I recently added a Pyle marine amp to my 1998 Jeep GC with the infinity sound system. I had flooded the old amp under the rear seat in a failed stream crossing. The amp works great until I turn my lights on. Then I get a constant level buz . It does not vary with volume.
The amp was installed using the speaker output from the stock dash head unit. All speakers are phased and work correctly. Power, including the ground is directly from the battery using 14 ga wire. A 10 amp noise supresser from Radio Shack is in the power line.
How do I get rid of this buz so I can listen to my stereo with the lights on?
Replies (5)
ttocs on 08/20/2005 10:06:50
what size amp? !4 awg is VERY small for most amps, you deck runs off of something just barely bigger. I never like to run anything smaller then 8 awg, but can see 12 for a very small amp....
Where did you get the signal at? Using factory radios often leads to noise problems, the infinity does not help really..
swez on 08/20/2005 16:18:12
Oddly enough, the ground wire from BAT to amp, may be part of the problem. Having a ground wire the same length as the power line, may be picking up some extra noise in the form of a "ground loop" . Most of the time, a well grounded BAT and a short Amp to ground wire to (bare metal) floor pan is the best way to go.
If using #14 gage speaker wire here, join them both together on the Pos terminal of your BAT (now, ya have a single #7 gage wire) and hook both wires to the AMPs' POS power lug. Install a short ground and see what ya get. Same deal here, use double #14 that is handy, for your ground.
Swez
PS Make sure you have a fuse close to the BAT Pos line that is attached to both #14 power lines.
marcfc on 08/20/2005 17:01:31
I actually have 12 ga wire for both power leads. The amp is four channels totaling 250 watts. I'll try routing the ground directly to bare metal near the amp.
Thanks
ttocs on 08/21/2005 09:25:45
is the power wires ran near the lights, or the switch? How about the Rca's? Were the rca's ran next to a large factory bundle of wires?
swez on 08/21/2005 10:34:22
He said he is using speaker taps to high input side of amp.
The lights you mentioned, are they standard automotive headlights or some extra kit lights for off road illumination?
Since this only seems to be an issue with the lights on, this may be a bit harder to track down. If it were only the amp, it would buzz all the time if the amp were damaged in any major way.
Can you check the voltage at amp power lugs, with and w/o lights on with a DC voltage meter? Also, how wet did things get? (just floor boards or even into the dash?)
Finally, I might be tempted to replace/swap the light relay out for a fresh one and see if that changes anything. If the relay contacts have excess corrosion, (burnished contacts) they can do wierd things. Many relays (I have played with), can be repaired or contacts cleaned with fine wet/dry sandpaper. After cleaning, abrasion residue can be removed with a old toothbrush and a shot of WD-40. The hardest part is getting the plastic cap off the relay to expose the internal components. (the clips are awkward to move out of the way)
Good luck,
Swez
The amp was installed using the speaker output from the stock dash head unit. All speakers are phased and work correctly. Power, including the ground is directly from the battery using 14 ga wire. A 10 amp noise supresser from Radio Shack is in the power line.
How do I get rid of this buz so I can listen to my stereo with the lights on?
Replies (5)
ttocs on 08/20/2005 10:06:50
what size amp? !4 awg is VERY small for most amps, you deck runs off of something just barely bigger. I never like to run anything smaller then 8 awg, but can see 12 for a very small amp....
Where did you get the signal at? Using factory radios often leads to noise problems, the infinity does not help really..
swez on 08/20/2005 16:18:12
Oddly enough, the ground wire from BAT to amp, may be part of the problem. Having a ground wire the same length as the power line, may be picking up some extra noise in the form of a "ground loop" . Most of the time, a well grounded BAT and a short Amp to ground wire to (bare metal) floor pan is the best way to go.
If using #14 gage speaker wire here, join them both together on the Pos terminal of your BAT (now, ya have a single #7 gage wire) and hook both wires to the AMPs' POS power lug. Install a short ground and see what ya get. Same deal here, use double #14 that is handy, for your ground.
Swez
PS Make sure you have a fuse close to the BAT Pos line that is attached to both #14 power lines.
marcfc on 08/20/2005 17:01:31
I actually have 12 ga wire for both power leads. The amp is four channels totaling 250 watts. I'll try routing the ground directly to bare metal near the amp.
Thanks
ttocs on 08/21/2005 09:25:45
is the power wires ran near the lights, or the switch? How about the Rca's? Were the rca's ran next to a large factory bundle of wires?
swez on 08/21/2005 10:34:22
He said he is using speaker taps to high input side of amp.
The lights you mentioned, are they standard automotive headlights or some extra kit lights for off road illumination?
Since this only seems to be an issue with the lights on, this may be a bit harder to track down. If it were only the amp, it would buzz all the time if the amp were damaged in any major way.
Can you check the voltage at amp power lugs, with and w/o lights on with a DC voltage meter? Also, how wet did things get? (just floor boards or even into the dash?)
Finally, I might be tempted to replace/swap the light relay out for a fresh one and see if that changes anything. If the relay contacts have excess corrosion, (burnished contacts) they can do wierd things. Many relays (I have played with), can be repaired or contacts cleaned with fine wet/dry sandpaper. After cleaning, abrasion residue can be removed with a old toothbrush and a shot of WD-40. The hardest part is getting the plastic cap off the relay to expose the internal components. (the clips are awkward to move out of the way)
Good luck,
Swez
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