I've got some engine wine in my truck. Weird thing is, I reinstalled the same system I had in it about a year ago and it didn't do it in the past. However, in the past I used the rockford comp braided sound canceling speaker wire, this time, cheap wire. Is this a possible cause? Any suggestions?
Replies (13)
trunkisloud on 06/8/2007 00:33:13
could be the cause..though some swear it doesnt make a difference...im not partial to either.....first...we need to know what your system consists of ....in my experience when i encounter this problem its usually a grounding issue....
welcome to the show.
hooviemoto87 on 06/8/2007 00:39:48
thanks. I have a pioneer 8600 head unit, power acousitc 4 channel amp to the door speakers, power acoustic 2 channel to a 12'' IDQ, pre amps running to them all. 1/2 farad capacitor next to the 2 channel amp. Do you need to know what wires I've used? I did run a signal wire next to the power, but again, in the past I had no wine at all from that. Only diff is that speaker wire out of the 4 channel amp. Hope that helps.
trunkisloud on 06/8/2007 09:49:07
so many components.......hmm.....i would check the rca's too all connections....make sure your plugged in tight....make sure all is grounded well....is the whine coming from all speakers or just certain ones or what?
kirchatndftbl on 06/8/2007 11:06:58
try moving the rcas to the other side could be the problem
hooviemoto87 on 06/8/2007 11:21:08
it's from all the speakers. Subwoofer, too. I'll try and tinker with it some more. thanks for the advice.
swez on 06/8/2007 11:58:33
When using outboard preamps, these must be well grounded and just enough gain to feed your amps properly.
If the gain settings are too low between HU, preamps and amps, the signal to noise threshold is so marginal, noise can be amplified along with audio signals too. A solid 2 volts from the HU/preamps is usually enough to override the noise.
Also, try moving your RCA cables away from the power line some 12-18 inches or more.
Tech tip: When running speakers wires near noisy car electronics parts, (Power windows, door locks and such) it works very well to take the front pair of speaker wires, chuck them up into a slow speed drill and braid/spiral wrap them. This automatically cancels out noise that may get into speaker lines.
Got all that?
Swez
PS Welcome to CK!
UKinstaller on 06/8/2007 12:00:42
sounds like a problem with the pioneer head unit. try wrapping a piece of wire around the ground shield part of the RCA jack plug-ins in the head unit and touch the other end to ground. if it goes away, ground all the RCA jacks and it should fix the problem. the only reason i say this is because you said the sub has problems with whine, too. pioneers are notorious for noisy rca outputs.
-UK
trunkisloud on 06/8/2007 13:55:57
good call there uk.....i was thinking that as well...since this kind of issue was brought up a few weeks ago and i mentioned that same remedy.
swez on 06/8/2007 20:47:59
How far back in the Pioneer HU products has this been an issue? It seems more a topic in the past 12-18 months. Have the new Pioneers been corrected?
Swez
hooviemoto87 on 06/10/2007 21:02:39
You are right, it's coming from the head unit. Where does the problem oridinate from? I took out the rca's from the head unit, and behold, silence! whichever speaker I unplug...silence. Is that cheap little wire with the front/rear/sub on it the problem? Can I just repair the wire and solder on some good females that don't come apart?
swez on 06/10/2007 23:01:46
What we have seen on many Pioneer complaints is that the RCA's are not properly grounded to the HU metal casing. There are a few remedies that seem to work in this case:
1. Solder bare wire jumpers, (4-6 inches long) across each of the ground claws of the RCA's and then connect that extra wire to a metal screw at the back of the HU
2. Some RCA wire kits come with a small tag wire attached and this can be attached to the HU chassis and then to the amps they feed as well
3. Always ground Aftermarket HU's with dedicated grounds to metal in the dash or floor pan. (Do not use the factory harness as ground)
These steps will eliminate ~90% of noise problems and ground loops.
Tech Tip: If the RCA wires are tightly packed in the dash, remove the HU and use short extension RCA patch cords. This allows one to do this work in an unresricted area with plenty of light and space. It also prevent damage to your carpets, dash and other materials that can be burned by a hot soldering pencil etc. Also, if you have expensive RCA wires and they use plastic covers, you won't damage them with heat either.
This is a delicate process to begin with. Why make it harder then it has to be, only to make a mistake and trash a nice set of expensive RCA connectors.
Swez
hooviemoto87 on 06/11/2007 22:28:39
Thank you very much for all the advice! I soldered up the ground wire to the rca's and screwed one to the chassis and now no noise! Perfectly silent again :). Worked perfectly.
trunkisloud on 06/11/2007 23:52:16
thats good to hear...i love pioneer hu's but that seems to be a drawback on them....easy fix though....
