Engine noise coming from speakers Options

[k-weaver]

Ok guys, this is an interesting one...

First off, the noise only comes from my speakers in the doors and in the back panals, not the sub. Probably becuase the freq is too high.

Anyway, I am currently running a performance teknique amp. It is a 4 ch amp and at the moment I do not have the model number. I am running Kicker 6 1/2 in the rear, alpine 6 1/2 in the front and also two kenwood 6x9 in the back (placed into the rear panal that covers the trunk). The two fronts are wired to the front channel of the amp and the rears are wired together on the rear channel of the amp (should be at 2 ohms).

I have tried a "ground loop isolatar", this does not help at all. The actual noise is faint, and can only be heard when the volume is at a low level. When the music is turned up, the noise can no longer be heard (it is still there though). my HU is a kenwood excelon, again, not sure on the model but it does have 5v preamp with the internal amp turned off. i have my RCA's and my power wire running on seperate sides of the car, so this is not it.

One last thing...I recently found out that the engine noise only happens when my lights are turned on (headlights). when they are not, the sound is not there at all. Anybody have any idea what is causing this to happen and how to get rid of it?

[k-weaver]

i gennerally like to experiment with solutions before i start moving on to different idea. Does your sound system get interference when your car is parked with the head lights on?

You can try to add a big thick wire directly from the battery ground to your amp temporarily. (such a big jumper cable through the window and clipped onto your amps ground point.) If this does not fix your problem it can be something else. Try this quick 2 minute experiment and see if it helps?

This is a good idea, I think I will try this tomorrow. And the problem happens weather the car is moving or not. When it is moving it is just louder. Example, higher revs = higher the freq in the noise.

that's exactly what I did to fix it. I ran a ground from the battery throught the open hood through the pass side window, over the seats and to the amp with rubber between the wire and any metal body components it may have touched. This solved the problem so I fed the wire though a length of Heater hose and ran it thru the body permanently.
Problem solved. Also just grounding each amp seperately helped but did not eliminate the problem. I believe the problem is with the tail lights not the headlights [the amp ground being between the tail light ground and the battery ground, you see?]
good luck

I actually have no idea which is causing it, headlights or taillights. All I know is that when I turn the headlight switch on (turning both the headlights and taillights on), this is when the noise comes. So did you just run a really long ground wire from your bat to your amp? or was that just temp? Becuase I though the ground wires were suppose to be as short as possible? Ima try this anyway, the jumper cable idea. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted.

Any other ideas are appreciated...

This post has been edited by k-weaver: Feb 27, 2008 - 2:05 PM

[DEATH]

So did you just run a really long ground wire from your bat to your amp? or was that just temp?

yes - both. I had a spare 20ft ground wire in my garage and i ran it temporarily to see if that solved the problem - since it did I ran it through some Heater hose to insulate it [like the rubber peices were doing on the temp setup] from any metal surface. This part was significant so make sure you insulate it somehow during the test and the permanent setup