Slight Alt. whine & speaker "pop"

[UNHCLL]

The pop has resolved itself... by burning up the amp.

Started the car, had no sound from the speakers, and proceeded to open the trunk to see lots of white smoke coming out of the amp.

Took the amp to the local BA Authorized Dealer, and they discovered the following:



Now I will have to call BA on Monday and see if they will cover this under warranty since the amp was purchased less than a year ago.

To top it off, the head for one of the cosmetic cover screws also sheared off today. Right now Boston Acoustics is dangerously close to moving to the very top of my Black Listed Companies. I am none to pleased to say the least, and can only hope that when I call them Monday they resolve this in an expedient and corrective manner.

[StereoInstaller1]

DAMN! I amshocked to see this on a BA amp. I mean they are Chines shit like everything else, but they are supposed to be better than that.

On the bright side, at least your work wasn't the issue, right?

hang in there, bubba.

Luke

[UNHCLL]

DAMN! I amshocked to see this on a BA amp. I mean they are Chines shit like everything else, but they are supposed to be better than that.

On the bright side, at least your work wasn't the issue, right?

hang in there, bubba.

Luke

haha!
So true... here I was going insane chasing the wires/grounds/etc... and the whole time it was a defective amp??

I got more than a few "oh fuck" remarks from the audio shop when I brought the amp in.

[Schnitzer318is]

open the trunk to see lots of white smoke coming out of the amp.

Ahhhh... the genie escaped huh. LOL never a good sign. I thought you had tested with another amp to see if the whine & pop were caused by the amp.

At least you found the problem... hope BA helps you out.

[UNHCLL]

Update:

Spoke with Boston Acoustics today....

Informed them that I purchased the amp from Crutchfield. News flash, Crutchfield is the only certified/authorized online reseller of Boston Acoustics equipment. If you purchase BA equipment from any other online company, your claims/service will be denied... no negotiations.

The gentleman from the Service line gave me an address to send the amp to in NY and said they would take care of all service and repair. All I am responsible for is the shipping charge to send the amp back to them. There was no question of responsibility or whether they would repair the amp.

Sounds like a positive outcome it coming... how long the repair will take I am not sure. So for the forseeable future, I will be audio-less in the car. Time to enjoy the symphony of the S14! ;)

[StereoInstaller1]

Is the horn section rocking those carbon fiber horns?

[UNHCLL]

Is the horn section rocking those carbon fiber horns?

Not yet.... I have not found a suitable engine management system that doesn't require the sale of both my kidneys to get turn key reliability. :(

[StereoInstaller1]

16 valves sucking and screaming is still mighty musical.

[UNHCLL]

So what does this stand for:

FET Qty: 4
1/8W 56 OHM SMT RES Qty: 4
FETS Qty: 4


Thats the list of parts the warranty location has provided.

Going on close to 3 weeks without audio.
Kind of nice to be honest....

[FredK]

FETs are the pictured output transistors that got fried. I guess some surface mount resistors also got fried.

[UNHCLL]

FETs are the pictured output transistors that got fried. I guess some surface mount resistors also got fried.

Will the new ones give me RWHP & Torque???

[FredK]

Probably as much as Tornado vortex generator. Fits right into your throttle body boot.

[UNHCLL]

...Long overdue update:

After getting the amp back, I installed it into the car.
All the noise/popping is still present. I turned the radio off, and never turned it back on for the last 1.5 months of driving season. Then the car went into storage and under a cover.


Fast forward to now... it's spring in the Northeast. Car comes out of storage soon. I assume the situation didn't resolve itself over the winter, but I haven't checked yet.

Now, reading a recent post from Luke in another thread:

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=1951961&postcount=10

Better RCAs won't help. You have a mismatch between deck and amp.

Have you tried a ground loop isolator?

I still say your deck is bad, the old amp just didn't care.

This made me think. Would a bad deck cause the issue I'm having? Recall that previously all speakers & tweeters in the car were originally powered off the internal amp of the headunit with NO issues. The inclusion of the external amp has resulted in the popping noise. Could the processor(?) for the RCA's be bad in my deck, causing this issue?

EDIT: I will also need to try the dual "y-connectors" from my Ipod as suggested by Luke above. I guess that would also answer my question above too?


I'd really like to be able to listen to music again this summer!
Thanks in advance,
Chris

[UNHCLL]

24.4.2010

Todays trouble shooting involved the following:

1)Disconnect all RCA's from Boston Acoustics Amp.
Connect Ipod directly to one channel of amp - (Front)
Status: No change, pop remains

2)Disconnect all power to BA amp.
Connect new "test" 2-channel amp to front speakers.
Connect new amp to in-car RCA's.
Status: No change, pop remains

3)Replace Alternator with known good S14 alternator & voltage regulator
Status: No change, pop remains

4) Inspect, clean, re-tighten all chassis grounds. (2x under dash, 1x under rear seat, 3x engine bay)
Status: No change, pop remains


So, anymore final suggestions before I drop it off at an audio shop and tell them to resolve it? I've exhausted my electrical troubleshooting abilities.

Thank you,
Chris

[Mtriple]

Chris,

Is the amp still grounded directly to the battery? I've never had good luck doing that, try grounding to the rear seat belt mounting points.

The fact that you have tried a new amp as well as tried a new source(ipod) and still have issues is puzzling to me...