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Author Thread: Alternator whine
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New member
Username: Puzz_1

Post Number: 4
Registered: 02-2004
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I have a 5 ch amp which was connected to my front and rear speakers (thru the receivers front and rear connections) and everything was fine...that is till yesterday when I ran an rca from my receivers rca out to my amps 5th channel and hooked a sub to the 5th ch...suddenly I can hear loud alternator whine. I ran the Monster rca the same side my other cables are running and its funny because there was no interference earlier what with the speaker wires running on the same side. What did I do wrong? Should I remove the receiver ground to avoid looping?
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Anonymous
 
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Is the alternator whining or are you hearing the crosstalk through the speakers?
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New member
Username: Puzz_1

Post Number: 5
Registered: 02-2004
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hmm...dunno what crosstalk is. It goes away when I unplug the 5th channel (sub level) rca input into the amp....what is crosstalk?
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Gold Member
Username: Glasswolf

Post Number: 1259
Registered: 12-2003
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could be a few things
bad RCA cable
loose ground point for the ehad unit or amplifier
power lines too close to RCAs
bad RCA jacks on amplifier
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Bronze Member
Username: Bass_lover

Post Number: 20
Registered: 01-2004
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buy a ground loop isolator (just ask radio shack) it should get rid of that sound.
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dtyjhn
Unregistered guest
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yur rca's are prolly ran right along with power wire... pull them away a few inches n see what happens.
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Jim Beam Brewer
Unregistered guest
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If the whine changes volume or pitch when you accelerate, then you do have alternator whine. in that case move your power lead as far away from the alternator as possible. Where is your remote turn on wire? It can also pick up "emi" (electro magnetic interference) and cross talk. Move it away from other electrical wires and dont run it with your RCA's, run it with you power wire (I know I just said keep it away from other electr. wires, but it is going to the same place as your power, so dont worry). Keep your power wires away from the RCA's. Make sure you have a fuse or circuit breaker within 12 inches of your battery on the power lead. Another this which very well could be the cause of your problem, make sure your ground wire is as short as it can be. NEVER use a ground wire over 14 inches, it allows emi pick up, cross talk, phase knock, and keeps your amp from producing all of the power it is able to. Are you using quality RCA's? If you paid less than 200 each for them the answer would be "Yes." If so by better RCA's. Try Nordost, audioquest, or acoustic zen. You dont nessisarily need the $5000.00 wires, but dont skimp on your cables, your music pays the price!
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Gold Member
Username: Glasswolf

Post Number: 1302
Registered: 12-2003
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the remote trigger won't cause interference, but the main power line will if it's near the RCA lines.
many car audio RCA lines actually have the remote trigger line molded right into the RCA cables.
It's a very low-current 12V line, and not an issue if you're using decent twisted-pair interconnects.
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