# Corrado system set up, but noise pollution/alternator whine



## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

So in my 93 vr6 corrado, i wired in a kenwood deck, focal fronts with cross overs powered by a hertz amp.

when i run my rear speakers which are off the deck there is no problems but when i run the fronts through my cross overs/amp i get a wicked alternator whine. when i run the system all directly off the battery like bypassed not through car harness with the car off no issues but when i turn the car on it has the whine and other high frequencies too.

Power wire down driver side, RCAs and all brand new speaker wire runs down the passenger side, tested with a 2nd set of RCAs down the middle free floating and still have the noise.

What the hell is the cars problem... i also can change the sound by flicking light switch and dimmer switch and when i put hi's and lo's on.

Any ideas guys?


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## ltvinny (Jul 5, 2005)

You're alternator noise is most likely being caused by a what is called a "ground loop". Ensure that all of your components (stereo, amps, electronic crossovers etc) are all grounded in the exact same location. That should eliminate your problem.


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

so in theory if there is one single ground everything should work out by having it all ground out in the same location


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## ltvinny (Jul 5, 2005)

Exactly. 

More info than you'll ever want to know here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

but i cant wrap my head around it because i have tested all the grounds..


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## ltvinny (Jul 5, 2005)

It's not that the grounds are bad...they are just at a slightly different "ground" potential. It's hard to really understand but VERY easy to fix....

Ground all of your components in exactly ONE location and report back your findings. I have a very strong feeling your problem will be resolved.


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

ltvinny said:


> It's not that the grounds are bad...they are just at a slightly different "ground" potential. It's hard to really understand but VERY easy to fix....
> 
> Ground all of your components in exactly ONE location and report back your findings. I have a very strong feeling your problem will be resolved.


roger, gonna give it a shot tomorrow and praying that will be the solution :beer:


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## animaniac (May 26, 2005)

I've read this problem many times yet i've never come across the problem myself.

This is despite my very first ice install having the amp power and earth wires and the rca's all bungled together under the carpet yet the quality was perfect.

Must have been very good quality wiring, even though it was just a cheap off the shelf amp wiring kit.

I no longer have the sub and amp in the boot, i really should upgrade my factory speakers but with the mk4's it's not a simple screw out, but more of a drill out job. :banghead:


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

yea i havent done a system yet in my mk4 jetta, thats next... but so i did the grounding trick, elminated about 75% of the **** off, but there is still alternator whine :banghead:


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

if your grounds are secure, it's the headunit. you must have blown the preouts during the installation. anytime you connect/disconnect rca cables, you need to make sure there is no power going to the electronics. 

to connect rcas:
plug in rca cables to headunit and amp first, then plug in power harness to radio and power cables to the amp. 

to disconnect rcas:
unplug power harness to radio and power cables to amp, then disconnect the rcas. 

assuming your grounds are secure, get a new headunit and you'll see the noise is gone.


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

grounds are secure, everything is tight nothing lose or rattling around and ****, so if the preouts on the deck are pooched it would then pick up the alternator whine??


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

1sik95jetta said:


> get a new headunit and you'll see the noise is gone.



didn't think i needed to go into further detail, but yes, by noise i meant alternator noise.


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

i grounded my rca's fixed my problem


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## ltvinny (Jul 5, 2005)

Good to hear you got things sorted!


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

it helps, but it's only a temporary fix. the outputs are still bad. you'll notice the problem come back eventually.


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## blazerpounds (Mar 19, 2008)

Your deck probably has a bad ground and your deck could have been tying to use the ecad as a way to ground better signal. It doesn't mean that you "blew the preouts" or broke yor dick during install. 

Grounding rules-
-never use factory grounding wire for decks, use new wire, factory grounding points are the best to use since everything else is grounded to that point. 
-always scrape the paint for a nice clean surface. 
- lock washers help
-turn your gains down!!!
-run a "source ground" from amplifier to deck with your remote turn on. 
-use the right tool for the job 

Follow these instructions for elimination of ground loop noise and alternator whine. If you still have if, you have **** equipment.


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

my reply was based on his statement that his grounds were good. 



Colb.45 said:


> grounds are secure





1sik95jetta said:


> if your grounds are secure, it's the headunit.





blazerpounds said:


> Your deck probably has a bad ground and your deck could have been tying to use the ecad as a way to ground better signal. It doesn't mean that you "blew the preouts" or broke yor dick during install.



if his grounds are good, the problem is with the preouts. what i meant by "blown preouts" is that his pico fuses for the preouts on the circuit board are blown. since i doubt he's going to take apart his headunit and solder in new fuses, he needs a new one. 

you can argue against this all you want, but i bet if he puts in a new headunit and installs it right, his problem will be gone.


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## blazerpounds (Mar 19, 2008)

I bet it would too but because hes not a retard to go out and buy a new deck when he can ground the chassis of his existing radio and be done with it


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

sure, patching things up instead of fixing the actual issue always works. great advice.


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## BassNotes (Mar 16, 2005)

No, you do not have to worry about ground loops in a car system. You need solid ground connections to the chassis right where the components are. The chassis's conductivity is far better than that of any ground wires you run to a common location. You also have to make sure the ground connections between the engine and chassis are really good; a bad connection there will usually cause alternator whine, too.

How did you ground your RCAs?


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

BassNotes said:


> How did you ground your RCAs?


i didnt at first.. soon as i did.. boom problem gone epic fail on my part :banghead:

but it works now :laugh:


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## BassNotes (Mar 16, 2005)

How did you ground your RCAs?


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## Colb.45 (Jan 22, 2009)

BassNotes said:


> How did you ground your RCAs?


took a yellow hoop (no idea on technical terms) put it around the RCA terminal at the back of the deck then pushed the RCA so it was touching the hoop which was the perfect size and grounded it, no issues yet!


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