Subwoofer "pops" when amp powers on. High pitch whine coming from subwoofer? *UPDATED*

[Lowkey]

My subwoofer "pops" when amp powers on. Also have a high pitch whine coming from subwoofer, happens regardless of if the car is running or just key in on position. Does not come from the other speakers as far as I can tell.

I rewired the head unit harness and I cleaned the amp ground location. Also tried a seat bolt instead of bare metal below the seat. Tried a new set of RCA's. The whine comes thru the sub even with the RCA's unplugged, I think this eliminates the RCA's and head unit as the cause..

(I have a Pioneer MVH-S522BS, CAB-22 and SA 15v1. 1/0 GA power and ground. Stock electrical but HO alt and batteries on the way)

I'm really running out of options here. Is this "pop" and the whine thru the sub bad for the amp/sub or is it safe (albeit annoying) to run it this way?

Any ideas what I should try next?

**UPDATE** Turned out the amp was the problem all along. Swapped in an old amp and everything went away.

 

[Kickstand]

Try unplugging your rca's and then start the car/turn things on
If the "pop" goes away then you will know its coming from the HU since the RCA's are new
If it doesn't then my money is on your ground.
Try relocating your amp to somewhere that has a better ground location
If its a car then put it in the trunk, if its a truck then try along the back wall
Use a multimeter hooked up to the neg lead on the battery and probe around until you get continuity
You should also do the big three but at the very least upgrade your battery ground

 

[1aespinoza]

Whats my next step? Should I just buy another stereo? But if the new stereo does it too..

Disconnect sub amp RCAs from the radio and turn system on. If no whining, run a temporary set of RCAs to sub amp. If whine returns, it is the radio. Try grounding the radio chassis to bare metal as well. That helped a bit on my Pioneer.

 

[Lowkey]

Try unplugging your rca's and then start the car/turn things on
If the "pop" goes away then you will know its coming from the HU since the RCA's are new
If it doesn't then my money is on your ground.
Try relocating your amp to somewhere that has a better ground location
If its a car then put it in the trunk, if its a truck then try along the back wall
Use a multimeter hooked up to the neg lead on the battery and probe around until you get continuity
You should also do the big three but at the very least upgrade your battery ground

If I unplug the RCA's from the radio the pop still happens when the amp gets power, I can watch the power light on the amp remote come on at the same time as the subwoofer "pops". The soft thump I hear when I adjust the volume does go away though(explained below). Should I see if I still get the whine from the sub with RCA's unhooked?

I forgot to mention I also hear a very soft thump when I adjust the volume on the head unit. So if its quiet enough in the car I hear a thump thump thump as I turn the volume knob up or down. Each number of volume adjustment is reflected with a thump. When its turned up I can't hear it as its drowned out by the music.

The amp is behind the back seat in a Santa Fe.

 

[Lowkey]

I'll be doing the big 3 when I install the alt. Probably replace the primary battery with an AGM and add a second AGM in the back next to the amp.

 

[Coolhand20th]

That is a piss poor ground for one. Using 4 screws like that is not a way to ground a amplifier. Find a bolt on the seat with no paint on it or someplace else that has no paint and move it.

 

[Lowkey]

That is a piss poor ground for one. Using 4 screws like that is not a way to ground a amplifier. Find a bolt on the seat with no paint on it or someplace else that has no paint and move it.

Yeah I made the mistake of letting a local place run my wire and that's what they did. Ran the RCA's on the same side as the power wire also! At first I assumed that was the issue but I tried a new RCA and just laid it over the seats and back to the amp to test it and it didn't fix anything.

I'll see if I can find a better spot for the ground.

 

[Coolhand20th]

The wire looks to be decent at least. I have mine bolted to my rear seat in my explorer but I had to use a powered wire brush to remove all the paint on the bolt and the seat bracket plus I did it to the surrounding areas as well along with top and bottom of the bracket so I know it is ok.

 

[metalheadjoe]

That is a piss poor ground for one. Using 4 screws like that is not a way to ground a amplifier. Find a bolt on the seat with no paint on it or someplace else that has no paint and move it.

My suggestion (and what I did on my vehicle) is to find a chunk of threaded rod that matches the threads of your seat bolts. Install the rod in place of your seat bolts, then you have a very reliable connection between your interior and your exterior.

 

[Lowkey]

My subwoofer "pops" when amp powers on. Also have a high pitch whine coming from subwoofer, happens regardless of if the car is running or just key in on position. Does not come from the other speakers as far as I can tell.

I rewired the head unit harness and I cleaned the amp ground location. Also tried a seat bolt instead of bare metal below the seat. Tried a new set of RCA's. The whine comes thru the sub even with the RCA's unplugged, I think this eliminates the RCA's and head unit as the cause..

(I have a Pioneer MVH-S522BS, CAB-22 and SA 15v1. 1/0 GA power and ground. Stock electrical but HO alt and batteries on the way)

I'm really running out of options here. Is this "pop" and the whine thru the sub bad for the amp/sub or is it safe (albeit annoying) to run it this way?

Any ideas what I should try next?

👆

 

[code33]

My subwoofer "pops" when amp powers on. Also have a high pitch whine coming from subwoofer, happens regardless of if the car is running or just key in on position. Does not come from the other speakers as far as I can tell.

I rewired the head unit harness and I cleaned the amp ground location. Also tried a seat bolt instead of bare metal below the seat. Tried a new set of RCA's. The whine comes thru the sub even with the RCA's unplugged, I think this eliminates the RCA's and head unit as the cause..

(I have a Pioneer MVH-S522BS, CAB-22 and SA 15v1. 1/0 GA power and ground. Stock electrical but HO alt and batteries on the way)

I'm really running out of options here. Is this "pop" and the whine thru the sub bad for the amp/sub or is it safe (albeit annoying) to run it this way?

Any ideas what I should try next?

**UPDATE** Turned out the amp was the problem all along. Swapped in an old amp and everything went away.

my amp keeps going in protect mode and make a pop sound when I turn stereo on and off.....hopfully its the amp because I want to upgrade the amp

 

[Glen Livet]

My subwoofer "pops" when amp powers on. Also have a high pitch whine coming from subwoofer, happens regardless of if the car is running or just key in on position. Does not come from the other speakers as far as I can tell.

I rewired the head unit harness and I cleaned the amp ground location. Also tried a seat bolt instead of bare metal below the seat. Tried a new set of RCA's. The whine comes thru the sub even with the RCA's unplugged, I think this eliminates the RCA's and head unit as the cause..

(I have a Pioneer MVH-S522BS, CAB-22 and SA 15v1. 1/0 GA power and ground. Stock electrical but HO alt and batteries on the way)

I'm really running out of options here. Is this "pop" and the whine thru the sub bad for the amp/sub or is it safe (albeit annoying) to run it this way?

Any ideas what I should try next?

**UPDATE** Turned out the amp was the problem all along. Swapped in an old amp and everything went away.

How did you run the wires? Are the power and audio sources wires totally separate? How good is the ground wire?
Those are the things running through my mind.