Ok, hopefully this should be a pretty easy one for you guys to help me with. I have an after market head unit that I installed in my 2003 Elantra, otherwise everything else is stock.
Anyway when I first installed it I had no problems, but now there seems to be a buzz coming from the dash near the head unit (not from the speakers). I thought this might be caused by a loose wire in the dash, but I pulled the unit out and inspected it and found nothing to be loose. I'm not a real car audio expert, so I'm not sure what anyone will need to know to help me.
However, the head unit is installed using a wiring harness adapter and I did not solder the connections, just used a wire capping kit from BB. The buzz is not there all the time, only when going over a rough spot (bumpy) in the road or when the RPMs approach 3k.
Sorry for the long post, but any help you could offer would be appreciated as this buzz is driving me nuts!
Thanks,
Phil
Replies (10)
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 10:01:21
sounds like it could possibly be a bad ground. ground the HU to the body of the car instead of using the factory ground in the wiring harness. that should do it.
what kind of radio is it??
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 10:09:10
This sounds like a mechanical vibration issue somewhere in the dash area. First, you have to isolate where the noise is coming from. I often use a 1/4 - 3/8" piece of flexible vacuum line hose or similar, as a listening aid (conduit) to pinpoint the noise.
Once I have found the location of that noise, (rattle/buzz etc.) take things apart and try to determine where it's coming from. If it is a wire harness or wire crimps on a hard panel, a few wire ties may help or wrap them with duct tape strips. (pulls things sung and out of the way)
If it is a panel that is vibrating/resonating, a few layers of duct tape on the back side of the panel may be enough to add enough mass to stop the noise.
NOTE: Duct tape can get soft and pull away in high temperature areas. In this case, "Gaffer's tape" may work better. It sticks to almost anything and takes some effort to remove it. It is non-conductive electrically, and much stronger than most duct tapes I have used. We often use Gaffer's tape to secure heavy cables to floor or carpeting when running audio lines and "SNAKES" from the control board to amps or speaker cables and people won't trip on loose wiring.
Also, foam tapes (used to insulate windows and doors) are a good option for vibration control. Comes in several widths and thicknesses. One side is a tacky tape while other side is foam rubber or similar gasketing material. You can find this at any hardware store. 3M makes a lot of these.
Good luck,
Swez
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 10:20:17
looks like i missed the part that said "not from the speakers". boy i tell ya.
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 10:31:55
Asleep at the wheel there UK? Too much Turkey will do that... LOL
Swez
PS Nobody's perfect... (least of all... me) you should have seen my goof up this weekend when I was charging my power drill batteries. Got one hella jolt when the battery pack. Was fully charged, but I neglected to unplug the charger before I disconnected the charging leads... (home brew charger) Only 12 volts, but several amps I think too.
YOWWW... both hands and arms re-acted to the current flow that was coming off the charger and stored in the battery. Made me do a dance to get off the hot wires. Dumb thing is... I have done this a few times now.... will I ever learn?
See... Ol Swez is prone to oversites too?
Humbly yours,
Swez
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 13:24:22
speaking of asleep at the wheel....
DO NOT PUT A REMOTE START ON A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. i put a remote start on the bimmer and i even made a toggle swtich that has to be on in order to remote start. i figured by flipping the switch i would remember to take it out of gear.....oooh bad idea. i went to show my mom and i came literally within about 2 inches of wrecking into her lexus in the driveway. the emergency brake does have to be pulled to RS, but it still took off.
i think i'm gonna leave that switch on off :-)
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 13:59:17
UK,
How about a lock out safety switch, that will only allow auto start to function when:
1. Parking brake is fully activated (make sure they lock the rear wheels) Sounds like your park brake system is not adjusted to proper pressure.
2. Gear shift is in neutral ONLY (micro switch lock out detector sensor?) Your safety switch...
Hummmm, hope you were in the car when this thing took off? I would think if the parking brake were in order and the engine did start, it would immediately stall out if in gear?
That's a good story! It made me chuckle... am glad you missed Mom's Lexus too.
Swez
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 14:45:19
it will stall itself out after moving about 10 feet. i was about 6 feet behind her car.
would some more info about the micro swtich lock out detector sensor be possible??
