ALPINE interference from ENGINE

[anf6789]

hey whatsup guys. i recently installed a double-sided 3.5mm jack on my harmon/kardon drive+play aux iput for use with microsoft ZUNES and other mp3 players besides ipods. the next time i turned on my stereo, it started whining as i increased the gas. i read somewhere that an aux input can do this, even though it was hooked up to an outboard electronic(D+P), i disconected the 3.5mm cable anyway today. For some reason its still making this whining noise. for the year and a half that ive had my alpine/harmon setup this has never happened. it only happens when my alpine is on. i looked today and it seems i didnt disconnect anything by accident. Any IDEAS!! anything to look for. my stereo goes like this ALPINE/HARMON>PAC OEM2>BOSE. thanks anf6789

[benzo23]

hmm...i had a similar problem when i hooked up my ipod to to my clarion fold out..i actially had the ipod tucked behind the HU...so not accessible without pulling the hu or ac controls out...but anyways when i had that set up i was getting this whining sound almost like a ghetto turbo spooling up sound coming from my speakers...well i found out that it was the alternator interference and that was caused by the ipod being to close to the other wires and was somehow conducting there signal...could your zune or ipod be to close to your wires?...try switching sides of your wires from behind the hu?...wrap up in electrical tape?...i dont know just throwing up ideas...mine went away when i relocated my ipod to the centerconsole...and i ran my ipod cable on the opposite side of where my other wires had come out of..hope i helped but prob didnt...DG

[anf6789]

thanks, but it doesnt matter if my ipod is hooked up or not, i took out that 3.5mm cable. it makes noise on all 3 soureces on the alpine(tuner,disc,aux(which is where my HK is hooked up to))

[Logic]

i seen this problem before when some one adds a 3.5 to a aux input....some time those cheap 3.5 jack adapter use very thin wire and what they do is the left and right audio share the same ground which casue a grond loop which causes engine whine i also seen where the connector on that 3.5 wire can be too big or too small which the audio ground doesnt make contact in the connector hole which can also cause engine whine. basically what needs to be done is the left and right need to be isolated from each other and as far as i know there isnt any for a 3.5 to 3.5 but you can get a 3.5 to rca attach a isolater in line and then run another rca to 3.5 to give you that 3.5 back ...only draw backs is you have alot of wiring going on unless you hide it or install it some where the wire cant be seen ..audiovox carries that isolater which i m talking about...i have another question you said you have a alpine? how old is it? alot of the AINET decks allow you to add a adapter via changer plug and then go into your settings and change it to a aux input this way everything can go threw your deck and engine whine is gone (kca 121b) is the model number for that adapter if you are using that adapter you can try putting that isolater inline with that adapter also another to check if you are using that adpater is mack sure that everything is plugged in all the way i seen engine whine caused by rca's not pushed all the way in

[anf6789]

it is a pretty hefty cable (DYNEX $15), but im pretty sure that isn't the problem. i took that cable out and it still makes the noise, it also wasnt directly hooked up to the stereo, it was hooked up to the hk's aux input, the hk is hooked to left and right rca/ainet cable into the alpine. this setup has been fine for a whole year. i cant figure out whats wrong, i took out the only thing that seemed that could be casuing the interference(even though it didnt have a reason to make the interference, because it should've only happened when i was using the hk through the alpines aux). I use the hk for my ipod, bought the cable for other peoples mp3 players. sorry to be confusing :D

oh the alpine is 1 year old it has ai-net, it is the 9856 model. i dont even care about using the 3.5mm cable anymore i just want the wine to go away.

[Logic]

so your saying when you use the aux input on the hk? well instead of using that just unplug the jack from the alpine to the hk and use it on the other devices problem fixed:P

[anf6789]

No the whine is on all the time. listening to cds,radio,and playing my ipod normally through the hk. i dont think it has anything to do with the 3.5mm cable,(really i dont care about having that anyway) i took that cable out anyway. still makes the noise as the rpms get higher. It's really pissing me off!! is there any sorta electro-filters or something of the sort that coulda came undone? is there one on the alpine i coulda shut off?

[anf6789]

Any Ideas?

