Engine Noise Through Speakers

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GiuBru72

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I am getting a buzzing noise through my speakers in accessory mode and the same buzzing plus engine noise through the speakers when the car is running.

I installed new speakers in the front and rear, re-ran new wires to the speakers. I removed the factory amp and replaced it with an alpine (have a capacitor and ran 4ga power). I am still using the factory head unit, but ran the outputs (that normally go into the factory amp) to line-level to RCA converters.

Where is this noise coming from? How can I stop it?

Has anyone encountered this?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated as I just spent two days running wires and etc.
 
Run your power wire down one side of your car and your signal wires (RCA's and stuff) down the other side of your car. If the jacket on your power wire isnt too big it should fit into the channels under the door sill. What you are hearing is interference from the power wire, and the extra noise when the car is running is from the alternator. Moving your signal and power wires away from each other should help, if it is not enough you could pay for some better/shielded RCA's. OR your LOC is bad, but I would check the wires first.

And ditch the cap, if your cars charging system is insufficient, adding another power draw will only make things worse. If you can, id take it back and use that money for a bigger alternator.

just my .02

*EDIT* out of curiosity how many watts (in RMS please) is your system?
 
The power wire is running down the drivers side in the channels under the carpet. I am using the stock wires that run from the head unit to the trunk instead of RCAs for now. I have spk level to line level converters on them. I am running around 1400 watts RMS in total with sub and speaker amps.
 
I see. Im still thinking its interference. If I remember correctly, the wires going to the trunk are unshielded. I am unsure of the route they take to get into the trunk, but id be willing to be that they are run down the middle.

If im understanding this right, your subs and door speakers are run off aftermarket amps. If this is the case I would connect the LOC's behind the HU, then run shielded RCA's to the trunk. If you dont want to do that, Id start tracing the wires that go to the trunk and make sure they are run down the right side of the car.

*If this doesnt help, I would at least try disconnecting the cap. Ive had cheap caps make hissing noises and whatnot through the speakers.

*you dont have any extra wiring bundled up in the trunk do you? if so, id separate it as much as i could to see if it helps.

*if none of that works, id check your grounds just for the hell of it.
 
At the amp's ground, sand the area down to bare metal then attach the ground there. For good measure run a wire from that ground point (10-12 gage should be fine) to a screw on the radio chassis or the ground wire on the head unit. A unwanted noise in car audio can most of the time be traced to a bad/poor ground or a difference in the resistance to ground between the amp and the head unit. I have installed numerous systems and ran the power to the amp, ground, the rca, and cd changer control cables in one bundle from the passenger's kick panel all the way to the trunk. Use good rca cables as the braided jacket is a ground shield to keep out interference and should be fine as long as you don't have a high powered and or high frequency noise source in the other wires.
 
Ground.

Try to ground the stereo straight to some solid metal as close to the deck as possible and get it off the wiring harness. If that doesn't do it, it's a ground somewhere else but old worn out plugs will also do it sometimes but it really sounds like a ground issue with yours.
 
just to back up a lot of whats said. the normal method is to run all your hot wires ie. power ground and remotes on one side of the car. all your signal wires on the other side of the car. good sheilded speaker wire and o2 free wires should be used. i however disagree with the cap being the issue. i myself have never come across a cap that causes noise. im curious is it just noise. or is it the alt whine. like if you step on the gas does the noise go up in frequencey. always check your grounds. im not sure of the head unit you are using but sometimes the internal ground on them can go bad. pioneer is a big on for this. if so try grounding the RCA cables directly the way you do that is to wrap some wire around the outside of the rca female plug the ground it right to the head unit. you will be surpized at how much "cleaner" this can make for your sound.
 
Thank you for all the suggestions! I really appreciate it. The capacitor is a Stinger Pro series, so I dont think its the issue. I do have the power running down the driver side under the carpet and am using the factory cables as signal wires. Yes, i am getting a whining sound that goes up in pitch when I rev the engine. My cap and amps are grounded to seperate locations on the chassis and I did grind the spot down to bare metal. I will try grounding the head unit to the chassis. As far as grounding the RCAs, since i am using the factory wires into LOCs, should I ground those or still try to ground the outside of the RCAs to the chassis?
 
Update. I still have noise with the head unit completely disconnected. I get more and different noises when the headlights are turned on or the climate control is on. Now what?
 
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