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 15:22:35
There are many types of mechanical switches out there. Even electronic eye and magnetic sensors may be of use.
Can you picture this?
A small lever switch that closes when the shifter is in neutral. When that switch is closed, the starter circuit can be engaged. If the shifter is in a gear position (1st or Rev) the switch will be open and the remstart cannot engage.
This kind of switch can be hidden inside the shifter boot. The trick is how to anchor it securely so that when you shift gears, the stick does not knock it out of alignment.
Another idea to consider, a magnetic pickup switch. (similar to home alarm systems) on widows and doors. Here, we have a magnet and a mating switch. When the magnet is in close proximity to the pickup switch, the circuit inside will close. (now, we have a closed electrical circuit) When the shifter is out of neutral position, the switch remains open and no current will flow through the switch.
Again, the trick is alignment and placement of the magnet and switch components. Don't want to knock the switch out of alignment while going through your gear patterns.
What say you?
Swez
ttocs on 12/8/2004 13:42:45
I have a remote start on my manual, with a nuetral saftey switch. The switch is not made anymore unfortunatly, but I have seen other people rig one with two switches.
in addition to this, I had a thought that might make it easier. Use a mercury switch to turn the remote start off when the vehicle would start to lunge? You could wire it inline on the nuetral safety to break the connection and disable the starter. This would only work however if the vehicle started smoothly, and you did not park on too many hills.
Clifford is also supposed to have a system to allow you to use a remote start on a manual. When you exit the car, you actually activate the remote start(with the car in nuetral obviously. Then when you get out and arm the car, it shuts off the vehicle. As long as the door is not opened prior to the next time you try to start the vehicle, The alarm knows it is in nuetral and will allow it to start. If you enter the vehicle first, it will not activate.
swez on 12/8/2004 20:54:54
Great input ttocs.... a neutral starting switch is common on Auto trans system. It only allows the car to start in Park or Neutral.
That may not be the case in newer cars... but was a standard feature a few years ago on all GM, Ford and such vehicles.
Swez SMILE
Anyway when I first installed it I had no problems, but now there seems to be a buzz coming from the dash near the head unit (not from the speakers). I thought this might be caused by a loose wire in the dash, but I pulled the unit out and inspected it and found nothing to be loose. I'm not a real car audio expert, so I'm not sure what anyone will need to know to help me.
However, the head unit is installed using a wiring harness adapter and I did not solder the connections, just used a wire capping kit from BB. The buzz is not there all the time, only when going over a rough spot (bumpy) in the road or when the RPMs approach 3k.
Sorry for the long post, but any help you could offer would be appreciated as this buzz is driving me nuts!
Thanks,
Phil
Replies (10)
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 10:01:21
sounds like it could possibly be a bad ground. ground the HU to the body of the car instead of using the factory ground in the wiring harness. that should do it.
what kind of radio is it??
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 10:09:10
This sounds like a mechanical vibration issue somewhere in the dash area. First, you have to isolate where the noise is coming from. I often use a 1/4 - 3/8" piece of flexible vacuum line hose or similar, as a listening aid (conduit) to pinpoint the noise.
Once I have found the location of that noise, (rattle/buzz etc.) take things apart and try to determine where it's coming from. If it is a wire harness or wire crimps on a hard panel, a few wire ties may help or wrap them with duct tape strips. (pulls things sung and out of the way)
If it is a panel that is vibrating/resonating, a few layers of duct tape on the back side of the panel may be enough to add enough mass to stop the noise.
NOTE: Duct tape can get soft and pull away in high temperature areas. In this case, "Gaffer's tape" may work better. It sticks to almost anything and takes some effort to remove it. It is non-conductive electrically, and much stronger than most duct tapes I have used. We often use Gaffer's tape to secure heavy cables to floor or carpeting when running audio lines and "SNAKES" from the control board to amps or speaker cables and people won't trip on loose wiring.
Also, foam tapes (used to insulate windows and doors) are a good option for vibration control. Comes in several widths and thicknesses. One side is a tacky tape while other side is foam rubber or similar gasketing material. You can find this at any hardware store. 3M makes a lot of these.
