ok, i just installed my ARC audio amp to power my mids/highs. i have a pioneer deck that has worked great. i had all the wires ran, then tried it out with only the right channel hooked up. and it buzzes. turned the car on, and it goes up w/ the RPM. so i checked my ground...and it seems good. but to make sure i sanded some paint away. now i have this




i put it back together. and bam...buzzing the same. so i tried another screw near the gas tank...it wasnt painted. still the same thing happens.


then i took my RCA's and seperated them from the power cable...i dont normally run power and RCA together. but i figured its only about 80x2 rms it should be fine. but after seperating. it still buzzes. i know its a ground problem but wtf...all those grounds should have been fine. any ideas?

 

well i tried every screw i could find. nothing. it still makes the whine. so is there something i need to know about these cars? ive done enough amp installs to know whats wrong...and, this makes no sense. unless my new amp is bad?


seems like alot of other people have this problem tho...anyone ?

 

Try new rca's also. Could be bad amp or bad deck preouts.

 

Or make a dedicated ground. I've long argued that existing bolts are NOT good ground points.

In the above picture, you haven't even come CLOSE to getting to the bare metal. There are layers and layers of paint, primer, rust inhibitor...You haven't hit bare metal till it's nice and shiny.


Take a dremel, grind away the paint in a solid area of sheet metal. Drill a new hole. Tap it out. Use a brass screw to hold your ground terminal.


Do you have a friend with a different amp that you could use for troubleshooting?

 

well i took my dremel and cleaned it up a bit...i went did more after i took that picture. but still no different. i have another amp i could hook up and try. but its a class D amp and im not sure if it would be good to go through the 10gauge wiring. lol. i have 2 sets of RCA's i tried both. same results. you cant hear the whine till the car is on. could the engine not be properly grounded?

 

still no luck. im wondering if my pioneer head unit has something wrong...never did before, but who knows

 

Try the second amp. We're not looking to get full power out of the amp, just to see if the 1st amp has a faulty internal ground.

It's possible that the HU has a bad internal ground as well.


If you have a multimeter or ohmmeter, check that there is <4 ohms between your HU ground point and your amp ground point. Also check that there is <4 ohms between your HU and Amp grounds and the negative terminal of your battery.

Verify that your RCAs are not shorted (inside conductor to shield) - should be a complete open.

 

Does your amp take 10 gauge in? I havent seen many amps that are less than 8 gauge. Also, where is your power wire connected to, battery I assume?

 

the amp is an Arc audio CXL2050 the amp is only rated at 50x2 but the birth chart reads a little higher.

i will check all the grounds today.

the head unit ground point is wired into the factory harness ground. and my amp ground is the chasis.. i dont get how you would check between those 2 at the same time...

 

I have the same issue with my pioneer HU (DEH9800-BT) I did a google search and came up with this DIY, make any sense?

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337644