Fog lights on = poor radio reception

There are times when I cannot get a decent signal on my radio - even though I am accessing very strong, local stations. Well, today, I noticed the problem is substantially worse when I turn my fog lights on.

I do have some modifications on my fogs:
fog's always on (bypass wire added to the top of the fuse box)
HID's

Just thought it was odd. Not really looking for a solution - I generall use my MP3 or Pandora (awesome). If I'm listening to the radio, I can just shut off my fogs.

Could it be possible I am not grounded correctly? Or is it because I am grounded that its causing the problem? Those HID's use a lot of juice.

 

My HIDs affected my radio signal too. alot of static. maybe its the frequency the hids emit that interfere with the radio

 

i hate to say it but it looks like you're gonna have to "harden" your entire vehicle against electromagnetic interference. the r&d is gonna cost you but at least the payoff will be minimal!

 

my old set of HID fogs caused my radio to lose like 30% reception. New kit on the way, I'll see if it will do the same.

 

my radio was fuzzy for awhile and didnt know why the fogs affected it. i had a bulb out

 

Great work, detective! Some of that would be over my head but I get the gist of it. My HID headlights have no effect on the radio reception. So it has to be the grounding on the fogs. This weekend, I'll climb under there and check the wires. I'll also try moving some wires around to see if something is just too close and causing the interference.

I'm also getting a new factory radio next week because the volume dial sporadically works - a well-reported problem.

Thanks again and I'll be sure to post any findings during my investigations. I'm not going to start ripping apart my electrical system because the problem is minimal. But its worth a quick look.

They definitely don't have an effect on my iheart radio app that I play on my Droid phone. Just hook it to my aux port and I'm set. Reception is crystal clear and never cuts out.

 

FYI


True HID light bulbs do not have filaments. It is an arc going through a gas (fluorescent type lighting)... Depending on frequency (brightness) there are always stray radio waves. Alot of HID fogs and headlights are not always true HID. If there is a filament the are not HID but are called HID because of High light discharge.

"Fake" HIDs and one that run on a lower/higher frequency than the radio are not going to interfere with the radio...


Being a service engineer working on imaging equipment, RF interference is an ongoing battle

 

So as I understand, my HID's were ''fake'' if they were causing interferences?

 

"fake" HIDs or ones that run on a higher or lower frequency DO NOT cause interference...




read the post again...

 

HIDs are the cause. They do it on my Taco with my Morimoto retrofits. Did it on my 07 Civic Si sedan with retrofits. Did it on my daughters Altima. This is a known issue with aftermarket HID ballasts. Factory HIDs are properly shielded to avoid this.

 

It would seem to me that the very high voltage spikes created by an HID ballast would introduce a lot of noise into the electrical system of the car thus affecting the operation of the radio and any other audio equipment. It can't be good for the car.

Also, just think about the hum and static you get sometimes when driving underneath power lines. This is only 60hz, nowhere near the frequencies of a radio.

 

The ballast is just a pulsing step up transformer. It does not hurt the electronics in the car. It is not interfering with anything. It just emits waves that the antena picks up. It's like have your own personal radio station that over powers any other station because it's so close to you.

The reason you can here power lines is because 60Hz is audible. You can not hear the higher frequency of HIDs but that does not mean it will harm anything.

Benefits I have at my job allow me to see RF. Ballasts like fluerecent lighting, cannot be used in an MRI room. They release a ton of "noise" which will corrupt an image... Just like it would corrupt a radio signal if at the same signal of radio waves. It will not harm any other electronics.

Another way to put it.... The noise from the ballast isn't hurting the radio. The radio is just recieving those waves and playing the sound through your speakers because, to the radio, that is the station

 

What frequency is your ballast producing? Your car radio can pick up alot more than you would think... the "range" of FM is 87.5-108 Mhz. A CB is only 27Mhz and my radio picks that up when i use it and it is out of the "range".

Most people with HIDs have the reception problem. There are a few companies that have "smart RF Ballasts" which are shielded.

A dirty ground is possible but i dont think its likely. to avoid a dirty ground run the ground of the HIDs directly to the battery so if there is power from the ballast "dirtying" the ground, grounding to the source will clean the rest of the ground plain.

 

I just got "geeked" out with all this bestbuy talk -.-