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Whining engine noise!!

728 views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  mytyeerinpie 
#1 ·
Well im getting the annoying ass engine whine through my speakers. I have a 1993 Lincoln Continental that i swapped the motor on, and the "engine noise supressor" on the new engine had a different plug on it so i never hooked it up. I just put a wire between and hooked it up, but it didnt work. Just today i put the old noise suppressor on that fits the connector, and its still making the whining noise. I cant hear it unless the music is all the way down, but its annoying as hell knowing it is there.

Im using a sony deck right now, and im using a 4 channel amp for the front and rear speakers.

One thing i did just remember is that i ran the power wire somewhat close to the RCA wires. Maybe 6" or so away from each other. The power wire is under the carpet and the RCA's are under the panel covering the carpet under the door.

Now i figured that the wire wouldnt be close enough to introduce any noise, but is it too close? I dont really have any other rca wires to try, and dont want to pull the rcas out from the carpet and everyhing unless its for sure the problem.

If it matters, the noise goes with the acceleration. Like i said its not extreme, not real loud. But its definitly there and very annoying. So, what do you suggest i check or do?
 
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#2 ·
you most likely have a ground loop, you can try to reconnect all the grounds, maybe one is a little off and that is causeing it. or go and buy a ground loop isolator and try that on the fronts, that will fix the problem like 99% of the time, other then that it could be the amp.
 
#3 ·
you most likely have a ground loop, you can try to reconnect all the grounds, maybe one is a little off and that is causeing it. or go and buy a ground loop isolator and try that on the fronts, that will fix the problem like 99% of the time, other then that it could be the amp.
I have a feeling it is not the amp. This amp has been in a few other cars and never had any noise issues. I think this car is common to have engine noise actually, i remember the same car someone had a while back and if i remember correctly it did the same thing with the factory amp and aftermarket deck.

I have one of those isolators, but i was thinking it wont really work cuz i have 3 sets of pre-amp outputs and only one isolator. Ill disconnect the rears and see if the fronts stop making the noise.

The ground on the deck or the amp? Cuz i just re-did the grounds on the amps and the battery to chassis cuz i was having dimming problems, and the grounds should be good now.

But the deck was not hooked up using a harness, i spliced into the factory wiring due to i only need to hook up the power wires for the deck and none of the speakers so wasnt hard. That also reminds me, ill try and hooke the deck ground up somewhere else and see if that helps any.
 
#4 ·
all of you amplifiers and any aftermarket electronics (maybe even your HU) need to be gounded at the same place. if you still have the noise then add a ground loop isolator and ground THAT at the same place as your amp.
also do you still hear it even with the volume low and you turn it up to drown out the humming? or does the humming get louder when the volume is turned up, cuz that an easy way to tell if its your rca's or ground. also the rca's CANNOT be near the ground either.
when i do installs i run the rca's on one side of the vehical and the power/remot on the other...
 
#6 ·
I actually ran the rca's on the opposite side but then moved to the other side cuz i didnt like them over there and werent quite long enough to go where i wanted or needed them when on that side. If it comes down to it ill move them to the other side of the car. My amps are grounded off of one spot. The deck is just grounded through what i believe is stock location, but right now im remembering i couldnt find the wire that i was told was the ground, so just stuck it in one wire and it worked ha, so ya tomorrow ill be checking into that and seeing if its not the decks ground wire.

I have one of the ground loop isolators, will try taht after the deck ground. Ill disconnect all but one pair of rca's i guess cuz im running 3 pairs so obviously i cant hook it up to all of them.



you may need to ground the outside part of the rca connector. Take a length of wire, strip in on one end normal length, about 1 1/2 - 2" and wrap that end around the outside(ground) of the RCA. then take the other end of the wire and run it to a vehicle ground. See it it gets any worse, it should get better.
You are using an aftermarket amp for mids/highs?

What part on MN are you in?
Ive read of doing that before, will try that after the other things i said. Yes im using an aftermarket amp for the speakers. If you didnt know this car has a stock amp, i bypassed that crap and put in a cheap 4 channel (vr3 wal mart) but it does the job and never made any noise in other cars. The speakers in front are stock for now.

Im in St. James, MN.
 
#5 ·
you may need to ground the outside part of the rca connector. Take a length of wire, strip in on one end normal length, about 1 1/2 - 2" and wrap that end around the outside(ground) of the RCA. then take the other end of the wire and run it to a vehicle ground. See it it gets any worse, it should get better.
You are using an aftermarket amp for mids/highs?

What part on MN are you in?
 
#7 ·
before you rewire, use a different set of rcas and just run them over your car and test them... isolate the problem first
 
#8 ·
Ya im not pulling the wires out til i rule out everything else. I think i only have one other set that is long enough to get back there. And i just remembered, its quite the ***** to get the wires into the trunk, its sealed off from the car pretty good. Gotta work on getting something cut out for air flow sometime too.

Suppose i could actually run them outside the car and into the trunk and just not close it. that should work fine.
 
#9 ·
thats what i meant by saying "over" your car lol. if they dont reach, move your amp up so they do. and it your system works then, then replace the rcas
 
#10 ·
O haha ok. Ill try it out when i can. Right now im working on a couple other things in which my exhaust is not connected so i cant try it right away. I was going to do it earlier tonight, but oddly enough when i wanted to try the isolator it would barely make the noise, it was not very loud so i didnt bother trying i could barely hear it, but i know it will be back.
 
#11 ·
O and to answer about the volume question. The humming volume goes with the engine speed. The decks volume has no affect on the humming. I can turn it up and drown out the noise. But its annoying as hell and i dont want to hear it when its low or on zero volume. I can turn it all the way down and still be there, only goes away if i turn the radio off, which obviously turns the amp off.

But ya like i said i have a couple things to try now and ill let you know if it works or not. Thanks for the help everyone.
 
#12 ·
Ok this seems pretty odd to me. That whining noise from the engine just stopped out of nowhere so i didnt worry about it anymore, well it recently came back as i was sure it most likely would.

I am running a 4 channel amp, and a mono amp. Each speaker in my car has its own channel obviously. And obviously 3 sets of RCA's run to the rear. Just to know my set up if it helps any.

Well i unplugged the rca wire for the REAR speakers from behind the deck. And then the whining stopped from the FRONT speakers. I am not even sure the rear speakers had any whining, i only noticed the fronts making noise. So i plugged the rear RCA's back in, whining comes right back. I unplug the rcas for rear speakers at the amp, and it also stops the whining noise.

It makes me think its NOT my rca wire since i unplug it from the deck and it stops making the noise. Im not really sure what to think. I need to ground out the rca wires? Do sony decks have problems like i hear alot of pioneers do with engine noise/rca grounds? For now i removed the rear speakers and just left those off and just using the fronts, that way i get air in the rear decks 6x9 holes too. But ill want to put them back in im pretty sure.
 
#13 ·
Actually, the fact that it stops when the RCA is removed means it is probably not the deck or the amp but rather a loop created when the RCAs are connected which allows induced noise.

Try a different RCA and see if it still does it.

It probably will but trying it with a different RCA will narrow your search down.
 
#14 ·
Ill see if i can even find some other rcas that are long enough. Not sure i have any. I also tried one of those "ground loop isolators" that i have laying around, but its only for two channels. I put it on the rear since thats where i was getting the noise as far as i can tell, it did not help.
 
#15 ·
have you tried some cheap ass home audio RCA's? Those seem to work well. And I didn't read teh whole thread but I had a similiar issue of a "ghost whine" that would pop up now and again and I ran a ground from my front battery to the back and havent had a whine since (except from my kids.....lol)
 
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