Engine noise and popping sound

[daBOODA]

I was hoping someone could give me a hint or two about what is happening with my stereo. Here's a little background information first:

I have a Kenwood Head unit with two rca outs. It leads to a lanzar vibe 4 channel amp. Two channels on the amp are bridged to a JL 12" sub-woofer and the remaining two channels are powering a set of Kenwood 6" 2 ways in the front. The power wire and rem switch wire are both run down the left side of the car, while the rca and front speaker wires run down the right side of the car. The power wire (8 gauge) is connected to a fuse in the engine bay before it goes to the battery.

The system worked brilliantly until I decided that the earth 4 gauge wire (which is earthed on the bottom of the boot (trunk)) was too short so I got a slightly longer wire that was 8 gauge and connected it up in it's place. As soon as I did that, a dreaded popping sound came from the speakers whenever a track changed on the CD. Also, when I started the car, I noticed that there was heaps of engine noise!

So I change the earth wire back to the original earth wire that it used to work on and the problem still occured.

I've tried connecting two earth wires, that didn't help ...

Anyone got any suggestions?

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[mecpmaster]

first meter your ground with a good multimeter

you should read less than .01 ohms if its not then you have a crappy ground.

also make sure your ground and power wires are the same gauge wire. the ground can even be larger but is not necassary.

also chekc your head unit ground. make sure you are sanding all paint and primer off this grounding surface as paint is not a good conductor. you can check your battery too to see if there is any corrosion or loose cables as that can cause a voltage drop and ultamitly noise.

you also failed to mention where the amp was mounted and what year make and modle this vehicle is.

does the noise go away when you take off the rca's? if so the you have induced noise in the signal path.

if it stays then you have ground/power troubles.

laterz

the master

 

[daBOODA]

Thanks for reply, the amp is mounted on the back of the sub box in the boot (trunk) and the earth wire is connected to the floor of the boot (on the metal part, which still has paint on it). The car is a 1988 Honda Prelude.

From what you've said, I'll get a multimeter from someone and test that earth wire. I'll also try unplugging the RCAs. If the problem still exists then does mean that the battery/amp is fried as opposed to the head unit?

 

[corbrat]

I have also had similar problems like this in my tahoe. I recently put a gelcell battery in my truck and it went away. I am not telling you to go spend a franklin on one but it might work. When a big system pulls power off of a regular battery the alt. has to work much harder. With a gel cell battery it charges almost ten times as fast as a regular liqued cell batt.

corbrat@hotmail.com Also if you still have popping in your system, that could mean that you have to big of power wire or you may be grounding out some where with your power wire

 

[natem33 10+ year member]

Your said the ground is mounted to a part of the trunk (boot) where the metal is still painted? That makes a difference. The ground must be connected to bare, clean metal for a proper grounding.

 

[audio doc]

Originally posted by daBOODA Thanks for reply, the amp is mounted on the back of the sub box in the boot (trunk) and the earth wire is connected to the floor of the boot (on the metal part, which still has paint on it). The car is a 1988 Honda Prelude.

 

From what you've said, I'll get a multimeter from someone and test that earth wire. I'll also try unplugging the RCAs. If the problem still exists then does mean that the battery/amp is fried as opposed to the head unit?

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/mad.gif.c18f003ab0ef8a0d9c27ca78d77a6392.gif if the problem is still there when you disconnect the rca jacks from your head unit, and is still there once you re-ground your amp (make sure the grounding point is free from paint/rust/oil) then pick up an in line filter and install it inline with your rca jacks at the amp. that should solve your problem.