Get rid on engine noise through stereo...?

I just installed my bandpass box with 2 JL 10s and it sounds awesome- the only problem is that when the stereo is at a low level I can hear the high pitch engine noise in the background. How do I eliminate this?

I ran the pre-amp wires and power cable down the same side of the car, should I have seperated them? Will them being next to each other cause that noise? Thanks!

Originally posted by mauibound
I ran the pre-amp wires and power cable down the same side of the car, should I have seperated them? Will them being next to each other cause that noise? Thanks! ** BINGO **

Try switching the RCA cables to the other side of the car... and if that doesnt work figure out what the cause of the noise is... if its actually on the RCA cables or the power wire... you can do so by simply unplugging the RCA's ...

Still hear engine whine = your power wire is the cause

besides running them down the same side and the other thing sparq said, check the lentgh and connection point of your ground, make the ground a clean unpainted piece of metal as short a distance from the amp as possible, bad grounds lead to 90% of engine whine.

I think you are right. I read somewhere that it really didnt matter if the power cable is next to the RCA, but that just didnt seem right...

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Quote from

http://pub51.ezboard.com/fcaraudioknowledgefrm7.showMessage?topicID=18.topi c

<<I'm going out on a limb here, but I HIGHLY DOUBT that if you run your RCA cable on the same side right next to your Power cable, it will induce noise. This is assuming that you don't have RCA cable with that metal foil 'shield' which is known to pick up noise. So much for 'shielding' huh? >>
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I'm not looking forward to running the RCA cable down thee other side, but I am more than willing to if it will eliminate that annoying noise. Do you think that I will save myself the hassle if I buy this product?

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1335727472

Thanks for the help.

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besides running them down the same side and the other thing sparq said, check the lentgh and connection point of your ground, make the ground a clean unpainted piece of metal as short a distance from the amp as possible, bad grounds lead to 90% of engine whine.
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Will do- I put the ground wire in the trunk, under the mat, under one of those huge 17mm bolt that go through base of the trunk. Do you think that is a good ground? If not, where would you suggest.

Also- I hadnt cut my ground wire to fix exact legnth, I could probably cut about 3-4- feet off- could this have and impact? Thanks

most of the time those suppresors dont do shit, they are wastes of money, and why would you want to spend money, wait like 2wks before you even get for it not to do anything, when you can just move the wires over to the other side for free?

Originally posted by mauibound


Will do- I put the ground wire in the trunk, under the mat, under one of those huge 17mm bolt that go through base of the trunk. Do you think that is a good ground? If not, where would you suggest.

Also- I hadnt cut my ground wire to fix exact legnth, I could probably cut about 3-4- feet off- could this have and impact? Thanks

if you have 3-4ft of extra ground to lose then that is definatly the problem, plus the ground you state sounds like a good one, as long as its bare metal, not rusted or painted in any way, it should be that silverish metal color with a nice gold terminal connector.

when you have engine noise in the speakers then it is mostly from the power wire being to close to the alternator. Try rewiring it a different way.

I wouldnt say an excess 3-4 feet of ground wire is the sole cause ~ but it is recommended that you only run like a foot for your ground wire. Also, CHEAP RCA cables is the cause of noise when running them next to a power wire... hell I can run my RCA's along the power wire all day... but of course you dont custom make your RCA's like I do now do you? :D :smoka:

These are the exact RCAs that I have installed in my car. Are they not good quality? Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1337284249

(Stinger Hyper Series 20' RCA's)

This is a very simple and safe method for completely eliminating all engine noise from any amplified speakers.

Run a "common ground" between your head unit's ground and your amplifiers' ground. All you need is a 16 gauge wire, run right along with your RCA's and remote wire. Hook one end to your head unit's ground, and the other to your amplifier's ground. Voila.

The primary reason for engine noise is because the head-unit's ground and the amp's ground aren't nicely conducting through the body of the vehicle. This could be due to poor grounding, corrosion, or materials reasons. The two grounds need to be in contact in order to create a 'closed' electrical system.

If you're worried about your amp's ground losing connection and the 16ga wire burning up from handling too much juice, just stick a little 500ma or 1a inline fuse on it, near the amplifier.

Thank you- I will try that today.

Any good ways to determine which wire is my head units ground? Thanx

Originally posted by mauibound
Thank you- I will try that today.

Any good ways to determine which wire is my head units ground? Thanx

If it's a stock head unit, you'd want to find a wiring harness diagram for modern civics (shouldn't be very hard - it might even be in your owner's manual!). It should be labeled as "GROUND" or "NEGATIVE". Normally a black wire, it's hard to miss.

On an aftermarket head unit, there will be a plainly-marked wire for ground. If it's not labeled directly on the wire, consult the manual for the head unit. It will definitely have a wiring diagram. Again, the wire is normally black.

One last question...

When you say run the 16 gauge wire to my amplifiers ground- do you mean the ground that I have under the huge bolt in the trunk, or the ground terminal on the amp- or does it really matter? Thanks- I cant wait to get home and try it.

I ended up switching the RCAs to the opposite side of the car, but there was still some minor noise. I hooked up the wire like you recommended, from the head units ground to the amps ground, and that basically eliminated all the noise. Thanks!!!!!!

so where exactly did you run the wire to???? To the ground terminal, or to where the amp is grounded??? And i have my hu grounded to the body cause there is no wiring harness, so could i just run a wire from where my hu is grounded to where the amp is grounded or would i have to just disconnect the hu ground wire and run it back to the amp???

I spliced into the ground wire on my hu and ran that wire to my trunk. That is where my amp is grounded to the body of the car (under a huge 17mm bolt beneith the carpet.)