[Logic]

well since i do this for a living the only thing i can think of is get rid of the hk all together.... if you have a alpine deck just buy the ipod adapter for that unit..i believe for that unit the model number is a kca420i it isnt high speed like the newer alpines can do with the alpkca422i but it will get rid of that hk unit in my eyes is a band aid. the deck will title scroll just like your hk unit. if your getting engine whine there , there are a couple of things that can cause it.... one a loose connection two relocate the ground try to avoid using any type of factory ground. three something in the unit is going bad causing a ground loop which is the reason for most type of engine whine.... you may have to trouble shoot the unit. start unplugging things to see if the noise goes if the away. has the noise always been there? if not what was the last thing you did which started the noise? or just sell your old stuff and get some new stuff.... get a new alpine deck with high speed and there you go you get rid of the hk and everything works off one unit. you say the noise is there all the time? when the hk unit is off and your playing the radio is the whine there? did you add a amp to the system? as you blowing threw the bose system?

[anf6789]

i called crutchfield, they said to unplug the hk, which i did, and it stopped the whine, they asked me where the ground was for the hk, i wasnt sure though(best buy installed it). I just plugged the hk back in and it hasn't been making a whine yet, but i doubt that will last long. I also think my alpine is a high speed model, i only need the cable not the older box version. if it starts acting up again, ill take it to best buy, make them look at it. Thanks for all your help though!! ill keep you guys informed if the whine starts going again. Freakin Harmon/Kardon, i love that thing but it has a lot of problems:bored: o well.

[Cru328prod]

buy your self a ground loop isolator!!!

[anf6789]

Cru, where does that go?

[Markland556]

It goes in line with the RCA's.
Another bandaid.
all it really does is sets a base voltage for your RCA outpus and re-grounds them.
The reason i usally find for alternator noise is improper grounding. Run your own grounds from the chassis and ground the cage of the headunit. Also make sure your power wires are insulated from your RCA's or other sensetive electronics or put them farther away.

[anf6789]

thanks markland! if i the noise comes back(im sure it will) ill give your suggestions a try

[Cru328prod]

like regrounding it might work,

theres one thing that is a must, and alot of people skip

"The Big Three" (http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1)


This will help you audio system alot

[Logic]

well if you unplugged it and plugged it back in its telling me you might not have had it installed or pushed all the way in...engine whine can be heard if the phono plug is not fully plugged in if you have the newer model get rid of that h/k system you really dont need it since the deck offers that cable for 29.99 plus its all in one unit

[anf6789]

you guys are really helpful, thanks. what i think happened is: when i put that aux cable in, i must of moved the pac-oem2 closer to the hk"brain" and caused a "loop"of some sort. I moved them as far away as possible, it seems to of fixed the problem. So for the tuner and cd player no longer whine(it was a prevelant whine) the aux(hk) whines slightly only noticible when music is paused. I will try to find the ground for the hk. when i find it, where should i ground it to?the car? the alpine ground? idk. this should get rid of the slight hk whine, right? or is it something else? jeeze, sorry about all the questions, you guys are a great help, and im sure others will/do have these questions also!!

I know my alpine can do its own ipod controlling, but i love the HK ergonomics, the screen is easy to view, and the menus are just like the Ipod. Actually, one of the reasons i got the Alpine, was so i could have an AUX in for the HK:D(I KNOW IKNOW the alpine has an ipod controller!!!) the factory radio needed to use the HK's wired FM transmitter and that sounded like crap, really horrible. I have over 6000 songs on my ipod and i needed a way to easily navigate through them, and listen to them static free.

[jnolte]

I have a question, i just got a HK drive and play too. I have an alpine deck with sub woofer rcas plugged in the top and the HK rcas plugged in the bottom. I turned the AUX on in the alpine but when i go to aux band on the alpine all i can hear is a muffled sound of music from the ipod/HK i cant turn it up or anything. Its like its not getting a clear signal from the hk. how did you get yours to work?

[anf6789]

sorry havent looked at this thread in a while, you propably got it fixed by now. i used the ai-net jack into a rca adapter. the hk goes to the rca>to the ai-net. hope that helps