Gah, engine noise is killing me.

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

I've done just about everything I can think of to rid myself of this **** engine noise, but it keeps coming back.

It's not your typical engine noise, it's a billion times worse. Instead of just a plain 'ol high pitch whine that varies with RPM, it's a constant droning, plus a beeping sound. When the engine fan comes on, it buzzes really loud, kind of like when you get interference on an AM radio station. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/mad.gif.c18f003ab0ef8a0d9c27ca78d77a6392.gif

Here's everything I've tried so far:

-Replaced all RCA's with good-quality, shielded RCA's

-Grounded the RCA's

-Inline noise supressor (On the power wire)

-Different grounding locations, including the battery

-Rerouting RCA's to where they don't get anywhere near power wires

-I even got a new head unit

I traced the noise, and it is, indeed, coming from the preouts on the head unit. I got this with both my old Audiovox and my new Clarion.

Next thing I'm going to do is completely bypass the radio harness and splice directly into the ignition wires, and ground to the battery. Other than doing that, I'm out of ideas.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/furious.gif.fc81ca146dbff91fede3ed290dbc4f4c.gif

Click to read more...

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

bump

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

Do you have a Pioneer head unit? If so you might have blown an internal fuse, and the remedy for this is to ground the RCA outputs to the head units chassis. See the following image...

Also when you say "engine noise" do you mean alternator whine? Because if you're just talking about regular old engine noise, then you just need sound deadening lol. I doubt that's what you meant though.

Also it might just be radiated noise. Try running the RCAs from the head unit, OUT of the car, and then into the trunk from the outside, to more accurately get a feel for where the noise is coming from. If it goes away then you know that it is simply your wires crossing or coming near something they shouldn't. And like you said, try powering and grounding your head unit off a non-factory +12v wire, that way you will know for sure it doesn't route through the fuse box, which is the noisiest part of your vehicle. Use a custom ground point too, you don't need to run the ground all the way to the batter, just make your own as close as you can, just make sure you sand and get a good ground.

 

[btlking 10+ year member]

try doing your ground from your hu to a different location instead of into the wiring harness if you have done that already then idk

 

[matrxx dude 5,000+ posts]

your ride is cursed.lol

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Do you have a Pioneer head unit? If so you might have blown an internal fuse, and the remedy for this is to ground the RCA outputs to the head units chassis.
Also when you say "engine noise" do you mean alternator whine? Because if you're just talking about regular old engine noise, then you just need sound deadening lol. I doubt that's what you meant though.

Also it might just be radiated noise. Try running the RCAs from the head unit, OUT of the car, and then into the trunk from the outside, to more accurately get a feel for where the noise is coming from. If it goes away then you know that it is simply your wires crossing or coming near something they shouldn't. And like you said, try powering and grounding your head unit off a non-factory +12v wire, that way you will know for sure it doesn't route through the fuse box, which is the noisiest part of your vehicle. Use a custom ground point too, you don't need to run the ground all the way to the batter, just make your own as close as you can, just make sure you sand and get a good ground.

No, its not a Pioneer, it's a Clarion. It ain't plain 'ol alt whine for sure. Imagine a constant hum with beeping, with buzzing over it. It's like listening to nails on a chalkboard. I've already tried grounding directly to the battery, with no better results. I know it's coming from the head unit because when the RCA's are disconnected from the unit, 0 noise. When they are even touched to the unit, noise. But only when the engine is on.

All i have left to try is running constant power and ground straight to the battery, and switched to the ignition harness.

try doing your ground from your hu to a different location instead of into the wiring harness if you have done that already then idk

Been there, done that.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Do you have a Pioneer head unit? If so you might have blown an internal fuse, and the remedy for this is to ground the RCA outputs to the head units chassis. See the following image...

Woot ... my pic gets used everywhre //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

And no, there is no internal fuse on the Pioneers. Its a weak ground trace on the circuit board that fries. I don't know who first used the phrase, but its completely wrong.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

I made vids for yall:



And if you think it's bad, try it with the fans on!



//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/furious.gif.fc81ca146dbff91fede3ed290dbc4f4c.gif

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

lmfao @ infant punching.

Try this: Remove the HU from your dash. Hook directly to the battery and see if the noise goes away. Also, is the noise present all the time, or only at certain positions of the Key (Eg, accessory, run, etc)

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

good god that's horrible...

have you tried running RCAs outside of the car to see if it's just radiated noise from somewhere. Also you said you tried a different ground point, did you try a different +12V source? Run your own from the battery or something.

Also even though it's not a Pioneer, maybe try grounding your RCAs anyway? lol never hurts to try.

Try putting a ground loop isolator on the RCA cable directly after it leaves the head unit, if that doesn't work try putting the ground loop isolator on the RCA wire directly before it connects to your amp.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Only when the car is on. Reading FTW

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

good god that's horrible...
have you tried running RCAs outside of the car to see if it's just radiated noise from somewhere. Also you said you tried a different ground point, did you try a different +12V source? Run your own from the battery or something.

Also even though it's not a Pioneer, maybe try grounding your RCAs anyway? lol never hurts to try.

Try putting a ground loop isolator on the RCA cable directly after it leaves the head unit, if that doesn't work try putting the ground loop isolator on the RCA wire directly before it connects to your amp.

Reading FTW

and I prefer not to use ground loop isolators. They cover up the problem, not fix it.

 

[crx4luke 10+ year member]

If the noise was there with both HUs then it may be from inside the amp. You could try the add a ground like that picture for the outside of the RCAs. Have you used a meter to test continuity for a ground on the outside shielding when the RCA's are plugged into the amp?

It sounds like you may have been jumping around and changing too many things in random orders. What you might need to do is to start with everything and then go through and eliminate each thing in the line as a cause or a non-cause of the noise.

Are your RCA's running anywhere near the van's computer, or electrical components that could induce the noise?

Hit me up by pm or call the store if you need some more help.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Hey, Chris... long time no see!

Anyhow...

Here's how I've come to the determination that it's indeed the head unit:

I started at the amp, unplugged the RCA's there, noise gone. Went to the crossover. Unplugged the RCAs at the outputs, noise gone. Unplugged at the input, noise gone. Unplugged the output and input of the crossover, noise gone. Finally got to the output of the head unit... unplugged there, noise gone. Therefore, the head unit is the origin of the noise.

I'll see you in a few days when I'm home on break.

 

[Imshirazy 10+ year member]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/92-95-Honda-Civic-Del-Sol-DX-EX-SI-96-00-Ground-Wire_W0QQitemZ200087020684QQihZ010QQcategoryZ33574QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200087020684

That shit worked for me, it grounds everything on your car to one point, it'll ground to your battery negative, then from there to the chassis.

Make sure your battery ground is indeed grounded well. relocate as many grounds in the engine area as you can to one central ground, which is why I gave you that link, although I can't guarantee it'll work.

Replace your spark plug wires with shielded ones, also while at it, replace your spark plugs with the ones that contain resistors inside them to avoid all engine noises.

As for the fan, check along where the wires run, do they run close to anything else? Do they ground in an unusual spot? etc.

Replace your wiring harness, that might also be faulty

play individual speakers at a time, if one speaker plays it louder than the rest it's probably not JUST from the head unit, your speaker cables might be close to something, plus your speakers are attached to an amp right? just try it from the head unit's power supply for kicks

that vid you provided didn't do much, I couldn't even see what I was looking at

I don't like ground loop isolators either, they don't help with sound quality for lows