I installed the Alpine 9857 on the day that it was released. I had it hooked up to an EQ/X-over and 3 amplifiers. During quiet passages, I would hear engine whine through my speakers when the air conditioner was on.

I replaced the 9857 with the 9861 in favor of its' 4 volt pre-outs. Still, I had engine whine. All my ground points were good. Quality interconnects down the right and the power cables down the left. I ran a dedicated power wire for the head unit to the battery. I wired in a relay for my remote turn-ons for my amps. Still, I had engine whine.


It is now 8 weeks later and my problem has been solved. I went to this site: The Install Doctor

It explains ElectroMagnet Interference and how to wire in a relay to your head unit.

I am curious if there is anyone out there that has external amp(s) and is having this same problem. Just put in cd, put it on pause, turn on the air conditioner, turn up the volume and rev it to about 4,000 rpm's. If you hear whining through your speakers, you may want to try a relay.

Other than that, I have added some rear fill.

Thraak

 

sweet set up, good info, where are the subs at?? haha

*edit* oh i see it

 

Are you running a cap? My speaker wires were too close to my cap, and it whined just enough to notice it (increasing with engine speed). I think mine was alternator whine.....if yours does not vary with alternator speed I am clueless .

<----- When did I get 2 stars? YAY!!!!

John

 

Yeah, I have a 1 farad cap, (picture added). I tell ya, it drove me crazy. Last night I added the relay so that the relay configuration replaces the the oem wiring's 12 volt ignition wire from the harness.


Now, this weekend, I am going to make my Focal TN-52's placement in the A-Pillars permanent. They sound so much better there than my original placement, which was in my '05's stock location.

Thraak

 

I'm guessing 34 days ago.

 

^ Ah! So that is how it works!

How is the shielding on your RCA's / speaker wires? You can run the power and signal wires as far apart as you want, but they are all coming to the same location....try to prevent the from crossing, and keep them as far apart as possible! Took me the better part of a weekend to find my trouble spot.....I relocated the wires, and wrapped the hell out of them in electrical tape and covered them in plastic conduit.

John

 

Also, if they cross, you can minimize the impact this will have by running the wires perpindicular to each other.

 

At first, I thought it was my rca's. I was glad that it wasn't because I had spent 300-400 dollars on them. They are MonsterCable XLN series interconnects.


I am using MonsterCable battery terminals, Streetwires power cables/fuse and power distributors. I have a 4 gauge power cable from the battery to the trunk. Then, I have 8 gauge going to the amps.


My interconnects were not creating a ground loop. I know this because the noise would only appear when I ran the air conditioner. ( During quiet passages or pause, volume cranked, A/C on, and revving the engine). Now that it is 94-96 degrees everyday in Florida, I have been relying on the air conditioner more.


Again, since I wired in the relay, which is eliminating the 12 volt oem ignition wire as a direct power source, I have no noise whatsoever.

Thraak

 

 

i do not have any whine... i've always used a relay for my stereo setup... great info