CB problems... any ideas

hey guys i just installed a uniden 510 and a external speaker. im getting interference across all channels. i have to have my squelch between 50% and 60% with the truck on but around 10% with the truck off. im still getting it even with my antenna unplugged. could i be getting it from the fuel pump? the coax is running down the same side as the fuel tank.
anyone have any ideas thanks for the help guys

edit: so i know that im getting a bit of interference from my alternator. and im gettting a lot of interference when i turn on my HID headlights or fogs. is there anything i can do to help against it?

 

sounds like you dont have a proper ground or power for the radio.

i have mine wired directly to the battery and i have hardly any electrical interference.

where is yours wired to?

 

How did you wire the CB?

 

Buy a case of beer and talk to your tweet shop. Preferably someone that knows what the Bird wattmeter is

 

i have the power wire straight to the battery and a ground wire to an existing ground in the center console. but i didnt have any spice connectors so when i extended the power wire i spliced it straight to the next segment of wire then heat shrunk that connection. do you think that could be it?

power wire straight to the battery through the fire wall, then the ground its to an existing ground in the center console

ive talked to a tweet and he doesnt know why im getting it hahaha

 

What ground in the center console? I've always used the ground connection for the battery with good results. It could just be the radio. Some are just better than others at blocking noise.

 

wire both the power and ground straight to the battery.

 

ya i think that is the next thing that im going to try

 

here is a pic of how it is wired


red wire: power
black w/ blue connector : ground

 

You must have worthless tweets up there.. oh yeah Morales ... slap that kid up side the head for me.

 

That looks fine, but I'd probably use the bolt on the side of that bracket instead of one already used by whatever.

Anyway, if your electrical connections are okay, check the antenna ground and ground plane. One quick way to do so is to disconnect the coax at the back of the radio to see if the noise reduces substantially. If so, make sure the antenna is mounted well to metal (the beds on many Tacoma trucks are fiberglass) and the metal surface area is large enough to provide a sufficient ground plane. If either of these are lacking, the antenna will pick up noise from the truck and nearly everywhere else.

 

so i need my antenna to be touching metal? because i have it on a bracket off the side of my bed between the tail gate and bed but i have a rubber gasket between the bracket and the metal. when i disconnect the cable in the back at the antenna the noise sounds the same.

 

yes your antenna need be grounded...

but your noise could be due to fuel pump noise interference.

I wouldn't run the coax down the same frame rail as the fuel pump wiring.

what antenna are you using ?
coaxial does not loop/coil on itself right ?

how long is the coaxial ?
increments of 3 ft... the shorter the better.

did you already tune with a swr meter ?

 

hmmm ill try and make sure that my antenna is grounded first.

i have a 10ft long coax cable right now running down the left side of the truck i think im gana try and change it to run down the right side.

and no i havent tried a swr tuner yet

 

Okay, if the noise remains the same with the antenna disconnected, it's not the antenna, Coby. However, the antenna must still be grounded to metal to work properly. You should also check the SWR (which will be high with no metal ground).

Anyway, getting back to the noise issue, I don't have much more to offer. Noise normally gets into the radio in three ways - the power wires, the antenna, and the air (a strong noise source located near the radio itself). We've ruled out the antenna as the source of the noise, so that leaves the other two. The latter is fairly rare (but not unheard of), which is why everyone is focusing so hard on the power wires.

My only remaining suggestion would be to reroute those wires. One or the other (positive or negative) could be picking up noise from a wire running beside it or from a nearby electrical device (fan motor, etc). Choose another route to get those wires to where they need to be. Good luck.

 

thanks for all the help man

 

updated op

so i know that im getting a bit of interference from my alternator. and im gettting a lot of interference when i turn on my HID headlights or fogs. is there anything i can do to help against it?

 

Check all your grounds, including your stereo, if you have one, make sure they're all solid and metal to metal contact. In most cases interference is from poor shielding and bad grounds. In your case I don't think theres much you can do to shield the wires, so check all the grounds on your high current systems.

 

hmmm will do that later tonight at work

 

so after trouble shooting toinight i found this out. when i turn my HID headlights or HID fogs on im getting a lot of interference. like i have to have my squelch up around 70 to 90% , but i have practically now interference when my lights are off. i only have to use like 3-5% squelch then.