Since i've installed my Pioneer HU with my Alpine 9815 i've noticed that my speakers make a fuzzy noise. This ONLY happens when im listening to the radio with my sub on. Its a light fuzzy noise then when the bass hits its really noticeable. I only have my front speakers hooked up and they are the CDT CL61a. I have seperate wirings running from them to the HU not through the factory harness. Any suggestions on what the problem can be. Thanks guys.
Replies (28)
ttocs on 03/7/2004 15:13:29
all the speakers or just some?
ryan on 03/7/2004 17:13:41
Both speakers will do this.
swez on 03/7/2004 17:42:57
That Alpine number, what is that? An amp? Could be a few things here:
1: LP filter set too low (60-80 Hz is good)
2. Loose speakers in mounts
3. Grill cover rattles
4. Improper gain settings
5. Poor ground amp/HU
Swez
ryan on 03/8/2004 10:50:15
Its the Alpine CDA-9815. Im using the JBL 1200.1 amp. Low pass filter is at about 100hz. And the gain is turned up pretty high due to me only usin the rear output on this amp not both. The only thing i've changed since i've had the new HU is the gain on the amp so i will turn that down and see if that changes anything but everythign else should be fine because i havent touched anything else.
ttocs on 03/8/2004 10:53:21
"Since i've installed my Pioneer HU with my Alpine 9815 "??????
how and why did you do this?
ryan on 03/8/2004 11:00:07
Sorry i worded that wrong i took my Pioneer HU out and bought the Alpine and put the Alpine in.
ryan on 03/9/2004 11:14:56
^bump
swez on 03/9/2004 11:34:38
It could be several things here:
1. Poor grounding to HU creating ground loop noise
2. Loose speaker mounting
3. Wires to CDT's may be shorting to door metal
4. Does this issue persist all the time, or only when parking/headlights are on?
The main issue is usually a poor ground. Need to ground new HU to bare metal on body pan... not a harness ground.
Also, you may be getting noise from your dimmer control line. Ttocs can help more on that subject than I can.
Swez
ryan on 03/9/2004 11:43:27
If it was the dimmer would it happen all the time or just when my lights are on? Its been awhile since i've drove my car so im not sure if it happens all the time or not. But i kno for sure it happens when my lights are on. But i think this could be the problem since i didnt have the dimmer hooked up on my last HU. And my speakers and speaker wiring are secure.br
ttocs on 03/9/2004 14:59:41
I just want to make sure we are on the same page.
-didn't happen with the pioneer?
-only happens with sub "on"?
What happens when you disconnect the sub/amp?
what kind of sub and amp?
ryan on 03/9/2004 18:34:01
Correct it didnt happen with the pioneer and it only happens with the sub on, i should actually say with the amp on because i have a switch on the remote wire to turn the amp on and off. brbrIts a Brahma and the JBL 1200.1 amp.brIm not sure what happens when there disconnected but it prolly works fine if i turn the amp is turned off and it works fine right?brbrIm goin to drive around with the light on and off to see if theres a change.brbrIm also goin to turn the gain on the amp down to see if theres a change. I'll report what i find out tomorrow.br
ryan on 03/10/2004 11:19:07
I didnt get a chance to mess with the gain but i did test it with my lights on and off. And i still have this problem with and without the lights on.
I also kno that my speaker adn speaker wiring are secure and not grounding out anywhere.
ttocs on 03/11/2004 02:28:17
"Its the Alpine CDA-9815. Im using the JBL 1200.1 amp. Low pass filter is at about 100hz. And the gain is turned up pretty high due to me only usin the rear output on this amp not both. The only thing i've changed since i've had the new HU is the gain on the amp so i will turn that down and see if that changes anything but everythign else should be fine because i havent touched anything else. "-----what ever happened here?
Is it at high volume?
Disonnect the rca's on the amp and try again.
Isn't troubleshooting fun? .
swez on 03/11/2004 09:43:23
Did you ground the new HU to floor pan or harness ground?
Also, amp must be grounded to bare metal. It sounds like a poor ground here. Are there any other toys in the system audio chain...EQ, Line driver, 2nd amp for the CDT's?
