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OMG - So Annoying Please I Need Your Help Guys - Static Type Noise Aerial/Altenator?

jokerflingo

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Hi guys, i have a Holden VS Ute and have a medium priced audio system in it which comprises of a;

Subwoofer - Alpine SWS-1023D - Alpine Electronics of Australia
Amp - Cadence FXA-4060 - FXA-4060 - FX PLUS SERIES - Cadence Acoustics, LTD
Speakers - Alpine SPS-600 - Alpine Electronics of Australia
Head Unit - Sony CDX-4800X - 2 RCA Pre-Outs Front/Rear which i am using as Front and Sub since its has no Rear Speakers cause its a Ute.

All these components and cables are new except for the Head Unit which came with the car when i purchased it. Now i believe all these components are quite good quality and value being Alpine except maybe the HU.

Now here is the problem, there is this small type static noise which i am unsure if it is Alternator type ticking noise or Aerial type static noise. But i can tell you its so F*****G annoying that it could drive me insane and i literally mean me because my dad cannot hear it due to his hearing at age 55. Now this is another big problem because he is usually great at identifying problems but if he cant hear it he cant identify it. So i am really relying on you guys.

What i have done so far is pulled out the HU and AMP several times to check connections and everything else i possibly could, first i noticed the aerial plug was a little loose so i plugged right in thinking that will fix it but no, next i moved the power cable as far away as possible from the signal cables and thought that would fix it but no, then i replaced the little radio suppressor on the alternator thinking that would fix it but no. Also i have moved the ground wires several times with the HU ground connected to its factory earth and the Amp earth connected to the bottom of the passenger seat mount bolt(Amp is under Passenger Seat). I should also add that i don't believe this sound was there before the audio system install.

I am seriously getting so totally pissed off that im gonna end up breaking something. But heres the catch this problem only occurs when im listening to the radio no matter what station and the car is running. So CD with the car off or on sounds absolutely awesome for the price i paid for the system from a m8 at cost price from JB. Again if i listen to the radio with the car off it sounds flawless but when the car is running i get this tiny little static noise which sounds like it could be alternator noise or aerial static?

I am so confused as i am sure its not the Amp, Speakers or Sub which then leaves the Aerial or the HU as the culprit but this is what confuses me because i would have thought that if it was the HU that the CD would also play with this noise instead of being absolutely flawless? And then another thing that confuses me is the fact when the car is off and im listening to the radio again its fine? So again that sort of leads me to believe that the HU and Aerial are fine but then when the car is running there it is again that tiny little static type noise. What on earth could it possibly be because everything that leads me to believe that a particular component could be the problem then doesn't make sense because it works flawlessly when played via CD with the car or or off or on the radio with the car off?

I swear i have tried everything but it just wont P*** O** this little irritating noise. Now i know it would be best to try another HU or Aerial but thats not very easy in this case. Can anyone please tell me of anything i could try next or anything i have missed?

Any help would be much appreciated so that when im listening to the radio with the car running it will sound absolutely flawless as it does when im listening to the Radio with the car off or the CD with the car on or off.

Any info is much appreciated and sorry about the long post.
Thanks
Matt.
 

holdenboy

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Firstly top marks for your description and listing the components, ALL people wanting advice / opinions should take note :thumbsup:

I recently came across this type of problem in new Hilux and after many hours of troubleshooting etc i found the antennas own earth was at fault.

I suggest you get into the inner guard where the antenna is mounted and have a look at the wiring, you should see a small black cable coming out of the antenna and going to metal (earth). Undo the screw / bolt and clean the area / sand it back to bare metal. Put the earth back on and check to see if that fixed it.
 

