Alternator noise, new HU

F me. I've installed several car stereo systems, but now I've got a bugger.
My setup:
Kenwood HU
Alpine power pack
Jbl door speakers.

Today i installed the kenwood. I was already using the power pack and door speakers. Now im getting alternator whine. I tried several grounds. In switching to the aftermarket HU, i went from high level inputs to rca's.

Heres another tidbit. Ive got a jl amp and subs in the back and those rca's ring like hell when i plug em in.

Spent 7 hours on it today. Rca's are run down the passenger side, power on the drivers side.

Tomorrow I'll try grounding the rcas at the deck, and T'ing all 3 grounds. Running a ground directly to the battery did nothing.

 

On your 445 Power Pack, did you flip the DIP switch on the bottom to low-level RCA?

 

Ugh. This is one of the worst problems to track down.
I went through this same thing with my setup - turned out the amp itself was the culprit (shitty Dual)

That being said, the PowerPack is a good amp. What kind of RCA's are your using? Maybe the RCAs themselves are the issue? You COULD go back to high level inputs or buy an upgraded set of twisted RCA's

Also that^...

 

Yes

 

Rca's are ebay cheapos.

 

I have used cheap RCAs before with no issue, I've also used cheap RCAs and gotten the whine. Not much help but I'd probably start by getting a good set of braided ones.

 

Yeah. I've read all the threads on this last night and that is highly suspect. I don't have any more money to blow!

 

$16 Bullz Audio BSTP15 15-Feet Triple Shielded Spiral Twist RCA Audio Cable

https://www.amazon.com/BSTP15-15-Fe...8&qid=1486831996&sr=1-4&keywords=shielded+RCA

Have $10? I'd bet those solve your problem. They look like they are wrapped in shielding.

 

Probably need some ground shields.

 

Ok, so i ran a wire from my HU red RCA to my AMP end of the RCA and the noise went away. Tried a different set of RCA's and got the same bad noise.

Is this an RCA problem, or something else? I hesitate to buy a really expensive set of RCA's if I'm going to have to still run that wire.

 

Can you elaborate what you did? "i ran a wire from my HU red RCA to my AMP end of the RCA" What did you tie this wire to?

 

Outer shields of the red connector.... at each end of the cable.

The wire is pinched between the red rca cable and socket.

 

Hey OP did you ever solve this? I have the same set up as you and have that whine.

 

If that fixed it, try a cheap ground loop isolator. Your local Best Buy will have one for $15, and of course Amazon will have them as well.
I’ve never had good luck with cheap RCA’s. The ones that come in BOSS and Rockville wiring kits especially. I usually tell my clients I don’t recommend them and if we have to pull them out and run new ones, it’s costing them another 30-60min of labor. I usually run the blue Kicker cables and be done with it. But the ground loop isolator is cheaper and an easy add-in. Plus it’s an easy removal and return if it doesn’t work.

 

Yeah, sounds like a ground loop. But it can be bad grounds - poor contact at one of the connections. Grounding all the gear at the same location typically works to iron it out but not always. In some cases all grounds need to go straight to the battery. As mentioned above ground loop isolators can work but starting with known good grounds (no paint, low resistance, etc) is always best practice.

I've never had issues with cheap signal cables personally as long as certain conditions are met...like the terminal fits the jack snugly. But a noise prone environment might benefit from a shielded or twisted pair cable.

 

Rf make good cheap rca