small amount still there (putting my ear a couple inches away i could hear a slight noise) but it's funny because i can hear my wiper motors going through too haha would thishttp://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/p...4441889471&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true do the trick if all else fails? but as for that suppressor, any finer details as to where it can be located? (other than ON the alternator lol) and is there a better way to ground my headunit? other than the wiring harness which of course is factory...
would adding a capacitor in series with my power line help at all? a buddy of mine suggested that so i thought i'd throw that out there for an opinion.
would adding a capacitor in series with my power line help at all? a buddy of mine suggested that so i thought i'd throw that out there for an opinion.
Its a small cilendar (sp) shaped metal thing with a wire coming out of it, about an inch long or so. You cant miss it
Retepetsir
King of Subsonic
What is your RCA setup and what crossover is it?
Is the signal going Headunit >>>> Crossover >>>> Amp >>>> Speakers?
Can you bypass the crossover and just run rca's to the amp?
Is the signal going Headunit >>>> Crossover >>>> Amp >>>> Speakers?
Can you bypass the crossover and just run rca's to the amp?
ok, i goes headunit>>>>crossover>>low output>sub amp>>subs
>>high output>speaker amp>>speakers
so what i did was i attached my rca to headphone inverter to my ipod and put it in my input on the crossover ipod>>>crossover>>blah blah blah and pretty well all the noise was gone... so it make me think it's either rca cables, or the headunit!
>>high output>speaker amp>>speakers
so what i did was i attached my rca to headphone inverter to my ipod and put it in my input on the crossover ipod>>>crossover>>blah blah blah and pretty well all the noise was gone... so it make me think it's either rca cables, or the headunit!
Retepetsir
King of Subsonic
Can you try running a temporary rca cable from the headunit, over the seats to the amp? If that doesnt solve the problem, try re-earthing the headunit. Otherwise unfortunately it sounds like the headunit is the problem.
Antony
Ex. Club Member
two ways of doing this, use a ground loop isolator inline with the RCA cables or buy an interferance suppressor for £3.99 from halfords and bung it on.
and check that your amps are set correctly, because having the filters set incorrectly can cause this as well,
having a "full" filter or "trebble" running through your sub will not only distort and cause this whining, but will treat your sub woofer voice coil as an electric heater and melt.
try the ground loop isolator, about £10, if that doesnt work, take it back and swap it for a suppressor. (theyre in a brown box usualy opposite the audio board in most halfords stores)
you shouldnt need to replace your cables, and as said your Earth cables need to run the shortest possible route to an earthing point, but just the one. (again a distribution block is best for this)
that should solve it. also check for a lose connection on the ariel Coaxial cable too. make sure its not grounding early...
and check that your amps are set correctly, because having the filters set incorrectly can cause this as well,
having a "full" filter or "trebble" running through your sub will not only distort and cause this whining, but will treat your sub woofer voice coil as an electric heater and melt.
try the ground loop isolator, about £10, if that doesnt work, take it back and swap it for a suppressor. (theyre in a brown box usualy opposite the audio board in most halfords stores)
you shouldnt need to replace your cables, and as said your Earth cables need to run the shortest possible route to an earthing point, but just the one. (again a distribution block is best for this)
that should solve it. also check for a lose connection on the ariel Coaxial cable too. make sure its not grounding early...
hehe, keep in mind that i'm from Canada eh? so unfortunately Canada doesn't have a "Halfords" lol but i'll try a noise filter... and i know my amp settings are properly set... well, i should really say my crossover settings, the crossover has a high and low, and of course the low only goes up to about 2k Hz but i've certainly pushed a lot of current through those subs and they're still bangin' hard
K10Daz
RIP Colin McRae 1968-2007
Was jus going on the info that i got from the guy from Halfords and the local ICE centre!
I have the same problem - whistling noise in relation to engine speed.
Got told to run the RCA down the opposite side, haven't done it yet.
Daz
Retepetsir
King of Subsonic
Unfortunately many bod's at Halfords, and even dedicated ICE shops don't know jack s**t :down:.
You won't pick up interefence from the DC power cable
Antony
Ex. Club Member
you may not pick up interference from a power cable, but putting a power cable and an RCA cable in close proximity can cause a small magnetic charge, (much like an electro-magnet) and that can cause interference.
we arent all idiots you know... speak the the ripspeed specialists ONLY. no one else is qualified. and will probs tell you complete rubish. including the part timers on the ripspeed dept. unfortunately because they are there just for the cash and not to help people because they like the job.......like i do.
i fit the stuff because everytime i do, i get praised. and get word of mouth rcomendations.
but i also have to defend all my other idiots who work with me.
so make sure its the Specialist you speak to.
oh and sorry, didnt know you were in canada....
good luck though.
we arent all idiots you know... speak the the ripspeed specialists ONLY. no one else is qualified. and will probs tell you complete rubish. including the part timers on the ripspeed dept. unfortunately because they are there just for the cash and not to help people because they like the job.......like i do.
i fit the stuff because everytime i do, i get praised. and get word of mouth rcomendations.
but i also have to defend all my other idiots who work with me.
so make sure its the Specialist you speak to.
oh and sorry, didnt know you were in canada....
good luck though.
ground loop isolator did the trick! it musta been the headunit causing the biggest interference...needless to say, everything's back to normal :laugh: my next project is to get either a bigger sub amp that'll support 2ohm bridged or just get another, identical, sub amp and give each sub its own amp hehe
Similar threads
- Blue Dragon
- ICE + Electronics (Any Nissan Micra)