Here's my audio system:
Pioneer DEH-P7700MP HU
Infinity Reference 4x6 2-way Plate speakers (front)
Infinity Reference 6x9 3-way Loud speakers (rear)
Infinity Reference 4-Channel amp (110watts rms x 4 channels)
1 Farad Cap
4 Gauge power & ground wire
I ran the power cable, and RCA's on opposite sides of the car. For the ground for the amp in the trunk, I installed a grounding lug to the side wall of the trunk. I sanded off the paint to make good contact. I've even gone as far as installing a grounding kit under the hood.
I still have that dreaded alternator whine.
The only other thing I know of to do is try running a 4 guage ground cable straight from the battery ... or maybe getting a power filter for the positive input on the amp..
what causes alternator whine, and what else can I do to get rid of it without degrading my sound quality. I was told ground-loop isolators degrade sound quality.
thanks for the info!
i am having the same problem. I ran a 4 gauge wire directly to the battery and it didn't fix my problem. I also tried sanding and making a nice clean ground and that didn't help either. I hate that noise so much. argh!
http://www.helpelijah.com
Where is the head unit grounded? How long is the ground for the amps? Make your grounds as short and large as possible. Check the resistence on the ground and power wire. Should be next to nothing. Make sure you ground the Capacitor where the amps are grounded. You might also try to do it without the cap and see if that gets rid of the noise. Caps have their place, I never used one, and unless your charging system can't keep up you don't need one. But if your alternator can't keep up, then get a new alternator.
My old setup I had my headunit grounded in the factory harness, I had a Fosgate 800.4 running highs and a 1000a2 for 2 12in JL W3s. The amps had 4 gauge(maybe a foot long) out to a grounding block, and the 1/0 gauge (about 8 inches)to the spare tire well. Also had 1/0 powerwire. Never had any noise. I also had a cb, scanner, gps and radar detector wired into the car. Don't ever let any stereo shop tell you that you have to live with noise! Its just not true.
I think alternator whine is caused by a million different things. To small of a ground will cause it, multiple ground points will cause it, low quality equipment will cause it, bad installation, chaffed wires, power and signal cables too close, the list goes on and on.
Check out www.termpro.com, thats where I learned a lot of stuff and they are usually pretty helpful.
I have the same car and i am running an 800w pioneer amp (100 X 4 rms) and a 12 inch Dragster...160w 6x9 alpine rear (I am running the sub off 2 channels bridged and the speakers off the other 2 channels) and stock 4x6 fronts. But I don't have any Alt whine. The only thing i really have different is that i have a sub and don't have a cap. my power wire is only 8 gauge...i know its too small...and my ground wire is 8 gauge...but is like 2 feet long. I grounded mine to one of the rear seat belt mounting points. No offence, but you are not running that much stuff to overdraw your factory Alt. My lights dim all the time when I'm idling but once I'm above like 1k rpm (auto...it idles at like 550 or 600 rpm) its ok. you may actually have a prob with your Alt.
I would be inclined to agree with getting rid of the cap...cheaper than testing the charging system...if it doesn't go away than get it checked.
Bad diodes in the Alt can make a system whine, but most of the time that will also lead to a poor charge from alt too. Does it whine all the time or just on FM radio? If it only does it on FM get a antena noise filter. If it does it all the time try running a new large ground to head unit. Hope this helps
Just thought of something, aren't caps supposed to smooth out voltage flow and reduce noise? Not sure but I think I read that somewhere? About the noise I mean. By the way, with my old setup, the headlights would only dim if the car was off.
hey all.
well i was driving and my charging system light came on and sure enough the wonderful alternator went bad. that was fun to change.
but i did notice that my system whine went to a minimum now. i think maybe some quality shielded RCA cables should fix the problem.
so if your alt whine is really strong like mine was you might want to watch your alt going bad.
http://www.helpelijah.com
