I have this stupid whining noise that goes up and down with the engine speed. I have replaced all of the grounds. I have recently replaced the alternator. I have two amps with good grounds close to the amps in the rear hatch. I have a new stereo, Panasonic with RCA’s running to the amps in the rear along the door sills. I have tried one of those noise filters but that did nothing. I am getting tone deaf from the noise and need help!
FCM…I would love to hear your input! Thanks.
Need more info…
MM&Y of car?
Are there any mods to the car?
Model of new Panasonic HU?
Makes and models of the amps?
What are the amps driving?
How are the amps wired?
What gauge of power and ground?
What side of the car is the power cable run down?
What side of car are the RCAs run?
How many sets of RCAs?
How long are the grounds?
Where and how are they grounded?
Does the whine get louder as you load down the cars electrical system, [turn on lights, switch to high beams, turn on rear defrost, step on brakes, turn on blower motor and change speeds]?
Do you also have switching noise, turn ign. on but do not start car, with volume low start switching things on and off, [step on/off brake, turn head lights on/off, flash to pass on/off and so one, what your listening for is a “snap, crackle or pop”, [no, do not look for a bowl of Rice Krispies under your dash:angel:] as switch turns on and/or off?
Please answer all the above.
Also try removing the RCAs from the amps, [one amp at a time] does it make a diff. in the whine?
Can you tell if whine is comming from all the speakers, [subs], [unplugging one or the other amp can help determin that]? 94
Sorry i wasn’t more helpful in my original post:
1992 LS
Stock motor
Stock Exhaust
Headunit:
Panasonic CQ-C9901U
Amps:
JVC KS-AX4550
100W x 4
Running Polk Components in front stock locations
Running Fosgate mids in rear stock locations.
Soundstream Granite 110.2
Bridged at 160W
Running 8" JL audio Sub
I have 3 sets of RCA’s. 2 sets running down drivers side door sill to rear.
I have 1 set running down passenger side door sill to rear.
I have a power wires running from front to back down the middle under the console to the rear. 10 gauge Painless wire.
The rear amps have 10 gauge grounds, painless wires, to the rear strut bolts. Most likely about 12-15 inches long?
As far as sounds when under loads such as accessories, I do get a kinda of popping noise when I step on the brake through the front speakers.
It does not change the sound when those accessories are on. It is the same whether the radio or lights are on or off.
The whine just gets louder as the car accelerates. I had this same noise before with the old alternator but it was not as loud. I am wondering if the ground wire for the alternator should be replaced with a thicker gauge wire? I tried to go one size bigger than stock on that ground. It is a new Alternator that runs at 80 amps under acceleration and about 65 amps at idle.
I will have to try to unplug the rca’s one at a time and see if the whine disappears.
Do you think I should run a farad capacitor for the sub? Wondering if it will help the whine go away?
Thanks for getting back so soon…you be da man!
I would start again.
First I would upgrade the power and grounds, at least on the 4ch amp, run them down the pass. side of the car, all the way to the trunk/hatch, if amps will not fit under seats, they should.
Run your RCAs down the center of the car, best way is under the carpet but laid flat next to each other and taped down to hold them in place], I pull the pass. seat. rear seat and the console so carpet can be folded over to the drivers side.
RCA leads should be kept as short as possible, [that’s why under the seats is a good spot] nothing like a couple feet of RCA cable wadded up to induce noise into the system.
You can also run your speaker leads for the front speakers with the RCAs or up both sides of the car, like RCAs, speaker leads should be kept as short as possible and as close to the same length as possible.
The amps “turn on” lead can be run down the center or the sides of the car, I run mine with the power cable(s)
I also run 18/16 gauge along with the turn on lead to use as a “dump ground”, [from chassis of HU to chassis of amp(s)] just in case it is needed.
The amps should be grounded to the cars floor pan, preferably ahead of the seam that separates the pass. compartment floor pan and the trunk/hatch floor pan, with both amps grounded to the same place if possible.
Read seat mounting and seat belt bolts, [or studs] work very well, use correct terminals and clean ground point to bare metal…
The above would be the way I would do it.
However, if your not so inclined, I would start by moving the RCAs, the drivers side of your car is the cars “power side” wiring for the read of the car runs down the drivers side of the cars, you can just try other RCAs, just running them over the seats.
If that does not solve the problem try the dump ground.
Connect it to the HU chassis then touch the other end to the chassis of the amps, one of 3 things will happen, nothing at all, the noise will get louder or the noise will get quieter maybe go away compleatly.
If, when you unplug sets of RCAs the noise goes away, try another set of RCAS in place of that set.
If there is anything wrong with the cars batt. to chassis and chassis to engine, [transaxle] it should be fixed, I would “beef up” the batt. ground by adding 6-4 gauge from batt. neg.(-) to cars chassis, [shock tower studs works well here], you do not need to replace the stock ground if it’s still good.
You should also insure that the connections of the alt. charge lead is good at both the alt. and the engine bay fuse box, that goes for all the main fuses and batt. to engine bay fuse box. 94
Thanks for all the info. I am going to try a little bit at a time and see how it goes. You are very helpful and I appreciate your time.
I will definately let you know how it goes.
BTW, Do you think running a farad capacitor would be beneficial for this system?
Yea try the RCAs. I had the exact same problem with my car. I went out bought so e new RCAs and it stopped the whining.
Did you buy high quality ones or where did you get yours? I got mine at an electronics warehouse. I am wondering if they are cheap Chinese ones?
I dont remember where I got the first RCAs from but the second ones I got from Best Buy. Rockford Fostgate they were like $20 for 17ft or something like that.
Yeah I paid something like $15 bucks for 25 ft. Seemed to good to be true now that I think about it! LOL!!
Yea try to get some name brand ones and the just pull your radio out and run the RCAs over the seats straight to the amps and see if that stops the whining. If it does the just run the RCAs the right way.
This is a very common problem when RCA’s are too close to the power wire running to the amp/amps.
if you want good quality sound the you have to go with good quality parts like monster cable. IMO, monster cable makes the best rca cables. its pricey but its worth it.
I don’t know how much truth there is to it, but I’ve had people tell me that your plug wires could cause some whinning noice/interference too if they’re older. Just food for thought
[QUOTE=renegadex96;1999615]I don’t know how much truth there is to it, but I’ve had people tell me that your plug wires could cause some whinning noice/interference too if they’re older. Just food for thought[/QUOTE]No truth at all, bad spark plug leads can cause ign. noise, more of a buzz/tick then a whine. 94
Thanks for clearing that up. Good to know!!
I finally got around to re-doing the wiring and man does it make a difference!
I also bought some decent RCA’s and that definately helped too!
Peace and queit when I don’t have the stereo on is cool! I sound old now huh? LOL!!
FCM, thanks for your help!
make sure your power wire running from your battery to your amps are not running along with your speaker wires. or crossing for more than a few inches.