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Audio Guru's/Whining with rpm's??????

morcav

morcav

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I have a whining noise coming from my speakers that gets louder when my engine accelarates, anyone have an idea of whats causing this because it's driving me nuts. I have a 5-channel amp hooked to a 12" JL and 4 Polk DB's and I have ckecked the ground and even tried moving it a couple of times so I don't think it's the ground.
 
Well , a good short thick ground , power wires and audio wires routed away from each other , any wires crossing over each must do so at 90 degree angle , ferrite beads placed over the cables , and "bonding" the vehicle ( adding additional grounds , especially to the exhaust to the frame ) .
 
Isn't this considered noise from the alternator? A filter would cure this problem.
 
A filter is a bandaide, solving the actual problem is a better solution. Bbut yes, this is generally what is called alternator whine.

If the ground on the amp is okay, here's what else I would check. Is the amp itself mounted to metal? It shouldn't be. Have you tried messing with the ground on the h/u?

If all else fails, fall back on the standard troubleshooting method in car audio: isolating components until the problem disappears. Do you have a boom box/portable radio that has RCA output jacks? Hook it into the stereo, bypassing the h/u, and see if the problem is still there. if so, move on to the RCA cables. Putting the h/u back into the system (not the portable radio), run a temporary rca cable over the seats and back to the amp... is the problem still there? If so, you know the problem is in the amplifier (or its installation). If you have any other components in your signal chain (like an EQ, line driver, etc) use the same methods to isolate it by removing it from the system and find out if the problem persists. But remember, the key is to isolate/remove only one component at a time... this includes wires any/or cables.

Hope this helps.
 
Make sure the stereo grounds aren't being connected directly to the battery.... sounds like you've already tried a few spots, just reminding you.

Alternator whine is caused by a ground loop somewhere.

2 common causes:

1. Bad ground somewhere
2. Poor power supply isolation in one of the stereo components

If you use the troubleshooting methods that Chevyin suggests, you'll find out in a hurry if a specific component is to blame.

Sometimes, trying to get too much "gain" (actually should be called input sensitivity) out of the amp can reveal engine whine also. If your front end components have low output voltage it will be tempting to crank those dials on the amp to get more volume. Unfortunately, you'll be boosting a lot of other "noise" in the system along with the music.

Some ideas to consider...


:usaflag:
 
using sh*ty rca's will cause that sometimes. but all the other ideas are good too. i hate the 3 noises, don't hear them to often but they suck.
 
I figured I would ask here instead of making up a new thread, since my question is pretty much the same. Just a little twist though.

What if the noise comes only when you put on the lights? I had a whine in my system. Replaced the ground, unmounted the amp from the floor and made a rack, gave the deck it's own power instead of tapping in with the stock harness, and rerouted the wires away from each other. The whine went away, or so I thought. A couple days later I was driving home from work when it started to get dark. I pulled on the lights and what do you know....the whine is back. :mad: I don't have a dimmer hooked up and all of my lights, including the KC's have their own relays and power. Am I going to have to resort to the filter? If so what and where do I get one?
 
The lights just put more load on the alternator. You may have still had the noise, you may not have noticed it because it was quieter. Do you have a cap on yout main power lead, to the amp?

There was one time I put a cap inline from the alternator output. Different reason for it, but I remember losing the whine in my system.
 
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