Swez
ryan on 03/11/2004 11:23:59
It happens at both high and regular volumes. I havent had the chance to turn the gain down on the amp yet so i will try that when i get a chance and i'll also disconnect the rca's and try it.
The HU is only grounded through the harness. I kno i shouldnt do that but i didnt have enough ground wire and i couldnt see any metal in the dash were i could ground it in my 97 cavalier. So can i add wire to the ground to make it longer and where should i ground it? The amp is grounded fine on bare metal. And i dont have anyother devices besides fmods to the amp.
swez on 03/11/2004 12:18:51
Yes, just install a longer ground from HU to floor pan. That's only ~18" or so. Don't use the factory harness ground as it is not always true ground potential to the rest of the system. This often results in ground loops and noise.
Also, match the amp gain settings on your Amp, to the sub output voltage of the HU sub out feed. Usually between 1.5 - 4.0 volts. The lower the gain setting number, the louder the subs will play, but also picks up extranious noise that way. Somewhwere between 2.0 - 4.0 is usually a good place to start.
Swez
cplkittle on 03/11/2004 20:41:03
Try changing the rcas on the amp.. plug them into different channels and be sure that your LPF switch is on LPF not 'full' or 'off'.
Did you say the RCAs are running off the rear channel? or are they running off the sub pre out?
ryan on 03/12/2004 11:27:20
They are running off the sub pre out. I think i have found the problem guys. I unplugged the RCA cables and it went away and then i plugged them back in and it came back. Now what guys.
ttocs on 03/12/2004 19:09:22
ok so we've narrowed it down to something with the amp. Now reconnect the rca's to the amp, and disconnect them from the deck....
Where is the amp grounded? What size are the power wires? How at they ran????
ryan on 03/13/2004 13:17:36
I havent disconnected them from the back of the deck yet but to answer ur other ?'s. The amp is grounded to the seat belt. Im using 2gauge wire for everythign so that should be fine. And i have the power wire goin down the drivers side and the RCA cable running down the passanger side. The only time the RCA cable runs with anyother wire is from under the glove box to the HU. I have no rear speakers.
cplkittle on 03/14/2004 23:55:52
which speakers are doing this, the CDTs or the subs, and what type of subs do you have?? (some high end competition subs do emit 'motor noise'. This comes from the speaker and is hard to mask.)
ryan on 03/15/2004 11:20:46
this is coming from my CDT's but i dont believe its "motor noise" because i didnt have this problem before
cplkittle on 03/15/2004 17:07:02
Take the CDTs back out and make sure that the wires didn't get curled up back behind the cone of the speakers. I had this problem the other day with an install. The speaker wires were laying up against the cone of the speaker causing it to buzz at low volume, and rattle real bad at high volumes when the bass hit.
swez on 03/16/2004 09:51:48
Did he not say that when he disconnected the RCA's at the sub amp, the noise went away? Yes!
This has got to be electrical related and most of the time, it's a result of inadequate grounding at the amp or the HU. Why would the HU be fine w/o amp connected and then noisy when amp RCA's are connected? A ground problem is 90% at fault in these cases.
Reground the amp and HU to a bare metal connection on the floor pan. I'll put $ on the noise going away. Ground loops will cause this most often as the amp and HU have differing ground reference levels. This differential.... causes noise.
A difficult subject to explain. An easy fix thought.
Swez
ttocs on 03/16/2004 10:48:49
he disconnected them from the amp, now keep them connected to the amp but disconnect the cable from the deck. this will allow us to check the rca cables... I would try that before checking the grounds.
ryan on 03/16/2004 11:20:17
Thanks guys. I will try this the next time i get the chance and let you know my findings.
ryan on 04/18/2004 15:31:03
Well i finally grounded my HU to the floor, and that was the problem. I knew i should of did that when i first installed it but i was lazy and didnt think there would be a problem but i was wrond. But i just got sick of hearing that static so today i fixed it. Thanks for everyones help.
swez on 04/18/2004 19:31:54
Yep... you had a ground loop noise issue between HU and Sub amps. That's why I regularly go there first on noise issues. Easy fix, hard to explain why it happens.
