Alternator Whining

[InfinityBeats]

Hi everybody, I know that i have alternator whining because when i turn on the engine, my speakers start to whine and when i rev my engine or use any of the electronics in my car, the speakers will make noises or get louder. I'm pretty sure i've narrowed it down to the RCA's grounding out somewhere, but i have no idea whether it's on the 4 channel 800W amp im using or if its the Alpine CDA-9856 HU im using. I've seen simple fixes like grounding each RCA cable on the HU but that doesn't seem to work for me. Does that mean it would be a problem with the amp? Either way does anyone know a fix that wont weaken my speaker quality?

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[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Could be an issue with that amp, or a bad ground all together.May try a different ground location for the amp to see if that may be the issue first

 

[InfinityBeats]

I moved the original ground i had on it to the wingnut on the spare tire, just like i did with the amp for the subs. Originally there was just a buzzing on the 4 channel amp but once i moved the ground, it became that higher pitched whining.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Have you tried another set of rcas yet??Can run across the seats just to test?To see if it may be the rcas,..Could be the amp though

 

[InfinityBeats]

well i dont have any extra rca's on me i dont think. I'll have to go pick some up. I'm still just not sure if its the amp though. The speaker's wouldn't work if the amp was bad right? hell idk this is all still pretty new to me.

 

[AndrewH05]

well i dont have any extra rca's on me i dont think. I'll have to go pick some up. I'm still just not sure if its the amp though. The speaker's wouldn't work if the amp was bad right? hell idk this is all still pretty new to me.

Hey bro,

I'm having the same issues, before you buy anything try the following, it will help you isolate the issues and post back with the results.

1. Disconnect both sets of RCAs from the 4 channel amp then turn on the car, is there any whine?

2. Reconnect the front speaker RCAs, leave the other set you already disconnected unplugged. Start the vehicle, any noise?

3. Disconnect the front RCAs and then reconnect the other set and start the vehicle, any noise?

Post back with the results, also what kind of vehicle are we talking about? Is this a new install? Did you use the ground on the harness for the head unit? Or did you run a dedicated ground for it?

Let us know! Do this before you spend any money buying anything, all of your equipment is *probably* fine.

 

[sexy 10+ year member]

Do you have a pioneer head unit?

 

[joselr3668 10+ year member]

Do you have a pioneer head unit?

I was about to say the same thing. Grab an mp3 player and connect it to the rca input of your amp and see if it still makes the noise.

 

[AndrewH05]

Do you have a pioneer head unit?

No, says right in his first post he has an Alpine.

I was about to say the same thing. Grab an mp3 player and connect it to the rca input of your amp and see if it still makes the noise.

Same as above.. Alpine.

 

[InfinityBeats]

Ok so i have two sides of RCA's. One is black and one is white. (Black goes to red, White goes to white). When i unplug the whites on both sides there is still whine. When i put the white back in and unplug the black on both sides, there is still whine. When i unplug both completely from either the HU or the 4 channel amp the whine will go away, but the speakers will not do anything.

This is on a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse. I installed this amp maybe two weeks ago? It originally had more of a buzzing noise but then i moved the ground to the wingnut on the spare tire so it would be a better ground. Now i have the whine.

 

[06gtmike 10+ year member]

Are your rca and power wires running next to each other?

 

[InfinityBeats]

Here's some general pictures. These are the two RCA plugs that i've been talking about. i lead them down under the divider and to the amp. The power wire is running from the battery, through the firewall, down the right side of the car to the amp. so i wouldn't say they run next to eachother. Also i have my ground shown in there.

View attachment 26540998View attachment 26540997View attachment 26540996

 

[06gtmike 10+ year member]

Is that first picture your amp ground or head unit ground?

 

[InfinityBeats]

Hu ground

 

[Kingstroker 10+ year member]

wing nut on the spare tire is not a suitable ground. use bare metal on body or frame. ground all devices separately