Just installed a new system ... sounded great but was getting a little power draw. So I put in a cap ... good right? Well on hind sight I should have just upgraded my alt but anyways to the point. Somehow this process introduced a lot of whin in to all of my speakers. Which by itself is weird as the cap is far from all speaker output/input wires and i did not run any new power wires.
So I disconnected the cap and now the whining is still there!! what the F man!! I can not figure it out. I tested my RCA cables ... check ... and at the same time not getting any signal when cables arent connected ... anyone have any ideas on what the heck is going on here? Help would be great I have had to disconnect my system until I can fix this problem.
Oh and I dont know if this helps but the whine I am getting from my subs is a very powerful and constant low pitched hum. Very loud at that.
Replies (8)
cplkittle on 03/13/2008 23:10:24
There are hundreds of causes for noise in a stereo system. I am glad you described the type of noise though...
The first thing I would try is disconnecting the power from the battery, and regrounding the amp to a clean, bare metal spot using as short of a cable as possible. If you can get it under 3' you are good. Also, use the same size cable to ground the amp as you do to power it. The reason you disconnect the battery is because when you take away the ground, the amplifier will try to ground itself through the RCA cables. If the ground is not good enough, the remainder of the current that is seeking ground and not getting there through the ground cable will travel back through the RCAs and ground out in the stereo. This is one of the more common causes of a 'low hum' type noise.
A low pitched hum can also mean problems within the amplifier, but let's hope this works.
Welcome to CK!
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:20:12
oh some system details may help but im doubting it ...
HU - Pioneer Premier DEH-P690UB
door speakers - infinity kappas component (2)6 1//2" and (2)6x9's
powerd by cheap boss amp pushing them at 100watts each
subs- 2 MA audio HK12x2's
powerd by MA audio HK802SX pushing 1600w to each
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:22:38
hey thanks man didnt even get put details out before i got a reply... I am thinking from what you said that maybe the capacitor could have grounded through my head unit??? possible? and if soo the units shot huh?
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:27:00
oh and my ground should be good was good before anyways ... its about 8" and never had problems before except like I said some power lose on real heavy notes I dont know man this is gonna piss me off if I just ruined my system put a lot of time and money into this.
cplkittle on 03/13/2008 23:28:07
it is possible. If the noise stops when you unplug the RCA cables it is either the HU or the bad amp ground.
Pioneer head units do have a common problem with a bad ground on the RCA cables. Take a piece of wire and strip off about 4" of the insulation. Wrap this wire around the RCA cables where they plug into the radio and ground this wire. You are grounding the outside prongs of the RCA cable (which is used as a ground in this case). The problem is that the outside ground of the RCA cable is not grounded sufficiently on the inside of the radio, and you are regrounding it on the outside.
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:38:48
thanks again for your help... gonna have to try this tommorow I guess and see what happens. Just one more question if this doesnt work do you know how i can test to see if the amp is done? and how would I test to see if I fried my Head Unit? Which I am starting to think is more likely considering how it affected my door speakers as well.
cplkittle on 03/13/2008 23:42:16
The only surefire way to tell is by process of elimination. Try connecting the amp to another head unit if you have one, and try connecting the sub RCAs to the 4 channel amp and see if you still have noise.
ttocs on 03/14/2008 00:16:04
You can use an mp3 player with a headphone to rca converter as a different source.
How is your head unit gounded?
So I disconnected the cap and now the whining is still there!! what the F man!! I can not figure it out. I tested my RCA cables ... check ... and at the same time not getting any signal when cables arent connected ... anyone have any ideas on what the heck is going on here? Help would be great I have had to disconnect my system until I can fix this problem.
Oh and I dont know if this helps but the whine I am getting from my subs is a very powerful and constant low pitched hum. Very loud at that.
Replies (8)
cplkittle on 03/13/2008 23:10:24
There are hundreds of causes for noise in a stereo system. I am glad you described the type of noise though...
The first thing I would try is disconnecting the power from the battery, and regrounding the amp to a clean, bare metal spot using as short of a cable as possible. If you can get it under 3' you are good. Also, use the same size cable to ground the amp as you do to power it. The reason you disconnect the battery is because when you take away the ground, the amplifier will try to ground itself through the RCA cables. If the ground is not good enough, the remainder of the current that is seeking ground and not getting there through the ground cable will travel back through the RCAs and ground out in the stereo. This is one of the more common causes of a 'low hum' type noise.
A low pitched hum can also mean problems within the amplifier, but let's hope this works.
Welcome to CK!
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:20:12
oh some system details may help but im doubting it ...
HU - Pioneer Premier DEH-P690UB
door speakers - infinity kappas component (2)6 1//2" and (2)6x9's
powerd by cheap boss amp pushing them at 100watts each
subs- 2 MA audio HK12x2's
powerd by MA audio HK802SX pushing 1600w to each
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:22:38
hey thanks man didnt even get put details out before i got a reply... I am thinking from what you said that maybe the capacitor could have grounded through my head unit??? possible? and if soo the units shot huh?
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:27:00
oh and my ground should be good was good before anyways ... its about 8" and never had problems before except like I said some power lose on real heavy notes I dont know man this is gonna piss me off if I just ruined my system put a lot of time and money into this.
cplkittle on 03/13/2008 23:28:07
it is possible. If the noise stops when you unplug the RCA cables it is either the HU or the bad amp ground.
Pioneer head units do have a common problem with a bad ground on the RCA cables. Take a piece of wire and strip off about 4" of the insulation. Wrap this wire around the RCA cables where they plug into the radio and ground this wire. You are grounding the outside prongs of the RCA cable (which is used as a ground in this case). The problem is that the outside ground of the RCA cable is not grounded sufficiently on the inside of the radio, and you are regrounding it on the outside.
trippinstar on 03/13/2008 23:38:48
thanks again for your help... gonna have to try this tommorow I guess and see what happens. Just one more question if this doesnt work do you know how i can test to see if the amp is done? and how would I test to see if I fried my Head Unit? Which I am starting to think is more likely considering how it affected my door speakers as well.
cplkittle on 03/13/2008 23:42:16
The only surefire way to tell is by process of elimination. Try connecting the amp to another head unit if you have one, and try connecting the sub RCAs to the 4 channel amp and see if you still have noise.
ttocs on 03/14/2008 00:16:04
You can use an mp3 player with a headphone to rca converter as a different source.
How is your head unit gounded?
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