Swez
PS Good work Ryan (it's about time) hehe
Replies (28)
ttocs on 03/7/2004 15:13:29
all the speakers or just some?
ryan on 03/7/2004 17:13:41
Both speakers will do this.
swez on 03/7/2004 17:42:57
That Alpine number, what is that? An amp? Could be a few things here:
1: LP filter set too low (60-80 Hz is good)
2. Loose speakers in mounts
3. Grill cover rattles
4. Improper gain settings
5. Poor ground amp/HU
Swez
ryan on 03/8/2004 10:50:15
Its the Alpine CDA-9815. Im using the JBL 1200.1 amp. Low pass filter is at about 100hz. And the gain is turned up pretty high due to me only usin the rear output on this amp not both. The only thing i've changed since i've had the new HU is the gain on the amp so i will turn that down and see if that changes anything but everythign else should be fine because i havent touched anything else.
ttocs on 03/8/2004 10:53:21
"Since i've installed my Pioneer HU with my Alpine 9815 "??????
how and why did you do this?
ryan on 03/8/2004 11:00:07
Sorry i worded that wrong i took my Pioneer HU out and bought the Alpine and put the Alpine in.
ryan on 03/9/2004 11:14:56
^bump
swez on 03/9/2004 11:34:38
It could be several things here:
1. Poor grounding to HU creating ground loop noise
2. Loose speaker mounting
3. Wires to CDT's may be shorting to door metal
4. Does this issue persist all the time, or only when parking/headlights are on?
The main issue is usually a poor ground. Need to ground new HU to bare metal on body pan... not a harness ground.
Also, you may be getting noise from your dimmer control line. Ttocs can help more on that subject than I can.
Swez
ryan on 03/9/2004 11:43:27
If it was the dimmer would it happen all the time or just when my lights are on? Its been awhile since i've drove my car so im not sure if it happens all the time or not. But i kno for sure it happens when my lights are on. But i think this could be the problem since i didnt have the dimmer hooked up on my last HU. And my speakers and speaker wiring are secure.br
ttocs on 03/9/2004 14:59:41
I just want to make sure we are on the same page.
-didn't happen with the pioneer?
-only happens with sub "on"?
What happens when you disconnect the sub/amp?
what kind of sub and amp?
ryan on 03/9/2004 18:34:01
Correct it didnt happen with the pioneer and it only happens with the sub on, i should actually say with the amp on because i have a switch on the remote wire to turn the amp on and off. brbrIts a Brahma and the JBL 1200.1 amp.brIm not sure what happens when there disconnected but it prolly works fine if i turn the amp is turned off and it works fine right?brbrIm goin to drive around with the light on and off to see if theres a change.brbrIm also goin to turn the gain on the amp down to see if theres a change. I'll report what i find out tomorrow.br
ryan on 03/10/2004 11:19:07
I didnt get a chance to mess with the gain but i did test it with my lights on and off. And i still have this problem with and without the lights on.
I also kno that my speaker adn speaker wiring are secure and not grounding out anywhere.
ttocs on 03/11/2004 02:28:17
"Its the Alpine CDA-9815. Im using the JBL 1200.1 amp. Low pass filter is at about 100hz. And the gain is turned up pretty high due to me only usin the rear output on this amp not both. The only thing i've changed since i've had the new HU is the gain on the amp so i will turn that down and see if that changes anything but everythign else should be fine because i havent touched anything else. "-----what ever happened here?
Is it at high volume?
Disonnect the rca's on the amp and try again.
Isn't troubleshooting fun? .
swez on 03/11/2004 09:43:23
Did you ground the new HU to floor pan or harness ground?
Also, amp must be grounded to bare metal. It sounds like a poor ground here. Are there any other toys in the system audio chain...EQ, Line driver, 2nd amp for the CDT's?
Swez
ryan on 03/11/2004 11:23:59
It happens at both high and regular volumes. I havent had the chance to turn the gain down on the amp yet so i will try that when i get a chance and i'll also disconnect the rca's and try it.
