Q--ground, and engine noise
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 172
Q--ground, and engine noise
Okay, here's my problem: I am hearing an engine whine sound in my speakers. I installed a new amp, a 5 channel so I can amp the highs as well as the sub. Now I got this noise.
Possible symptom: My exsisting wires (for the old 2 channel) where not long enough to reach the new amp location. As a temp fix I lengthened both the power and ground wires. They are 8 gauge, I used 12 gauge speaker wire to extend them roughly 12" each. It is grounded to the truck latch hook thingy where it was previously. Also, this amp has the hook ups on oposite sides as the wires are run in the car, ie. power/ground/remote are on the right and I ran the wires down the left side of the car. RCAs are vise versa, so the power and RCAs cross, touching each other. This is something I can do nothing about aside from rerunning wire.
I think the ground is the problem but I'm no expert. I plan to get proper lengths of wire and same gauge this weekend, with a ground no longer then 6-8", I plan to drill a new hole and screw just for it. Will this fix me?
Also, am I at any risk hurting anything with the 8 down to 12 guage wiring? Thanks for any responses.
Possible symptom: My exsisting wires (for the old 2 channel) where not long enough to reach the new amp location. As a temp fix I lengthened both the power and ground wires. They are 8 gauge, I used 12 gauge speaker wire to extend them roughly 12" each. It is grounded to the truck latch hook thingy where it was previously. Also, this amp has the hook ups on oposite sides as the wires are run in the car, ie. power/ground/remote are on the right and I ran the wires down the left side of the car. RCAs are vise versa, so the power and RCAs cross, touching each other. This is something I can do nothing about aside from rerunning wire.
I think the ground is the problem but I'm no expert. I plan to get proper lengths of wire and same gauge this weekend, with a ground no longer then 6-8", I plan to drill a new hole and screw just for it. Will this fix me?
Also, am I at any risk hurting anything with the 8 down to 12 guage wiring? Thanks for any responses.
Avoid running RCA's along the side of the power wire as much as possible!!! This will definitely pick up noise. The RCA's pick up noise from the power wire even though they may be well sheilded. A good test is to disconnect the RCA's from the amp side and see if the noise disappears. If it does, then you are picking up noise from the RCA's. If the noise is still there, then you have a ground problem or possibly a speaker wire problem. The speaker wire problem is highly unlikely if you don't have any part of the wire exposed touching metal. If you have a ground problem, have your grounding points as short as possible with bare metal as your connection. Scrape/file any paint to get a bare metal contact. Also, ground all amps at different locations to avoid any loops.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,007
Re: Q--ground, and engine noise
Originally posted by tornado019
Okay, here's my problem: I am hearing an engine whine sound in my speakers. I installed a new amp, a 5 channel so I can amp the highs as well as the sub. Now I got this noise.
Possible symptom: My exsisting wires (for the old 2 channel) where not long enough to reach the new amp location. As a temp fix I lengthened both the power and ground wires. They are 8 gauge, I used 12 gauge speaker wire to extend them roughly 12" each. It is grounded to the truck latch hook thingy where it was previously. Also, this amp has the hook ups on oposite sides as the wires are run in the car, ie. power/ground/remote are on the right and I ran the wires down the left side of the car. RCAs are vise versa, so the power and RCAs cross, touching each other. This is something I can do nothing about aside from rerunning wire.
I think the ground is the problem but I'm no expert. I plan to get proper lengths of wire and same gauge this weekend, with a ground no longer then 6-8", I plan to drill a new hole and screw just for it. Will this fix me?
Also, am I at any risk hurting anything with the 8 down to 12 guage wiring? Thanks for any responses.
Okay, here's my problem: I am hearing an engine whine sound in my speakers. I installed a new amp, a 5 channel so I can amp the highs as well as the sub. Now I got this noise.
Possible symptom: My exsisting wires (for the old 2 channel) where not long enough to reach the new amp location. As a temp fix I lengthened both the power and ground wires. They are 8 gauge, I used 12 gauge speaker wire to extend them roughly 12" each. It is grounded to the truck latch hook thingy where it was previously. Also, this amp has the hook ups on oposite sides as the wires are run in the car, ie. power/ground/remote are on the right and I ran the wires down the left side of the car. RCAs are vise versa, so the power and RCAs cross, touching each other. This is something I can do nothing about aside from rerunning wire.
I think the ground is the problem but I'm no expert. I plan to get proper lengths of wire and same gauge this weekend, with a ground no longer then 6-8", I plan to drill a new hole and screw just for it. Will this fix me?
Also, am I at any risk hurting anything with the 8 down to 12 guage wiring? Thanks for any responses.
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