Complete Audio Upgrade (plus adding a garage door opener)

[amagalla]

The physical installation of all the parts are done. But, now I have alternator whine. Improper ground is the most common source. Any other ideas?

[Pdwight]

You might want to get some shielded wire, or (and ) tie a .01 mfd capacitor to one side of your power wire, also you can tie a 1000mfs capacitor to act as a filter...these are old techniques to try...but some still work. Try the grounds first

[amagalla]

Originally Posted by Pdwight

You might want to get some shielded wire, or (and ) tie a .01 mfd capacitor to one side of your power wire, also you can tie a 1000mfs capacitor to act as a filter...these are old techniques to try...but some still work. Try the grounds first

Can you explain this?

Thanks

[Pdwight]

Originally Posted by amagalla

Can you explain this?

Thanks

THe alternator whine you hear is AC voltage making it's way into your amplifier via the +12V connection. The old method we used was to try 1 or any combination of three things.

First and foremost make sure your battery terminals are clean and tight, a good colection

Second tie a .47 capacitor from the +12V lead to ground. Theory is a capacitor passes AC voltage but blocks DC...the AC whine will be shorted to ground and reduced greatly

Third get a capacitor , Electrolytic rated above 30V and a value of 2000 to 10,000 Micro Farad (Mfd) and tie this to the AC line to filter out the spikes causing the whine.

Shielded wire, like Coax. Use the center conductor as your +12V source and tie it directly to the +12V of the battery, ground the shield so spurious RF cannot get into your +12V supply

There are further methods of using a inductor (choke) and other things.

For more info and ideas read this thread

Noise Suppression Guide - Noise Suppression Guide

How To - Car Stereo - In Pursuit of a Noise-Free System: The Ten Commandments of Noise Prevention

Alternator Whine in Car Audio

Car Audio Noise Troubleshooting

[Tucker2]

Originally Posted by Pdwight

THe alternator whine you hear is AC voltage making it's way into your amplifier via the +12V connection. The old method we used was to try 1 or any combination of three things.

First and foremost make sure your battery terminals are clean and tight, a good colection

Second tie a .47 capacitor from the +12V lead to ground. Theory is a capacitor passes AC voltage but blocks DC...the AC whine will be shorted to ground and reduced greatly

Third get a capacitor , Electrolytic rated above 30V and a value of 2000 to 10,000 Micro Farad (Mfd) and tie this to the AC line to filter out the spikes causing the whine.

Shielded wire, like Coax. Use the center conductor as your +12V source and tie it directly to the +12V of the battery, ground the shield so spurious RF cannot get into your +12V supply

There are further methods of using a inductor (choke) and other things.

For more info and ideas read this thread

Noise Suppression Guide - Noise Suppression Guide

How To - Car Stereo - In Pursuit of a Noise-Free System: The Ten Commandments of Noise Prevention

Alternator Whine in Car Audio

Car Audio Noise Troubleshooting

Just want to say this is an epic post. It's like a semester of college wrapped up into a quarter page on the internet. Wow. Thanks.

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by amagalla

The physical installation of all the parts are done. But, now I have alternator whine. Improper ground is the most common source. Any other ideas?

I noticed that you are using the telephone power connector as the source of your switched power. I used that connector as a power source to charge an iPod when I had a CDR-220 stock head unit. I also had an alternator whine, but only when I played music from the iPod.

When I wired my Pioneer deck, I used the power sources that were designed for the stock head unit and I don't have a whine with any sound source.

I cannot be sure that the problem is coming from the phone connector, but I would try a different source for switched power as the first step. If you need the information for the stock head unit wiring, let me know and I will scan and post it.

Good luck.