Good luck,
Swez
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 10:20:17
looks like i missed the part that said "not from the speakers". boy i tell ya.
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 10:31:55
Asleep at the wheel there UK? Too much Turkey will do that... LOL
Swez
PS Nobody's perfect... (least of all... me) you should have seen my goof up this weekend when I was charging my power drill batteries. Got one hella jolt when the battery pack. Was fully charged, but I neglected to unplug the charger before I disconnected the charging leads... (home brew charger) Only 12 volts, but several amps I think too.
YOWWW... both hands and arms re-acted to the current flow that was coming off the charger and stored in the battery. Made me do a dance to get off the hot wires. Dumb thing is... I have done this a few times now.... will I ever learn?
See... Ol Swez is prone to oversites too?
Humbly yours,
Swez
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 13:24:22
speaking of asleep at the wheel....
DO NOT PUT A REMOTE START ON A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. i put a remote start on the bimmer and i even made a toggle swtich that has to be on in order to remote start. i figured by flipping the switch i would remember to take it out of gear.....oooh bad idea. i went to show my mom and i came literally within about 2 inches of wrecking into her lexus in the driveway. the emergency brake does have to be pulled to RS, but it still took off.
i think i'm gonna leave that switch on off :-)
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 13:59:17
UK,
How about a lock out safety switch, that will only allow auto start to function when:
1. Parking brake is fully activated (make sure they lock the rear wheels) Sounds like your park brake system is not adjusted to proper pressure.
2. Gear shift is in neutral ONLY (micro switch lock out detector sensor?) Your safety switch...
Hummmm, hope you were in the car when this thing took off? I would think if the parking brake were in order and the engine did start, it would immediately stall out if in gear?
That's a good story! It made me chuckle... am glad you missed Mom's Lexus too.
Swez
UKinstaller on 12/6/2004 14:45:19
it will stall itself out after moving about 10 feet. i was about 6 feet behind her car.
would some more info about the micro swtich lock out detector sensor be possible??
-UK
swez on 12/6/2004 15:22:35
There are many types of mechanical switches out there. Even electronic eye and magnetic sensors may be of use.
Can you picture this?
A small lever switch that closes when the shifter is in neutral. When that switch is closed, the starter circuit can be engaged. If the shifter is in a gear position (1st or Rev) the switch will be open and the remstart cannot engage.
This kind of switch can be hidden inside the shifter boot. The trick is how to anchor it securely so that when you shift gears, the stick does not knock it out of alignment.
Another idea to consider, a magnetic pickup switch. (similar to home alarm systems) on widows and doors. Here, we have a magnet and a mating switch. When the magnet is in close proximity to the pickup switch, the circuit inside will close. (now, we have a closed electrical circuit) When the shifter is out of neutral position, the switch remains open and no current will flow through the switch.
Again, the trick is alignment and placement of the magnet and switch components. Don't want to knock the switch out of alignment while going through your gear patterns.
What say you?
Swez
ttocs on 12/8/2004 13:42:45
I have a remote start on my manual, with a nuetral saftey switch. The switch is not made anymore unfortunatly, but I have seen other people rig one with two switches.
in addition to this, I had a thought that might make it easier. Use a mercury switch to turn the remote start off when the vehicle would start to lunge? You could wire it inline on the nuetral safety to break the connection and disable the starter. This would only work however if the vehicle started smoothly, and you did not park on too many hills.
Clifford is also supposed to have a system to allow you to use a remote start on a manual. When you exit the car, you actually activate the remote start(with the car in nuetral obviously. Then when you get out and arm the car, it shuts off the vehicle. As long as the door is not opened prior to the next time you try to start the vehicle, The alarm knows it is in nuetral and will allow it to start. If you enter the vehicle first, it will not activate.
swez on 12/8/2004 20:54:54
Great input ttocs.... a neutral starting switch is common on Auto trans system. It only allows the car to start in Park or Neutral.
That may not be the case in newer cars... but was a standard feature a few years ago on all GM, Ford and such vehicles.
Swez SMILE
Copyright ClubKnowledge 2009 * All Rights Reserved
