CJ Rodarme
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There is a slight whine coming from my speakers. It increases in pitch with the gas. How can I get rid of this? I have a skar 75.4 on the mids and a audiopipe 2000.1 on the subs.
What's That Whine?
- Thread starter CJ Rodarme
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sounds like you are getting feedback from the alternator, checking and cleaning up all your grounds is a good place to start, I am presuming this is something that just cropped up and has not been a problem from the get go?
iamdub
Full Access Member
Probably interference from the alternator and power circuitry. It could be a faulty alternator but it's most commonly caused by a weak ground or an RCA routed alongside a power wire.
Does it stop with the engine off but system playing? Double check all grounds- head unit and amps. Unplug each RCA channel from the amp, one at a time, to see if you can isolate it to a particular channel.
Does it stop with the engine off but system playing? Double check all grounds- head unit and amps. Unplug each RCA channel from the amp, one at a time, to see if you can isolate it to a particular channel.
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CJ Rodarme
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It's kind of been a problem from the get go. But it seems to have gotten worse lately. I don't notice it at my normal playing volume but that's pretty loud. I'm only worried about it now as I'm going to upgrade my door speakers so I want them to be very clear. I've had this problem across three different alternators so I have a feeling its not a bad alt. Also, there's a amp ground? I mean I know there has to be for it to work but I just matched all the wires and called it good. Would it be in my best interest to pull it and solder everything?
HiHoeSilver
Away!
What is your music source? The HU, or do you have a phone or something plugged in to aux or USB? How about a charger?
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CJ Rodarme
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For the most part I use my USB plug in, but it seems constant across all sources.
iamdub
Full Access Member
I'd check the wiring behind the HU. Make sure the ground is good and no wires are pinched and shorting to the radio's chassis. Some HUs do better with their own ground straight to the frame instead of the factory ground in the original radio harness.
How did you wire up the HU? Did you use a harness adapter or cut the factory wiring? Sometimes a negative trigger is mistaken as a ground.
After verifying the wiring is correct and the routing of your RCAs is not near any other power wires and that the grounds are clean and solid, your next step is to isolate components. If you have an aux jack-to-RCA adapter cable, you could plug a phone or iPod straight to your amp's inputs and play music. Do this with the engine running. If the whine is still there, then it's coming from the power source to the amp(s) which is usually the alternator. Since you've pretty much ruled this out, you may have faulty circuitry in one of the amps.
Aux to RCA:
https://www.amazon.com/6in-Stereo-Audio-Cable-Splitter/dp/B00KTHGDCS
Dan Acosta
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I had a similar issue, it was being caused by the rear seat entertainment control. I adjusted the plug into it and it worked. Try "persuading" it by bumping the rear hinge area of the console if you have RSE.
Like Chris said check your wiring, do not run the rca's and power wires anywhere near each other, run power wires down the drivers side and (shielded) rca's down the passenger side, the shielded wires cost a little extra but will prevent these kinds of problems.
Your head unit should have a grounding screw. Make sure that's grounded.
remove the fuse, remote turn on, RCA, OR power wire, for each amp one at a time, and if you get the whine on both then its a problem with your head unit. If its only one, then its from the RCA wire/power wire, down the line.
Personally its incredibly easy on these vehicles, and depending on how you are wired up, I would unplug the RCAs directly from the back of the head unit, and pull the fuses for the amps.
You should be able to turn the stereo volume to zero/completely off. Turn off your stereo, (and in an extremely quiet area, where you may even have to let your ears adjust to the silence for 15 minutes), then turn it on. You should be able to hear the whine even without any volume. This might help you identify if you have any whine at all as opposed to trying to hear it when cranking it up.
What do you mean you just matched the wires? Its really not that hard to figure out the correct size wire that you need. Figure out your peak wattage listed (and usually you want to overestimate it. You can always search for videos on what your amp truly runs at, or you can see how to check for yourself). You can get a measure of your wire length (doesn't have to be within inches, just get within a foot or two). Check your wire size needed for your length and wattage. That's your power wire, Your ground should be either as short as possible (less than a few feet), or ran back to the battery. Make sure all grounds are to bare metal, clean. That you didn't cut any wire at the connection, and that there are no frays or cuts in any of your wiring from when you were installing it. Properly crimp or solder all power connections.
remove the fuse, remote turn on, RCA, OR power wire, for each amp one at a time, and if you get the whine on both then its a problem with your head unit. If its only one, then its from the RCA wire/power wire, down the line.
Personally its incredibly easy on these vehicles, and depending on how you are wired up, I would unplug the RCAs directly from the back of the head unit, and pull the fuses for the amps.
You should be able to turn the stereo volume to zero/completely off. Turn off your stereo, (and in an extremely quiet area, where you may even have to let your ears adjust to the silence for 15 minutes), then turn it on. You should be able to hear the whine even without any volume. This might help you identify if you have any whine at all as opposed to trying to hear it when cranking it up.
What do you mean you just matched the wires? Its really not that hard to figure out the correct size wire that you need. Figure out your peak wattage listed (and usually you want to overestimate it. You can always search for videos on what your amp truly runs at, or you can see how to check for yourself). You can get a measure of your wire length (doesn't have to be within inches, just get within a foot or two). Check your wire size needed for your length and wattage. That's your power wire, Your ground should be either as short as possible (less than a few feet), or ran back to the battery. Make sure all grounds are to bare metal, clean. That you didn't cut any wire at the connection, and that there are no frays or cuts in any of your wiring from when you were installing it. Properly crimp or solder all power connections.
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