RCA Cables and Speaker Whine
11-20-2002, 04:43 PM
#1
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 101
RCA Cables and Speaker Whine
Got a quick question for you guys..im sure this topic has been killed to death but i have a little twist on it.
Ive installed an amp and have been running my sub of it for some time flawlessly. I ran the the power cable down the driver side and the rca down the right passenger side. I just got some components and want to power them with the free channels on my amp. I got another rca cable from my head unit to the amp running it alongside the other rca cable on the passenger side. I then ran the both sides of speaker wire (front right and left) down that same side (passenger side) besides the RCA cable trying to keep as far away from the power as possible.
Anyway that was to give an idea of how it was wired. Ive been kinda busy and have prewired everything but have only hooked up the passenger side speakers but i can definitely tell there is engine noise. Once the head unit is on it starts out low and as usual if i rev it (in park or drive) it start whining.
I wanted know does it matter that the speaker wire and the RCA cable are right next to each other? The only time the speaker wire and power cable are right next to each other is right by the front driver side door (which i havent even hooked up yet).I was going to move the rca cable underneath the carpet to get it a few inches away but wanted to know if you guy have any ideas.
Do you guys have anything that i should do to test it out some to narrow it down or an all out solution?
Thanks
Ive installed an amp and have been running my sub of it for some time flawlessly. I ran the the power cable down the driver side and the rca down the right passenger side. I just got some components and want to power them with the free channels on my amp. I got another rca cable from my head unit to the amp running it alongside the other rca cable on the passenger side. I then ran the both sides of speaker wire (front right and left) down that same side (passenger side) besides the RCA cable trying to keep as far away from the power as possible.
Anyway that was to give an idea of how it was wired. Ive been kinda busy and have prewired everything but have only hooked up the passenger side speakers but i can definitely tell there is engine noise. Once the head unit is on it starts out low and as usual if i rev it (in park or drive) it start whining.
I wanted know does it matter that the speaker wire and the RCA cable are right next to each other? The only time the speaker wire and power cable are right next to each other is right by the front driver side door (which i havent even hooked up yet).I was going to move the rca cable underneath the carpet to get it a few inches away but wanted to know if you guy have any ideas.
Do you guys have anything that i should do to test it out some to narrow it down or an all out solution?
Thanks
11-20-2002, 04:53 PM
#2
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 101
Re: RCA Cables and Speaker Whine
Forget it for now ...im gonna take a look at the ground tomorrow and let you guys know what happens.
Im guessing if it was the ground i just didnt hear cause i was powering the sub.
Im guessing if it was the ground i just didnt hear cause i was powering the sub.
11-21-2002, 01:24 PM
#3
That sounds almost EXACTLY like my problem
I was JUST ABOUT to post a similar thread, and saw your subject line, so thought I'd read it.
Sadly I have no solution for you, as I am currently enduring vicious alternator whine.
I have tried regrounding my head unit to the screw just above the dead pedal, to no avail.
I have run my RCA cables (for the bazooka subwoofer) along the floor by the passenger side door as well (beneath the carpet/door sills), and into the trunk, connecting them to the Clarion 200.2 amp that I have. The amp was well grounded, and the amp/sub/Bose system was making NO noise until after I got my Alpine HU in.
Now, I just spoke with the guy who installed my HU (he didn't put the RCAs in for the subwoofer - they forgot to mention that to him at the shop), and he was suggesting this:
My amplified is currently mounted on the back of my rear seats. There is a metal plate there. He suggested getting a thin piece of wood (1/2 - 1/4") and putting the amp on that, then installing that on the back of my seat.
It may not be a solution, but due to the stronger HU, the RCAs are picking up engine noise. He also suggested that I may have to go with a higher quality set of RCAs (I think mine were like $17 CDN, so not the best by any means).
I'm not sure when I'll have time to do this, but if I do, I'll let people know. For reference purposes, this guy is hitting 149db in his Memphis Audio stocked Cavalier, so I know he knows his stuff.
Hope this helps, and I hope others might drop some thoughts on this thread, as second + opinions.
Thanks,
Mike
Sadly I have no solution for you, as I am currently enduring vicious alternator whine.
I have tried regrounding my head unit to the screw just above the dead pedal, to no avail.
I have run my RCA cables (for the bazooka subwoofer) along the floor by the passenger side door as well (beneath the carpet/door sills), and into the trunk, connecting them to the Clarion 200.2 amp that I have. The amp was well grounded, and the amp/sub/Bose system was making NO noise until after I got my Alpine HU in.
Now, I just spoke with the guy who installed my HU (he didn't put the RCAs in for the subwoofer - they forgot to mention that to him at the shop), and he was suggesting this:
My amplified is currently mounted on the back of my rear seats. There is a metal plate there. He suggested getting a thin piece of wood (1/2 - 1/4") and putting the amp on that, then installing that on the back of my seat.
It may not be a solution, but due to the stronger HU, the RCAs are picking up engine noise. He also suggested that I may have to go with a higher quality set of RCAs (I think mine were like $17 CDN, so not the best by any means).
I'm not sure when I'll have time to do this, but if I do, I'll let people know. For reference purposes, this guy is hitting 149db in his Memphis Audio stocked Cavalier, so I know he knows his stuff.
Hope this helps, and I hope others might drop some thoughts on this thread, as second + opinions.
Thanks,
Mike
11-21-2002, 02:07 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 154
Re: That sounds almost EXACTLY like my problem
Originally posted by Blaxxxima
I was JUST ABOUT to post a similar thread, and saw your subject line, so thought I'd read it.
Sadly I have no solution for you, as I am currently enduring vicious alternator whine.
I have tried regrounding my head unit to the screw just above the dead pedal, to no avail.