VQXTC

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Hi Jokerflingo, does this sound only happen on AM or FM or both? One of the most common problems I have found is the wire that extends from the H/U to the Aerial. Otherwise known as an aerial extension (for obvious reasons). Ends up having a poor connection at either end or both this thereby causes resistance in the lead causing the bad connection. It is especially noticeable on AM more so than FM.
Let me know if this makes a difference.....

cheers

Simon
 

jokerflingo

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Thanks both of you Holdenboy and VQXTC, this weekend it looks like i will be diving into ripping apart the aerial and investigating to see if i can find the cause. I will definitely have to check the aerial earth/ground as well as the connection going from the aerial to the headunit.

I am not sure if AM makes this same type of noise as FM because i don't listen to it much but i wouldn't be surprised if if did and will have to go and check asap if it does. Hopefully if that fixes it i can report back here a happy man but if it doesn't solve the problem what would be the next step? If there are any?

Thanks again for taking the time to read through my rather large description and throw up some helpful idea's of which i hope one will fix the problem. Will try this weekend and if you have any more ideas please do share.

Matt :thumbsup:
 

VQXTC

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Hi Jokerflingo, Ok how well does the radio pick up AM?
If AM is really poor reception wise then this is a tell tale sign that the earth on the antenna is very poor.....

Let me know how this goes...

cheers

Simon
 

jokerflingo

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Hi Jokerflingo, Ok how well does the radio pick up AM?
If AM is really poor reception wise then this is a tell tale sign that the earth on the antenna is very poor.....

Let me know how this goes...

cheers

Simon

Hmm just a quick update before i dive into it tomorrow, i had a quick listen to AM radio while i was driving today and i am unsure if i could hear the same type of noise i hear on FM as it may just be how AM Radio is these days considering i haven't listened to it in quite a while.
 

jokerflingo

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Ah Nuts, well im pretty sure the annoying sound is still there, even after i pulled apart the Aerial and sprayed everything with lubricant and made sure all the connections were good including the ground/earth.

As i said in my above post AM seems to be fine and doesn't experience this static type noise. What else could it possibly be? What is my next step to try and get rid of this problem?

I sort of could try another HU as my sister has a Alpine CD Player with 2 RCA Outs. But this is quite a job and i can tell you i would be really pissed off if i found out that it made no difference and also even if it did that would mean id have to spend $200 - $300 dollars which would also result in me be pissed off.

Any more info would be much appreciated as i cant believe this small noise could be so annoying and the fact it only occurs when the car is running and im playing the radio which is the most common combination i use is really annoying.

Thanks
Matt
 

jokerflingo

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Well another weekend any new ideas to try and fix this pain in the ass problem?
 

holdenboy

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Hard to say without actually listening or having a good look at your system / car.

If its only happening on FM then its not an earthing problem at the antenna etc, as the earth is only for AM i am led to beleive. Maybe try a different antenna as opposed to a different head-unit.

Also get a multimeter and check to make sure the mast has a good connection with the centre pin of the antenna plug at the radio, it may take some stuffing around (like removing the head-unit and extending a test lead to reach the mast/plug) but it may tell you if the cable isnt making a good connection with the cable.
 

jokerflingo

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Hard to say without actually listening or having a good look at your system / car.

If its only happening on FM then its not an earthing problem at the antenna etc, as the earth is only for AM i am led to beleive. Maybe try a different antenna as opposed to a different head-unit.

Also get a multimeter and check to make sure the mast has a good connection with the centre pin of the antenna plug at the radio, it may take some stuffing around (like removing the head-unit and extending a test lead to reach the mast/plug) but it may tell you if the cable isnt making a good connection with the cable.

HAHA no worries currently my car is a mess, im redoing the headlining, fixing the handbrake button which decided to **** itself so the centre console is missing and half the driver side trim :whistling

I'm so confused because again is shouldn't be the HU because it works fine when the car isn't running and again it shouldn't be the Antenna because it works fine when the car isn't running. I don't believe this is alternator noise anymore because it isn't that whirling noises that gets higher pitched, more or less just static/background noise as if the speakers are making a clipping or distorted type noise when listening to only the radio with the car running. Makes me think earth/ground but i have checked the Amp, HU, and Antenna :bang:
 
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