sirius gets some feedback noise.

[ryant]

I got a problem that I was hoping you stereo folks could help me with. I have an aftermarket head unit with and aux out. I use this to hook up my ipod and my sirius. For the Ipod it works great no problems, but when i hook up to the sirius I get what sounds like feedback; it goes up with engine rpms. At idle it sounds great, but as I rev it gets a whislte sound to it and its annoying as hell. any ideas?

oh and i have tried turning off the fm transmitter on the sirius unit, does it with it on or off.

[jrobie79]

have exact same problem, asked on a car audio forum, no replies yet, but its fine with the ipod, just when i have the sirius line out i get the same thing... my sirius is hardwired in but i dunno whats wrong, ill let u know if i get an answer over there....

[ryant]

Yea, its weird as the ipod works fine using the same cable.

[ryant]

Hey found this searching google:

"I was immediately immersed in ENGINE NOISE beyond belief! When I would rev the engine it would squeal unbelieveably! I soon realized that the S50 DOES NOT have noise suppression abilities like the XM Roady. After 4 trips around town to stereo shops, I finally picked up a Tsunami Ground Loop Isolator from Circuit City. I plugged the Ground Loop Isolator directly into the receiver's AUX RCA input and then plugged the RCA "Y" cable into the other end of the Ground Loop Isolator. PROBLEM SOLVED! I hope this saves someone's nerves cause mine were almost shot"

will try this tommorow, hopefully it works!

[Danny]

You actually searched?

This...

This is unprecedented.

[jrobie79]

does that tsunami ground loop isolator actually fix the noise, or just cover it up, cause if it is a ground loop shouldnt there be a way to fix it permanently and not just cover it up?

[ryant]

Not sure if it fixes it or covers it up. But my sirius now sounds great, picked one up today and it sounds perfect. well worth the 18 bucks. BTW you can find it at circuit city. Very easy to hookup. It has RCA in to rca out, simply hook it up between your headunit and the sirius/ipod/xm/whatever, problem solved.

[jrobie79]

ill see if i can fix the actual ground loop, if not, ill probably pick one up, thanks for the heads up

[StereoInstaller1]

ill see if i can fix the actual ground loop, if not, ill probably pick one up, thanks for the heads up

So do you understand what a "ground loop" is? Basically, it is a difference in ground voltage causing the negative side of the interconnects to have voltage flow, thus basically making them into an antenna.

A ground loop isolator basically runs the signal through a de-coupling device (AKA transformer) and does not connect the grounds.

Yes, this really reduces clarity and quality, but not gonna be noticeable on either Sirius or iPod analog outputs.

So, to attempt to fix the ground loop, here is what I would do: solder some wires onto the cigarette lighter adapter so you can hardwire it. Use a realy if you wanna be classy and have the deck turn it on, otherwise just use the same ground and switched power from the deck.

85% of the time, that will clear it up. Failing that, use a chassis ground on the input cable (of course, only the ground side).

Alternator whine is a bitch. I have been fighting that shit for 28 years!

Luke

[jrobie79]

So do you understand what a "ground loop" is? Basically, it is a difference in ground voltage causing the negative side of the interconnects to have voltage flow, thus basically making them into an antenna.

A ground loop isolator basically runs the signal through a de-coupling device (AKA transformer) and does not connect the grounds.

Yes, this really reduces clarity and quality, but not gonna be noticeable on either Sirius or iPod analog outputs.

So, to attempt to fix the ground loop, here is what I would do: solder some wires onto the cigarette lighter adapter so you can hardwire it. Use a realy if you wanna be classy and have the deck turn it on, otherwise just use the same ground and switched power from the deck.

85% of the time, that will clear it up. Failing that, use a chassis ground on the input cable (of course, only the ground side).

Alternator whine is a bitch. I have been fighting that shit for 28 years!

Luke

my sirius is hardwired with a relay, the relay is grounded. and the sirius is also grounded to the chasis, i dont know what it could be, maybe the relay ground isnt good enough i believe i spliced it up to the cigarette lighter ground, would that matter?

[StereoInstaller1]

The realy is grounded the same as the ground on the unit? If so, first, try swapping the ground over to the headunit ground.

Keep in mind that the "ground difference" between the 2 units just might be an actual difference in circuitry, too...nothing you can do will change that.

Oh yeah...most every car stereo shop sells ground loop isolaters, too, as does WalMart.

HTH!
Luke

[Mike]

This is very familiar. I have a Sirius Stilletto in my e46. I also have an HD radio with ipod integration, using my factory CD changer harness in my trunk. This even has an aux. input jack (same size as an ipod headphone). I had some mad engine noise, bought the loop isolator, and it still isn't totally gone. My only other remedy so far is to adjust the volume on the stilletto itself (basically turning the gain down), and that helped alot. It was almost like there was a "sweet spot" in the volume range. Maybe there is a better fix out there.