Tinman Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 First I just want to say this website is awesome. If it wasn't for all the great information on these forums I would never had the confidence to do a stereo install on my own. I finally finished putting it all together last night in the freezing cold garage. Had to wait for the little ones to go to bed so I can work on the car without interruptions. I noticed a humming noise emanating from the engine when the car is on and the stereo is on. Does this mean I need a noise filter? I used good quality RCA's (Streetwires ZN5's) and Streetwires 4 gauge amp kit. Speaker wires are the speed wire (9-wire) for the amp and MTX Re-q5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 What are you using for your source? Stock HU, aftermarket? Where is it grounded? How is your amp grounded? Did you run your RCAs beside your power cable? I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 I am using the stock HU. I have a MTX ReQ5 sound processor next to the amp on a rack above the spare tire in my wagon. The ground is to a bolt next to the passenger rear fender well. I used a dremmel to remove the paint before attaching the ground wires. The ReQ5 is tapping into the same power and ground at the back of the wagon. The RCA's a very short since the distance from the sound processor to the amp is less than a foot. Speaker wires are on the left side of the car, power and ground came down the right side of the car. No crossing between the RCA's and power wires. I only hear the hissing noise from the engine when the stereo is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmahh Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Try adding a 2nd ground, or even using a bigger gauge wire. If that does not fix it you may need a ground loop isolator BTW did you get any snow in Folsom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m sprank Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 The noise in in the engine. Not coming through the speakers. Is the noise a whine? Could be the alternator actually working (like it has a load). Electrical whine? Emanating from alternator area? Need a little more info, but does NOT sound like something a noise isolator would fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 It's not in the speakers so a noise filter probably will not solve this issue. The sound appears to be coming from the alternator. I might be nit picking because it is barely audible. You can only hear it when the hood is open and the stereo is on. You don't hear it when you are driving or listening to the stereo. (It almost sounds like a barely audible flat line, as if someone died on the operating table, as seen in movies) That is the best description I can come up with. I only discovered it because I was doing the install. I am just concerned if this might have any issues later if I ignore it. Or is it not uncommon to have a little bit of whine/hissing noise with a amplified stereo set-up? If it is coming from the alternator, what could it be? And is there a solution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 how many watts RMS is your amp? Maybe you just hear it more since you had to open up a hole in the firewall to run 4 gauge wire? Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m sprank Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 If it only happens when the stereo is on it is most likely normal. The alternator is sized for the factory equipment (90amps). Any aftermarket amps or electrical equipment can push the OEM alternator to its limits. This is normal. Lots of electrical generators make a "whine" when the are working hard. Chances are your amps are pulling enough juice to make the alternator work harder. Possible outcome is alternator lasts a few miles less than normal. Enjoy your music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 I didn't see any snow, but supposedly Roseville got snow. It was snowing in the Bay Area too. Yeah, I think the noise is acceptable back ground noise. After all, I can't here it when I am in the car. We'll see how it goes. I am enjoying the stereo a whole lot more. The sub woofer gives it that extra punch it was lacking before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotson78 Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 im having the same issues. it is loud "whine" noise. if i use a cap will it help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 3 years later and I have not done anything else to my stereo or had to do any fixing of it. Stereo sounds great, kids love the thump of the sub. I just left it as is and excepted the noise. In fact I don't think I have heard it in a long time. I don't know if a capacitor will help or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdawg81 Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 im having the same issues. it is loud "whine" noise. if i use a cap will it help? a cap adds an extra load to the electrical/charging system. So if the "whine" is because of that system, adding another load to it shouldn't make it any better. As far as this whine, is it a high pitched whine or a low pitched whine? I ask because I've had similar noises in my audio setups in the past. One was due to alternator squeal/whine and one was due to my RCAs not being grounded correctly, causing a low whine to play through my subs while the system was on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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