General audio question

[Finnegan]

Hi All,

My radio was installed by the PO, and it's exhibiting some irritating behavior. The left channel goes on and off, sort of at random. Road bumps can trigger the on-off. And, now I have a high pitched whine coming through the speakers which corrosponds to the rpms.

Both of these issues seem like wiring problems to me. But what do I know.

So, my question is, will a car audio place rewire an existing system, or do they only want to sell you a new system? If I can find a place to work on it, it should just be shop rates, right? How long would an operation like this take?

Thanks for any advice!

[Burg Boxster]

Yes both issues seem to be wiring related...

whine is typically known/caused by a ground loop (different grounds for various components i.e. head unit, amp, cd player, etc.)

cut outs can be caused by bad amplifiers but more commonly by bad bad connections. easiest to way to check is by switching the outputs side to side. if issue 'moves' to right side then source is downstream of wherever you changed the crossover... if it stays same then upstream.

yes audio stores will re-wire existing though many will prefer to upgrade you to latest technology.

That said you're here already so why not post some pics. Many of us here are more than willing to help you screw it up more... or at very least you might solve your issues for free - LOL

Good luck

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Burg Boxster

Yes both issues seem to be wiring related...

whine is typically known/caused by a ground loop (different grounds for various components i.e. head unit, amp, cd player, etc.)

cut outs can be caused by bad amplifiers but more commonly by bad bad connections. easiest to way to check is by switching the outputs side to side. if issue 'moves' to right side then source is downstream of wherever you changed the crossover... if it stays same then upstream.

yes audio stores will re-wire existing though many will prefer to upgrade you to latest technology.

That said you're here already so why not post some pics. Many of us here are more than willing to help you screw it up more... or at very least you might solve your issues for free - LOL

Good luck

Thanks! I'm pretty confident in my ability to screw it up just fine without help!

[safesaxbdd]

I have the same issue Finnegan! Whine that increases with engine RPMs, and know it's a ground loop issue. Weird thing is my system is the Bose system w/ aftermarket amps and head unit that were professionally installed. I'd be interested to see what you find out re: grounding.

[piper6909]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8dpucdxs6Y

This should help with the noise issues.

[BrantyB]

Originally Posted by piper6909

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8dpucdxs6Y

This should help with the noise issues.

This is pretty informative. Having recently redone my stereo, he makes a lot of sense and unknowingly I addressed a lot of his points. I also think the location of the factory amp, if you have one, is not ideal due to its close proximity to the battery.