on ho, another alternator whine question

[jeepintn 10+ year member]

ok, heres the story. i just put some RE series 6.5" comps in my girls 2002 civic, to replace some kicker 5.25s she had in there. i also swapped her alpine 40x4 for an eclipse ea4000 at 75x4.

with the old alpine amp and kickers, no alternator whine was present. i changed over to the eclipse and RE comps, and with the car off it sounds GREAT, but with the car on, a definite alternator whine is heard. well, im guessing its an alternator whine as i have never actually heard one in any of my installs. its like a fast ticking noise that goes up and down the engine RPMs.

the rca's and power wire are ran on seperate sides of the car, so thats not an issue. just curious as to what i can do to fix this, and why would it not do it with the older alpine amp and do it once we switched to the new setup. any help is appreciated. thanks guys

Click to read more...

 

[jeepintn 10+ year member]

anyone?

 

[crx4luke 10+ year member]

Alternator whine is usually an annoying high pitched squeal. Ticking noise is probably not alternator whine. I'd check to make sure that the crossovers are connected correctly, and that none of the speakers are grounding out. Go through and check each aspect of the install. As you start to cross things off your list, you will eventually come to the problem.

Check your grounds.

Try unplugging the rca's to see if there is still noise there.

Maybe try swapping to a different amp to see if it is the amp.

Try Running a different set of rca's, that aren't installed in the car, from the radio to the amp.

Check your speaker and rca cables for any pinches inline.

 

[Fiercetimbo17 10+ year member]

was the amp new?

also where did you put the crossovers

 

[GMCJimmyslt2000 10+ year member]

ground the radio directly to the chasis...dont use the factory ground

 

[jeepintn 10+ year member]

Alternator whine is usually an annoying high pitched squeal. Ticking noise is probably not alternator whine. I'd check to make sure that the crossovers are connected correctly, and that none of the speakers are grounding out. Go through and check each aspect of the install. As you start to cross things off your list, you will eventually come to the problem.
Check your grounds.

Try unplugging the rca's to see if there is still noise there.

Maybe try swapping to a different amp to see if it is the amp.

Try Running a different set of rca's, that aren't installed in the car, from the radio to the amp.

Check your speaker and rca cables for any pinches inline.

ok, with the rca's unplugged there is no noise. cant really swap amps as her old one is sold and i dont have any spares lying around. and i will check the wires for pinches, but that wouldnt explain why it makes the noise with the car running and not with the car off and radio on

 

[jeepintn 10+ year member]

was the amp new?
also where did you put the crossovers

no, the amp was not new it was used, but i dont think its the amp as it works perfectly with the car not running and the radio on. and i mounted the crossovers to the door inside the door panels

 

[jeepintn 10+ year member]

anyone else?

 

[jeepintn 10+ year member]

little more help?

 

[crx4luke 10+ year member]

A pinch in the wire could cause the amp to be more susceptible to any noises. If its not doing it when the rca's are unplugged, then that would rule out the amp, and probably the speaker wires. It could be the rca cables, or the radio. The next thing i'd try would be a different set of RCA's that aren't run through the car.

 

[Zakerid 10+ year member]

all good on the big 3? it could be arcing in the alternator and possibly the alt to batt connection.

 

[morgans432 10+ year member]

those are my comps how do they sound. Try grounding the hu to the chassis and make sure the amp ground is good. Also try some different rca's to see if it goes away.