Subwoofer Ground Spot?

[radium-]

hey guys after trying several different grounds and new wires I am still having the same engine whine problem.... I was told that my altenator could be dying or my ignition coil or a spark plug wire could be the cause... any ideas?

 

[Xan]

hey guys after trying several different grounds and new wires I am still having the same engine whine problem.... I was told that my altenator could be dying or my ignition coil or a spark plug wire could be the cause... any ideas?

ok first off what kind of head unit, amp, and subs are you running?

 

[radium-]

Ok its a Pioneer DEH-P7700MP Headunit, Rockford Fosgate P3001 amp, Two Alpine 10'' Type 'R' Subs

 

[Xan]

Ok its a Pioneer DEH-P7700MP Headunit, Rockford Fosgate P3001 amp, Two Alpine 10'' Type 'R' Subs

ok how far did you get with this, you got the RCAs away from the power wire right?

i will say that the alternator could be making the noise in your stereo. hmm you could get one try it out and if it doesn't help take it back and say it din't fit and you want your money back

I'll tell you right now that i've never used a noise filter in the ground, i've never had a problem with a ground before. mines just under where the seatbelt bolts to the car (under the big plastic thing on the side i hide my amp where the old sub was) where there was a hole and i nut and bolted it in after i got rid of all the paint with my drill.

 

[radium-]

yes i have rcas running along passenger side and remote and power running down driver side... Ive tried 3 different sets of rca's, different ground locations and still same thing. If i turn my gain all the way down the whining goes away along with any bass I have it a little past the halfway mark and it whines and the bass isnt nearly as loud as it should be.. its almost like the subs are playing vocal too like you can hear the whole song coming from the subs where it should be just the bass...

 

[Xan]

yes i have rcas running along passenger side and remote and power running down driver side... Ive tried 3 different sets of rca's, different ground locations and still same thing. If i turn my gain all the way down the whining goes away along with any bass I have it a little past the halfway mark and it whines and the bass isnt nearly as loud as it should be.. its almost like the subs are playing vocal too like you can hear the whole song coming from the subs where it should be just the bass...

Does that amp have a low pass filter? is it properly adjusted?

 

[radium-]

Hey yes it does have a setting for LP - AP - HP and freq 40-400hz I have it set on LP and around 80Hz for freq... here is a link to the manual for my amp I have the p3001 model http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/scri...LNXwDEi&p_tbl=9&p_id=454&p_created=1116542314

 

[Xan]

Hey yes it does have a setting for LP - AP - HP and freq 40-400hz I have it set on LP and around 80Hz for freq... here is a link to the manual for my amp I have the p3001 model http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/scri...LNXwDEi&p_tbl=9&p_id=454&p_created=1116542314

I have my LPF at about 70 but thats probaily not your problem, i think its probaily your alt. Since your subs are the dual voice coil do you have both voice coils hooked up? like a speaker wire bridged across from one connecter to the other on each sub?

Btw the reason they aren't as loud as you like is cause you're kinda underpowering them your subs run at 500w RMS and you're only feeding them 75rms each because you're running them at 4ohms cause you have the dual voice coil subs

 

[radium-]

yes i have the speakers wired like that and it used to sound fine I mean now it only sounds half as loud.... I am out of ideas here... what can I do to test the alt real quick?

 

[Xan]

yes i have the speakers wired like that and it used to sound fine I mean now it only sounds half as loud.... I am out of ideas here... what can I do to test the alt real quick?

auto stores ahve a tester they spin it on thats about it. but they things that would be causing the noise would be the brushes and bearings inside it may make ok voltage to charge your battery still...

 

[cherrybomb]

Here is a very good write-up about finding a good, solid ground.

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~49445~PN~1

 

[radium-]

the subs are like half as loud and there is contantly a low humming even when the sound is all the way off the subs are still vibrating if i put the LOUD Feature on which i never used before it gives it a huge boost and sounds almost like it used to before but its a bit distorted now cuz the loud feature is on...

Also Wondering if anyone has any or could take any pics of their ground locations in their Explorers

 

[radium-]

anyone?

 

[cherrybomb]

Do you have access to another amp to test with? Maybe swapping in a "known good" amp to see if it behaves properly could shed some light on the subject.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

okay, i haven't read all the way through, but there are a few things you should try, sorry if it's repetitive to what someone has all ready said

make sure your power and rca lines are ran separately, as in separate sides of the car. if they aren't, the electromagnetic interference from the power line can be picked up by the rcas.

next, if the hum is still there, there's a small converter you buy at any audio shop, it cuts out engine noise, you just hook up your rca's to it, and it'll filter any background noise.

pm me if you got any more problems with it

 

[EricTodd]

If your truck has a factory amp make sure you're not running the RCA's along those wires or any wires that have power running through them. The shorter the ground the better. Get any amp install kit and they only come with less than a foot of wire so that alone has to tell you something.

Did you run the RCA's to the amp with out routing them through the truck. Just to see if a power field is even your problem. Also you may have a bad amp X-over if it's not filtering out 100% of the high pass through the low pass.

A very easy way to test you alternator is just run a volt meter to the power feed and see if you have the correct amount of volts. I'm sure one of these guys here can chime in and tell you the exact amount of volts our trucks should have.

All a capacitor does is stop power surge at high volume. You should be able to ground it to just about any metal area on the body and be OK. You don't need a seatbelt bolt unless your wire is the same thickness. Rule of thumb is you don't need a ground bolt thicker than the wire that's elementary. The entire engine wire harness and ECM are only grounded be a 6mm bolt.

One other thing you can try is run a volt meter to the chassis and see if you have a short and the area could be live and giving you interference.