What is this noise? Its not alternator wine

[npcout 10+ year member]

I installed all my stuff, 3 amps, 1 for sub, and 2 for speakers. When my engine is off, it all sounds fine. When i turn my car on, it sounds bad. If i unplug my rca's from my speaker amps and just leave my sub amp plugged in, so basically im only playing bass, its fine.

The sound coming out of my speakers is a constant static sound. Its not a low high pitched sound that gets louder when pressing the gas. Its just a loud, constant static sound. Gains are all the way down, and HU volume is all the way down.

Can any of you guys isolate this to a certain problem like bad grounds, bad RCA's, etc. Its just an annoying loud sound coming through, and i dont no if its considered alternator wine, so i dont no how to fix this yet.

Thanks a lot!

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[2loud4u 10+ year member]

Try a different set of rca's

What deck are you using.

double check your grounds.

 

[bds0688 10+ year member]

Are all your grounds in one location? Try using a distribution block if not. Also make sure your ground is bare metal and tightened down securely. If your RCA's are super cheap I suggest trying a different pair. Do you have seperate RCA's going to each amp, or is the output of one feeding the other? If that is the case try running one high amp at a time, and seeing if it's a problem there.

I know what you're describing and I had a similar problem. Make sure your RCA's are good. You don't need Monster or JL high end stuff, but if it's something similar to RCA's packaged with home electronics, there might be a problem.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

That actually sounds like radiated noise. Its fairly rare in the car, but it does happen. Likely source is the car's computer harness. Reroute your RCAs and/or switch them out for a set of twisted-pair interconnects.

 

[npcout 10+ year member]

Try a different set of rca'sWhat deck are you using.

double check your grounds.

I am using a Sony CDX-GT805DX

I going to move my amps so all the grounds are very short.

Are all your grounds in one location? Try using a distribution block if not. Also make sure your ground is bare metal and tightened down securely. If your RCA's are super cheap I suggest trying a different pair. Do you have seperate RCA's going to each amp, or is the output of one feeding the other? If that is the case try running one high amp at a time, and seeing if it's a problem there.
I know what you're describing and I had a similar problem. Make sure your RCA's are good. You don't need Monster or JL high end stuff, but if it's something similar to RCA's packaged with home electronics, there might be a problem.

Yes my grounds are in all one location. I am using a ground distribution block, but because of that, some of my ground wires are a bit long. It is tightened down very securely to the seat belt bolt under my back seat. I do have seperate RCA's going to each amp.

That actually sounds like radiated noise. Its fairly rare in the car, but it does happen. Likely source is the car's computer harness. Reroute your RCAs and/or switch them out for a set of twisted-pair interconnects.

If it's radiating noise, can i check that by pulling my headunit out a bit and seeing if the noise goes away or not as noticeable? If it is radiating noise, is there any other way to fix the problem without re running my rca's? Would grounding the RCA's work?

ANYTHING ELSE

 

[Bloodstalker999 10+ year member]

90% of the time noise is going to be from a bad ground. I would double and triple check the ground on the HU. Grounding has been thoroughly covered so far in this thread, I would try not to run the RCA by the power line or ground if at all possible because the RCA can pick up distortion from the power/ground wires.