Replies (13)
trunkisloud on 06/8/2007 00:33:13
could be the cause..though some swear it doesnt make a difference...im not partial to either.....first...we need to know what your system consists of ....in my experience when i encounter this problem its usually a grounding issue....
welcome to the show.
hooviemoto87 on 06/8/2007 00:39:48
thanks. I have a pioneer 8600 head unit, power acousitc 4 channel amp to the door speakers, power acoustic 2 channel to a 12'' IDQ, pre amps running to them all. 1/2 farad capacitor next to the 2 channel amp. Do you need to know what wires I've used? I did run a signal wire next to the power, but again, in the past I had no wine at all from that. Only diff is that speaker wire out of the 4 channel amp. Hope that helps.
trunkisloud on 06/8/2007 09:49:07
so many components.......hmm.....i would check the rca's too all connections....make sure your plugged in tight....make sure all is grounded well....is the whine coming from all speakers or just certain ones or what?
kirchatndftbl on 06/8/2007 11:06:58
try moving the rcas to the other side could be the problem
hooviemoto87 on 06/8/2007 11:21:08
it's from all the speakers. Subwoofer, too. I'll try and tinker with it some more. thanks for the advice.
swez on 06/8/2007 11:58:33
When using outboard preamps, these must be well grounded and just enough gain to feed your amps properly.
If the gain settings are too low between HU, preamps and amps, the signal to noise threshold is so marginal, noise can be amplified along with audio signals too. A solid 2 volts from the HU/preamps is usually enough to override the noise.
Also, try moving your RCA cables away from the power line some 12-18 inches or more.
Tech tip: When running speakers wires near noisy car electronics parts, (Power windows, door locks and such) it works very well to take the front pair of speaker wires, chuck them up into a slow speed drill and braid/spiral wrap them. This automatically cancels out noise that may get into speaker lines.
Got all that?
Swez
PS Welcome to CK!
UKinstaller on 06/8/2007 12:00:42
sounds like a problem with the pioneer head unit. try wrapping a piece of wire around the ground shield part of the RCA jack plug-ins in the head unit and touch the other end to ground. if it goes away, ground all the RCA jacks and it should fix the problem. the only reason i say this is because you said the sub has problems with whine, too. pioneers are notorious for noisy rca outputs.
-UK
trunkisloud on 06/8/2007 13:55:57
good call there uk.....i was thinking that as well...since this kind of issue was brought up a few weeks ago and i mentioned that same remedy.
swez on 06/8/2007 20:47:59
How far back in the Pioneer HU products has this been an issue? It seems more a topic in the past 12-18 months. Have the new Pioneers been corrected?
Swez
hooviemoto87 on 06/10/2007 21:02:39
You are right, it's coming from the head unit. Where does the problem oridinate from? I took out the rca's from the head unit, and behold, silence! whichever speaker I unplug...silence. Is that cheap little wire with the front/rear/sub on it the problem? Can I just repair the wire and solder on some good females that don't come apart?
swez on 06/10/2007 23:01:46
What we have seen on many Pioneer complaints is that the RCA's are not properly grounded to the HU metal casing. There are a few remedies that seem to work in this case:
1. Solder bare wire jumpers, (4-6 inches long) across each of the ground claws of the RCA's and then connect that extra wire to a metal screw at the back of the HU
2. Some RCA wire kits come with a small tag wire attached and this can be attached to the HU chassis and then to the amps they feed as well
3. Always ground Aftermarket HU's with dedicated grounds to metal in the dash or floor pan. (Do not use the factory harness as ground)
These steps will eliminate ~90% of noise problems and ground loops.
Tech Tip: If the RCA wires are tightly packed in the dash, remove the HU and use short extension RCA patch cords. This allows one to do this work in an unresricted area with plenty of light and space. It also prevent damage to your carpets, dash and other materials that can be burned by a hot soldering pencil etc. Also, if you have expensive RCA wires and they use plastic covers, you won't damage them with heat either.
This is a delicate process to begin with. Why make it harder then it has to be, only to make a mistake and trash a nice set of expensive RCA connectors.
Swez
hooviemoto87 on 06/11/2007 22:28:39
Thank you very much for all the advice! I soldered up the ground wire to the rca's and screwed one to the chassis and now no noise! Perfectly silent again :). Worked perfectly.
trunkisloud on 06/11/2007 23:52:16
thats good to hear...i love pioneer hu's but that seems to be a drawback on them....easy fix though....
Copyright ClubKnowledge 2009 * All Rights Reserved