I have run my RCA cables (for the bazooka subwoofer) along the floor by the passenger side door as well (beneath the carpet/door sills), and into the trunk, connecting them to the Clarion 200.2 amp that I have. The amp was well grounded, and the amp/sub/Bose system was making NO noise until after I got my Alpine HU in.
Now, I just spoke with the guy who installed my HU (he didn't put the RCAs in for the subwoofer - they forgot to mention that to him at the shop), and he was suggesting this:
My amplified is currently mounted on the back of my rear seats. There is a metal plate there. He suggested getting a thin piece of wood (1/2 - 1/4") and putting the amp on that, then installing that on the back of my seat.
It may not be a solution, but due to the stronger HU, the RCAs are picking up engine noise. He also suggested that I may have to go with a higher quality set of RCAs (I think mine were like $17 CDN, so not the best by any means).
I'm not sure when I'll have time to do this, but if I do, I'll let people know. For reference purposes, this guy is hitting 149db in his Memphis Audio stocked Cavalier, so I know he knows his stuff.
Hope this helps, and I hope others might drop some thoughts on this thread, as second + opinions.
Thanks,
Mike
I was JUST ABOUT to post a similar thread, and saw your subject line, so thought I'd read it.
Sadly I have no solution for you, as I am currently enduring vicious alternator whine.
I have tried regrounding my head unit to the screw just above the dead pedal, to no avail.
I have run my RCA cables (for the bazooka subwoofer) along the floor by the passenger side door as well (beneath the carpet/door sills), and into the trunk, connecting them to the Clarion 200.2 amp that I have. The amp was well grounded, and the amp/sub/Bose system was making NO noise until after I got my Alpine HU in.
Now, I just spoke with the guy who installed my HU (he didn't put the RCAs in for the subwoofer - they forgot to mention that to him at the shop), and he was suggesting this:
My amplified is currently mounted on the back of my rear seats. There is a metal plate there. He suggested getting a thin piece of wood (1/2 - 1/4") and putting the amp on that, then installing that on the back of my seat.
It may not be a solution, but due to the stronger HU, the RCAs are picking up engine noise. He also suggested that I may have to go with a higher quality set of RCAs (I think mine were like $17 CDN, so not the best by any means).
I'm not sure when I'll have time to do this, but if I do, I'll let people know. For reference purposes, this guy is hitting 149db in his Memphis Audio stocked Cavalier, so I know he knows his stuff.
Hope this helps, and I hope others might drop some thoughts on this thread, as second + opinions.
Thanks,
Mike
there are a couple more things that can also be tried such as:
ground everything at the same point which reduces any possibility of noise through grounding
and try running your speaker wire up the pillars and through the roof which will give you plenty of distance between wires.
11-21-2002, 04:05 PM
#6
Hey guys, first check your rca connections at the amp to see if they are loose, that is a spot notorious for engine whine, if so, you should be able to tighten them (I did). If that didn't solve your problem, get a noise blocker from your local car audio store for about 20 bucks. I'll stop it for sure. Sometimes, rca cables can get worn out over time and will cause that whining sound. And if you are cheapskates (like I am) find those high quality home theater rca cable at Wal-Mart or someplace. I am using a pair of monster cable home theater rca cables to run my rear deck amplifier.
11-21-2002, 09:29 PM
#7
Double check your Amp's ground and the deck's gorund. Make sure that your ground wire for the amp is as thick or thicker than the power wire. Check your RCA connectors. Wiggle them and see if the noise fades in and out.
11-21-2002, 09:52 PM
#8
Originally posted by erty67
Double check your Amp's ground and the deck's gorund. Make sure that your ground wire for the amp is as thick or thicker than the power wire. Check your RCA connectors. Wiggle them and see if the noise fades in and out.
Double check your Amp's ground and the deck's gorund. Make sure that your ground wire for the amp is as thick or thicker than the power wire. Check your RCA connectors. Wiggle them and see if the noise fades in and out.
11-22-2002, 06:43 AM
#9
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 101
I went to a car audio store and he pretty much blamed it on my amp saying my jensen amp is squarely to blame and it is notorious for engine whine. He then proceeded to try to sell me one of their amps. He also said that when they do the install this never occurs so kinda blaming my install as well. Im gonna probably shorten the ground wire today and maybe get my brother's Sony Xplod amp and see how that fairs in my car to see if it is the amp.
He didnt seem to say anything about the speaker wire being right next to the RCA's but said i did it right by putting the power cable on the driver's side so the conclusion on that might be that there is no interference from rca's.
If all else fails i may get some higher quality rca's and try that.
One last thing was that i went to the place to get a noise filter but he told me that the filter would only amplify the noise which i couldnt figure out how.
He didnt seem to say anything about the speaker wire being right next to the RCA's but said i did it right by putting the power cable on the driver's side so the conclusion on that might be that there is no interference from rca's.
If all else fails i may get some higher quality rca's and try that.
One last thing was that i went to the place to get a noise filter but he told me that the filter would only amplify the noise which i couldnt figure out how.
11-22-2002, 07:52 AM
#10
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 773
i had the same problem, the way i solved mine was i made sure my speaker wires and rca's weren't touching any metal. in my civic, behind the stereo, there is a bunch of metal, and all my wires were touching it causing that awful engine whine. i zip tied all the wires to make it look clean, and then i covered the metal sopts that were touching the wires with some foam, i just used strips of weather striping. now i got no whining at all
11-22-2002, 11:21 AM
#11
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 101
I got some rockford fosgate rca cables today to see if that was the problem. So i took the dash apart and just hooked up the cables directly the back and ran it by directly to the amp without tucking it in the panels without actually putting it away. I noticed one thing, basically whenever it is just one rca cable in the back it doesnt happen. But when its both it does happen (two rca cable in the back of the head unit). So i guess it might be the amp.
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