Alternator Noise When Sound System Turned On

Hey this is my first post in the audio section, so please go easy on me. ;) Um I'm no expert, so I don't know what all the components do and thus it's hard for me to keep up with all the information here.

With that said, on to my problem... basically when I turn on my deck, immediately my alternator outputs this high pitch noise. If I rev my engine up a little the noise volume increases, almost sounds like a turbo or something spulling up (cars NA).

What would that mean? Is this bad for the alternator, or is the alternator damaged now? Can this be fixed? Basically you get the point I guess.

My sound setup is pretty complex, I wouldn't be able to list the parts because I don't even know exactly whats in it myself (lol). I actually bought it off someone, it ran him $12,000 back in the day for the audio equipment and install.

I was thinking maybe it's just sucking too much juice... but then the battery has been upgraded to one of them yellow top of the line Optima batteries. Also theres a capactor in the back going to the amp.

And I had a new deck installed at Cartoys not too long ago. The guy that installed the new deck was the same guy that did the original audio install and he noted the noise coming from the alternator and said he tuned the amp or something to decrease it. Anyways a few days later it seemed to of increase again and it's been like that for about 3 weeks now.

Sorry for the long post, but wanted to cover the issue in depth.

did this problem just pop up? or has it been around for a while?

If it's been around I would put my money on it being a ground issue, how many amps/caps and such do you have, and where are they all grounded? If its being fed power from the cap it should be grounded to the cap, and the cap should be grounded to the same point that any other amp not being fed by it is. Basically everything goes to the same ground.

at the worst, it could be your headunit, I just had a car come in that had this problem, not even sure what broke on the radio but a swapped one fixed the problem, so if nothing else works that could be it.

did this problem just pop up? or has it been around for a while?

If it's been around I would put my money on it being a ground issue, how many amps/caps and such do you have, and where are they all grounded? If its being fed power from the cap it should be grounded to the cap, and the cap should be grounded to the same point that any other amp not being fed by it is. Basically everything goes to the same ground.

at the worst, it could be your headunit, I just had a car come in that had this problem, not even sure what broke on the radio but a swapped one fixed the problem, so if nothing else works that could be it.

I've had 3 decks in this setup so far, the noise were present with every deck.

So I'll check out the grounding. I have one Phoenix Gold amp that powers 4 speakers up front, 2 tweekers, and 6 10" subs. So I dunno what kind of amp that would be called. What I have to do is get the receipt from this guy I bought it and research all the parts I guess first off.

But shouldn't Cartoys be liable to fix this problem to begin with? I'm not sure though what to tell them exactly.

I need some help from you more experienced guys. :)

First off that is way too many things running off one amp... There are generally helpful hints on how to fix(troubleshoot) problems in the amp guide. It is an amp issue, I forgot what it is, but I remember seeing something about the amp making noise. There is no such thing as "tuning" an amp. And what he probably did is toyed with the gains, He really didn't fix any problem.

what usually helps in this case is to use UTP (unsheiled twisted pair) RCA cables ...... they are far less susceptible to radiated noise than the normal coax ones.

I've had 3 decks in this setup so far, the noise were present with every deck.

So I'll check out the grounding. I have one Phoenix Gold amp that powers 4 speakers up front, 2 tweekers, and 6 10" subs. So I dunno what kind of amp that would be called. What I have to do is get the receipt from this guy I bought it and research all the parts I guess first off.

But shouldn't Cartoys be liable to fix this problem to begin with? I'm not sure though what to tell them exactly.

I need some help from you more experienced guys. :)

allright, so the deck isnt the problem, which is a good thing.

Do this, take a small piece of wire and connect it from the ground of your amp to the headunit chassis, the cage or metal body of it, you should hear less noise, that'll usually tell you whether its the ground or not.

They should be liable, but thats an issue of ownership. I work for circuit city, and we guarantee our installs as long as you own the car, it doesn't transfer with ownership though.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I will be doing some research on the amp, and see what turns up. I'm really curious what Phoenix Gold engineers did to it too though, I was told they modded it to output more juice.

And yeah I dunno I think the setup is fine in terms of was the right equipment used. The guy used to work at Cartoys and now works at Phoenix Gold and the install was perfessionally done. So I doubt they'd invest $12,000 into a setup that wouldn't work (regarding amp can't power everything and if the correct cables were used)

I will also give that grounding wire thing a go tomorrow hopefully and report back later. :)

Didn't say it couldn't(err didn't mean it that way) just figured it wouldn't sound as good as using multiple amps

The problem could be in your head unit. If you have crossed your remote wire with your illumination wire, noise will occur. All you need is a noise suppressor, you can look them up and find them anywhere from 10 to whatever bucks. Make sure all your connections are tight, and correctly connected. It wont hurt to go back and check your connections, once youve done it and checked it, you'll know it will be alright. But for me, a noise suppresor would be what I'd get.

Noise suppressor, lets hide the noise and ignore the problem... Not my way of doing work... http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=172984 Yet another reason why these forums need to be combined...