Annoying clicking sound that shouldnt be there

[stealth17 10+ year member]

I just finished installing my system this weekend. Here are the specs:

• Eclipse CD7100 Head unit
  
• Cadence ZXN-6K Components with Ti tweeters (using supplied xovers)
  
• Polk 5x7" coaxials for the rears
  
• Cadence FXA104 4x100watt amp

plus 2 subs but that isn't relevant here.

When I fired everything up for the first time I noticed a clicking noise on the left side only. It is a very high frequency, I would guess some where between 6khz-12khz. It really sounds to me like I have a loose connection and the click sounds like a power arc. That's the best way to describe it.

So first things first, I checked all the RCA connections and speaker connections. Everything looked good. I am using all brand new cables and I even ran new 16ga speaker wire for all the speakers, including the doors (what a pain!). I have used the speakers/xovers before and they never made the clicking noise then. I figure I have narrowed it down the the amp and head unit.

Then I started playing with the seemingly infinite amount of settings on my CD7100 head unit. I noticed that I cannot hear the clicking noise at all when playing from a non-mp3 CD. It only does it on the radio and mp3. It is extremely noticeable and does not go to the beat of the music. When a song fades out and it is switching to the next song, you can definitely hear the clicking without even listening for it.

I am pretty new at car audio but I know my way around electronics pretty well. I figure I should ask the experts here for some opinions on where to go from here. I just know I need to do something about it because it would drive anyone insane especially considering I spent $700 on a top-notch head unit, I want the best SQ possible.

Thanks in advance.

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[ThatChevyGuy 5,000+ posts]

sounds like rca's or white noise from your amp. throw another amp in there if you have one to see if it goes away, or bridge it to one channel temporarily.

 

[stealth17 10+ year member]

sounds like rca's or white noise from your amp. throw another amp in there if you have one to see if it goes away, or bridge it to one channel temporarily.

Do I have to unhook the battery to swap rca's around or will it be alright to do it with the car off?

 

[ThatChevyGuy 5,000+ posts]

no its fine with the car off, if your messing with power or ground, its safer to take out the inline fuse on the power wire.

 

[stealth17 10+ year member]

Well I put the amp in 2channel mode, used the pair of front rca's on channel 1&2 and wired the front speakers into bridged mode. It did not go away. In fact after a closer examination I have discovered that the clicking is on both sides, not just the left. So that means it is doing it on all four channels, and two separate sets of rca's. So that rules the rca's and bad connection out of the picture.

Now what?

 

[stealth17 10+ year member]

I talked to the Eclipse tech support today and they said to check the bit rate and all that crap because it will cause this problem. My MP3's are all within spec, so that cannot be it. Then I made an MP3 CD with the exact same files. Crystal clear, no clicking or crackling what-so-ever.

So I called Eclipse back and the guy said it sounds like the unit is fubar. This is the second defective Eclipse head unit I've had now. 2/2 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/pissed.gif.9f665f96bc89e98e708dabd4580bb591.gif I took my chances with another Eclipse because I love their units when they work, so when I bought it I made sure the warranty didn't require pro installation or anything like that. I found it at cartronixplus.com and bought the 3 year warranty as well. I just got off the phone with them and they said they will replace it no questions asked. Thank god because I know Eclipse won't do jack about it. Sure they will "try" to repair it for $200 but screw that. Anyways, I hope the replacement works...

thanks for the help