The HU is only grounded through the harness. I kno i shouldnt do that but i didnt have enough ground wire and i couldnt see any metal in the dash were i could ground it in my 97 cavalier. So can i add wire to the ground to make it longer and where should i ground it? The amp is grounded fine on bare metal. And i dont have anyother devices besides fmods to the amp.
swez on 03/11/2004 12:18:51
Yes, just install a longer ground from HU to floor pan. That's only ~18" or so. Don't use the factory harness ground as it is not always true ground potential to the rest of the system. This often results in ground loops and noise.
Also, match the amp gain settings on your Amp, to the sub output voltage of the HU sub out feed. Usually between 1.5 - 4.0 volts. The lower the gain setting number, the louder the subs will play, but also picks up extranious noise that way. Somewhwere between 2.0 - 4.0 is usually a good place to start.
Swez
cplkittle on 03/11/2004 20:41:03
Try changing the rcas on the amp.. plug them into different channels and be sure that your LPF switch is on LPF not 'full' or 'off'.
Did you say the RCAs are running off the rear channel? or are they running off the sub pre out?
ryan on 03/12/2004 11:27:20
They are running off the sub pre out. I think i have found the problem guys. I unplugged the RCA cables and it went away and then i plugged them back in and it came back. Now what guys.
ttocs on 03/12/2004 19:09:22
ok so we've narrowed it down to something with the amp. Now reconnect the rca's to the amp, and disconnect them from the deck....
Where is the amp grounded? What size are the power wires? How at they ran????
ryan on 03/13/2004 13:17:36
I havent disconnected them from the back of the deck yet but to answer ur other ?'s. The amp is grounded to the seat belt. Im using 2gauge wire for everythign so that should be fine. And i have the power wire goin down the drivers side and the RCA cable running down the passanger side. The only time the RCA cable runs with anyother wire is from under the glove box to the HU. I have no rear speakers.
cplkittle on 03/14/2004 23:55:52
which speakers are doing this, the CDTs or the subs, and what type of subs do you have?? (some high end competition subs do emit 'motor noise'. This comes from the speaker and is hard to mask.)
ryan on 03/15/2004 11:20:46
this is coming from my CDT's but i dont believe its "motor noise" because i didnt have this problem before
cplkittle on 03/15/2004 17:07:02
Take the CDTs back out and make sure that the wires didn't get curled up back behind the cone of the speakers. I had this problem the other day with an install. The speaker wires were laying up against the cone of the speaker causing it to buzz at low volume, and rattle real bad at high volumes when the bass hit.
swez on 03/16/2004 09:51:48
Did he not say that when he disconnected the RCA's at the sub amp, the noise went away? Yes!
This has got to be electrical related and most of the time, it's a result of inadequate grounding at the amp or the HU. Why would the HU be fine w/o amp connected and then noisy when amp RCA's are connected? A ground problem is 90% at fault in these cases.
Reground the amp and HU to a bare metal connection on the floor pan. I'll put $ on the noise going away. Ground loops will cause this most often as the amp and HU have differing ground reference levels. This differential.... causes noise.
A difficult subject to explain. An easy fix thought.
Swez
ttocs on 03/16/2004 10:48:49
he disconnected them from the amp, now keep them connected to the amp but disconnect the cable from the deck. this will allow us to check the rca cables... I would try that before checking the grounds.
ryan on 03/16/2004 11:20:17
Thanks guys. I will try this the next time i get the chance and let you know my findings.
ryan on 04/18/2004 15:31:03
Well i finally grounded my HU to the floor, and that was the problem. I knew i should of did that when i first installed it but i was lazy and didnt think there would be a problem but i was wrond. But i just got sick of hearing that static so today i fixed it. Thanks for everyones help.
swez on 04/18/2004 19:31:54
Yep... you had a ground loop noise issue between HU and Sub amps. That's why I regularly go there first on noise issues. Easy fix, hard to explain why it happens.
Swez
PS Good work Ryan (it's about time) hehe
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