Problems with Stereo in RT/10

[Gerald]

Engine Noise and static through speakers are an installers worst nightmare.
I could be many things. I've heard high performance plugs or wires could cause feed back in the system.
Is everything grounded properly?
Sometimes a powerlead is placed to near a speaker lead , etc etc etc

You've got a tough one!
I"ve seen people install filters on filters, helped a little, but problem still there..
Good Luck!
Gerald

 

[LTHL VPR]

As Gerald said, tracing 'noise' in a stereo system can be a BIG PAIN....headaches galore.

The good news is that it sounds like you have a fairly simple system. At one point, I had some noise in my system (fairly complicated...see Viper mag issue this month/Mellow Yellow) and eliminating it took many hours.

Some suggestions/questions
1) Is the sound a whine (high pitch) that increases as you rev the rpms or is it a constant pitch and volume or static?

2) Does it come out of all speakers or just certain one/ones?

3) Are the RCA wires and power wires run down different sides of the car (driver/passenger)?

4) What brand/type of wires did they use?

5) What mode does it occur? (cd, radio, changer, etc.. or all)

You can reach me today at the shop: 408.562.1000 and I could give you some more ideas.

Hope this helps!
-Wayne (LTHL VPR)

 

[Gerald]

Good Advice,

One more tip, spend the extra $ and get gold, very heavy duty gauge speaker, power, ground, etc.. wires...


Gerald

 

[Black Snake]

Thanks for the help guys. To answer your questions LTHL VIP the static occurs on all modes, but appears to be the worst when I am listening to the radio. The static also can be heard through both door speakers and when I am at a steady speed and the volume is around 15-20 the static is not as audible as when going through the higher rpms. As far as what brand of wires I have I honestly couldnt tell you. If you have any more suggestions please let me hear them.

Gerald - I will take your advice and go with the thicker gauge wiring kit when I have them rewire everything later this week. I have had a total of 5 places take a look at my stereo and have yet to find a solution. Hopefully this problem will be corrected soon.

 

[GaryA]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Black Snake:
Also I was wondering is it safe to mount the amp on the back wall of the trunk, because its current location has all the wires bunched together on the side. Thanks in advance for any help!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Whatever you do, don't mount anything to the "back wall"! The gas tank is located right behind this "wall" and you WILL puncture it.

I had the same problem as you with high energy spark plug wires and noise in the stereo system. The installer added suppressors at the amplifier and it took care of most of the problems.

 

[Mike Brunton]

One comment..

I do alot of electronic/electrical design work and I can tell you that "gold" cables are WORSE than standard copper cables. I don't want to get into the physics of it all, but the gold coating that is good and is used in true high-end applications is relatively thick, and it is NOT shiny. So when you see those fancy (and expensive) "gold" cables that have a shiny gold end, stay away - they are worse then a similarly priced non-gold cable.

 

[Black Snake]

When I bought my 99 RT/10 the previous owner had installed an aftermarket Alpine V12 amp, Alpine head unit, and an Alpine 12 disc changer and from the very first day I had the car the stereo did not work well. While the car idles or is not moving the stereo works perfect, but once the car starts moving or you are going through the gears there is static coming from the speakers. I have brought my car to custom sounds about four times and they recently pulled everything out and replaced the wires and it is still not working correctly. They will have it all day one day next week and I would like to know if anyone has any idea what could be wrong. Also I was wondering is it safe to mount the amp on the back wall of the trunk, because its current location has all the wires bunched together on the side. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[MiamiJeff]

Depending on the model, one reason for higher noise at higher RPMs could be that this Alpine might have that compensation feature switched "on" which automatically increases the volume at higher speeds/RPMs