Ground issue

[Buzz]

I have a JL audio amp powering a single sub and my 4 door speakers (not sure what model), It was professionally installed a few years ago. After about a year of operation, I began to hear a whine that changed pitch with RPM. It only comes form the right rear speaker. So ive looked all around my gauge wiring, and the engine compartment for any loose wires or something that would cause this problem, and I cant figure it out, and its getting really annoying. What, if anything, should I try to fix this problem. tnx

[timb]

Just tell anyone in your car that you are twin charged, you have a turbo and a supercharger!

[Heide264]

Buzz, ya ever manage to fix this one up?

[hamz01]

Yeah engine whine is commonly a grounding issue. Quick check: does your amp's power or ground wire run parallel to your speaker wire anywhere? If your speakers are running on low power and your sub amp is high power it could be able to interfere with the speaker and cause noise.

[Buzz]

Yeah engine whine is commonly a grounding issue. Quick check: does your amp's power or ground wire run parallel to your speaker wire anywhere? If your speakers are running on low power and your sub amp is high power it could be able to interfere with the speaker and cause noise.

Hmm, I havent thought of that yet, But if it was the sub, why would it produce a whine with the engine? Also ive only got 1, 8 inch sub, so no need for huge amperage or anything. But ill take a look around and see if anything is running to close together.

Buzz, ya ever manage to fix this one up?

No, I haven't had many replies yet.

[2ndSuby]

if your only hearing it from one speaker switch to another speaker still there? bad filter cap in amp? Gone? then bad speaker... switch rca's is it that channel? Bad filter cap in amp... If it were making the whine in all speakers bad filter cap in amp power supply ... or alternator starting to loose rectifier circuit.... An alternator makes AC voltage that is passed thru a 4 diode rectifier to convert to DC ... Either your speaker cable is shorted or bad channel or output to that speaker... hope it helps...

[Buzz]

if your only hearing it from one speaker switch to another speaker still there? bad filter cap in amp? Gone? then bad speaker... switch rca's is it that channel? Bad filter cap in amp... If it were making the whine in all speakers bad filter cap in amp power supply ... or alternator starting to loose rectifier circuit.... An alternator makes AC voltage that is passed thru a 4 diode rectifier to convert to DC ... Either your speaker cable is shorted or bad channel or output to that speaker... hope it helps...

Thinking that it may be a bad speaker, I replaced both of the rear speakers last month. Its still in the right speaker and the right speaker only (rear). SO perhaps the theory of a bad filter thingy in the amp is a possibility. Not sure what you mean by switch RCAs, do you mean putting the cables from another speaker in to that output on the amp? and listening? I guess that would be a good way to check if the wire is shorted. I guess ill try that next.

[hamz01]

Hmm, I havent thought of that yet, But if it was the sub, why would it produce a whine with the engine? Also ive only got 1, 8 inch sub, so no need for huge amperage or anything. But ill take a look around and see if anything is running to close together.

Oh I'm sorry, I interpreted the post as your sub was amped and your speakers were not amped and were running off head unit power. So your JL amp is a five channel or something? Still worth checking if the power wire is near your speaker wire, but amped speaker wire is generally not susceptible to interference in that way.

Not sure what you mean by switch RCAs, do you mean putting the cables from another speaker in to that output on the amp? and listening? I guess that would be a good way to check if the wire is shorted. I guess ill try that next.

If you have a 5 channel amp you'll have a bunch of RCA cables going into it. Switch up the speaker RCAs (remembering where they were originally if they're not labelled) and see if the whine changes location. Do this without messing with speaker wire. If whine moves, RCA or head unit problem. If whine doesn't move, put the RCAs back to their original locations and move the speaker wires. Then If whine moves, likely an internal amp problem.

[teflon_jones]

If you have a 5 channel amp you'll have a bunch of RCA cables going into it. Switch up the speaker RCAs (remembering where they were originally if they're not labelled) and see if the whine changes location. Do this without messing with speaker wire. If whine moves, RCA or head unit problem. If whine doesn't move, put the RCAs back to their original locations and move the speaker wires. Then If whine moves, likely an internal amp problem.

Excellent troubleshooting advice. Do this.

[Heide264]

Yup, car audio whines are probably the hardest part of car audio. Hard to track down. Its easy to just try a bunch of things to see if they fix it, but in the end ya gotta make a puzzle up to localize the problem. Gotta switch components around in clever ways normally to see where the issue is.

For what its worth, there are small internal fuses by rca connections for grounds. In HUs... specifically pioneers... they blow if you mess with RCAs while power is connected a lot. I have my rcas manually grounded with a wire wrapped around the outside of the shield. If you just swap the rcas around on your amp, should help you identify where the issue is.

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