Slight Alt. whine & speaker "pop"

[THATDONFC]

I'm having the same problem. But my amp os a cadence ultra-drive 4 channel. Not screwed to the rear panel. But it is grounded to the chassis...

Sanded the paint behind the seat and put a bolt with a nut. It that no bueno?

[UNHCLL]

As for the problem at hand... I was just guessing about the "pop"... I'm glad to hear that it can be cured since other m3'ers are running without it. Have you tested another amp on the wiring?

I have not... I don't have another amp kicking around to try and plug in.

[StereoInstaller1]

I'm having the same problem. But my amp os a cadence ultra-drive 4 channel. Not screwed to the rear panel. But it is grounded to the chassis...

Sanded the paint behind the seat and put a bolt with a nut. It that no bueno?

that is generally how I do it, and rarely seem to have issues in E30s.

RCAs up the left, power from the battery, ground near the battery on the floor of the car...hardly ever an issue!

[UNHCLL]

Update:

Ran a ground wire from deck to Amp - no change.
Changed grounding location of Amp - no change.

There are NO indications on the RCA's about direction of audio connection.

I then moved all the existing RCA's to the center hole in the rear bulkhead, so they were not near the positive battery cable. (RCA's previously ran through the same hole in the bulkhead as the battery cable)
No change.


Ran a new set of RCA's (different brand) externally (across my lap, out the drive door, along the rear 1/4 panel and through the trunk opening) and this setup removed all whine/pop.

At this point, I see my only options as removing the entire interior and rerouting the RCA's down the driver side instead of down the center of the car. If I am going to go to this extent, part of me thinks replacing the RCA's alltogether is a wise decision. Any suggestions on a different brand?

Thank you,
Chris

[StereoInstaller1]

Your Fosgate RCAs are very likely directional (rotten fucking BASTARDS!) so the word "Fosgate" is the direction the signal passes...as in "F" closest to the deck (best way OI can think of to describe it.

You are gonna need that ski pass open anyway, so pull the seat, run the RCAs through the grommet on the left side (yeah, way up there. Cut out a tiny bit of the rubber if you need to) and make sure BOTH sets of cables face the same way...again, the "F" closest to the deck.

BTW, I just happen to have an unmolested M3 at my disposal...can make that rear panel template nao...

Luke

[UNHCLL]

Your Fosgate RCAs are very likely directional (rotten fucking BASTARDS!) so the word "Fosgate" is the direction the signal passes...as in "F" closest to the deck (best way OI can think of to describe it.

You are gonna need that ski pass open anyway, so pull the seat, run the RCAs through the grommet on the left side (yeah, way up there. Cut out a tiny bit of the rubber if you need to) and make sure BOTH sets of cables face the same way...again, the "F" closest to the deck.

BTW, I just happen to have an unmolested M3 at my disposal...can make that rear panel template nao...

Luke

Yup, cables all run with "F" closest to the deck :(
I know Fosgate stuff went downhill about 8 years ago after they sold out, but I assumed their RCA's would still be decent. I mean how do you F that up?

Should I run them down from the center console (Near the heater core access area), below the driver footwell, and then up the driver side rocker panel, or can I get away running them under the carpet on the drivers floor?

The RCA's are also 20' long, so I have a lot of extra cable. Can I leave these coiled under the rear seat... or is that a big audio no-no?

Thanks for the paitence and help with my questions.
I've never had this issue before with any audio install... so it's got me baffled.

-Chris

[StereoInstaller1]

I run them below the steering column, down the left kickpanel, along the side and up the rear firewall, just like the factory does.

When you get those out, maybe try running them the other way? (F to rear?)

[Doughnut]

The RCA's are also 20' long, so I have a lot of extra cable. Can I leave these coiled under the rear seat... or is that a big audio no-no?

Interested also. This is a really good thread!

[UNHCLL]

OK... Update on Day 2 of "Project remove pop & whine!"

Swapped RCA's around (Directionally), and relocated to the drivers side of the car.
-No Change

Swapped in different set (Non-Rockford Fosgate) of RCA cables, run externally of car.
-No Change

This leads me to believe the RF RCA cables are not to blame here.


Current Amp settings for reference:

HP Filters - Off
Input Sens. - All the way down to 5 (?)
Rear Input - Stereo L/R
Subwoofer - Off



I ONLY get these noises with the engine running.
I also discovered that even with ONLY the Front speaker RCA's connected to the amp, I am still getting whine through the rear speakers with the engine running.
If I disconnect ALL RCA's from the amp, there is no whine/pop. (I assume this is because the amp has no signage to try and process to the speakers, correct?)

This leads me to believe it is an issue with power to the amp. Does that sound legitimate? Could the amp have a bad power setup that would cause this? I can still send it back under warranty, and have it repaired/replaced.

These are the next items I'm considering:

-Swap my amp into a known good car and see if issue persists.
-Triple check all grounds in engine bay and check voltage output of Alt.
-Swap my headunit with another known good headunit.

If I don't find something amiss there, the car goes to the local audio expert.
I'm done pulling apart my interior to try and solve this.

-Chris

[StereoInstaller1]

Chris, on to the next step in diagnosis.

I assume you have a couple of "Y cords" hanging around. If so, grab your iPod and plug it directly into the amp. You need to use the Y cords so that both sets of inputs are live...if you have no noise, bad deck.

Have you had to jump start that car much?

[StereoInstaller1]

Oh and YGPM

[UNHCLL]

Chris, on to the next step in diagnosis.

I assume you have a couple of "Y cords" hanging around. If so, grab your iPod and plug it directly into the amp. You need to use the Y cords so that both sets of inputs are live...if you have no noise, bad deck.

Have you had to jump start that car much?

Luke,

Do I need to run 2 "Y" adapters, so that both the front & rear channels on the amp are getting a signal, or can I just do 1 Y adapter to one Channel (Front/Rear) at a time?

Car has never been jump started. Battery comes out over the winter for storage, that's about it.

-Chris

[StereoInstaller1]

Luke,

Do I need to run 2 "Y" adapters, so that both the front & rear channels on the amp are getting a signal

this.

[StereoInstaller1]

how is that for cryptic shit right there!>?!?!??!?!????!!11

[UNHCLL]

this.

how is that for cryptic shit right there!>?!?!??!?!????!!11

Roger. I'll have to pick up some new Y's. Don't have enough to make that work right now.

Thanks for the PM, I'm done with the car for today though. :(