Noise in front two door speakers

[xhauler]

Hi all, this is my first post.

On Halloween night, we bought our new 2017 Platinum. Drove it home and pulled in the garage and shut off the engine. Then I pressed the on button so I could look at all of the menu's in sync3 and learn the system. So with the engine off and car on, there is a noticeable white noise coming out of the lower front door speakers. As I was turning things off and on, to determine what effected it, I found that it is related to the center console display briteness setting.

This is what I've determined so far:
- when the display setting is on Night to makes the sound
- when the display is set to Day and the brightness is full = no sound, less than full makes a sound, it is easy to heard when on this setting because you can just slide the setting with your finger back and forth and make the sound go on and off
- if you press the off button (which leaves the screen and stereo on) there is no sound

I went back to the dealer the next day and showed them the sound. We went to another Platinum and was able to reproduce the exact same thing. They said they would have to put it in the shop and work with Ford engineers to figure out what was going on. I asked them to debug with the other Platinum and that is what they are doing. 10 days later and they still haven't found anything.

Can anyone else reproduce this issue? I think it has to do with the new Sync3 system, not sure if it is only Platinum or if the other trims also do it.

Thanks!

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
Congratulations on the Platinum. I picked mine up on the same day. I wonder if what you're hearing is part of the noise cancelling system that the vehicle has. I've sat in mine under similar circumstances but can't say I heard anything like what you described. I did notice when going through the radio settings that there was a screen that had
some setting that might have been for that. I'd have to go and check it.

Peter

 

[xhauler]

Thanks Peter.

I also thought about noise cancelling system, but the fact that I can turn it on and off with screen intensity makes me thing that it is some coupling between the screen and the audio system. If you turn yours on (but don't start the engine), set your display to night and put your ear next to either front lower door speaker you should hear it making noise (if it is doing the same thing). I haven't heard it coming out of any other speakers, just the front two. It does it whether the stereo is on or off.

It also does it with the engine running, it is just harder to hear (unless you put your ear on the speaker).

In other threads on this forum, I've seen replies from people (engineers) that seem to work for Ford. I'm hoping to get this involved as I think this is probably a design issue that could effect all Sync3 explorers.

Thx,
Brian

 

[peterk9]

False alarm on my part Brian. I just checked and the settings I mentioned are for the radio Volume Speed Compensation. I went through what you laid out in your post and could only hear a very faint noise that sounded a little like an 'electronic hum'. The noise was there regardless of which setting the display was on. The volume of the 'hum' was so low that there is no way I'd hear it other than putting my ear right up to the speaker.

Peter

 

[xhauler]

False alarm on my part Brian. I just checked and the settings I mentioned are for the radio Volume Speed Compensation. I went through what you laid out in your post and could only hear a very faint noise that sounded a little like an 'electronic hum'. The noise was there regardless of which setting the display was on. The volume of the 'hum' was so low that there is no way I'd hear it other than putting my ear right up to the speaker.

Peter

Thanks for checking that. Mine and the one we checked at the dealer are very noticeable sound. maybe as others check we will have a better picture of it is wide spread or isolated.

 

[xhauler]

Just wanted to update everyone on what the dealer/ford said about this issue. They basically aren't going to do anything. They said it is a characteristic of the vehicle. They also found that all Sync3 explorers do it, regardless of trim level.

 

[jdmac27]

Mine does the same thing. The sound is very noticeable when sitting with engine off, ignition/radio on, volume set off 1 or 2, and display in "Night" mode. I haven't noticed it while driving.
Clarification: The Platinum (and 2017 Sport 401A) have Sony Live Acoustics and Clear Phase, neither of which are "sound cancelling" technologies, but rather tune the audio source, amplification and timing for superior "sound staging". When sitting in the front seats, it gives the illusion that the sound is right in front of you on the windshield. It is very cool if you listen to a quality audio source (read: not Sirius).
https://media.ford.com/content/ford...mium-home-audio-technology-2016-explorer.html

 

[Tony407]

Interesting. I have a very high-end DIY audiophile aftermarket sound system in my 2017 Sport, which replaced everything but the Sony head unit. I get a VERY pronounced 500Hz (ish) tone whenever the parking lights and DRLs come on, not necessarily the headlights. The entire sound system (including wiring) was transplanted from my 2015 Sport, which had zero noise issues. Same grounding points, same everything as far as I can ascertain. I'm at a loss as to the cause.

I thought it might be the fancy LED DRLs inside the headlights, which my 2015 didn't have. But this is the first thought I've given to it possibly being a Sync issue, being the 2015 was Sync2 and the 2017 Sync3.

Investigating further...

Hmmm.