Stereo noise with new ground

[Mainah]

I have a negative bus bar in the battery compartment already. Guess I just need to stand on my head for a while figuring out which are the ground wires and run some new ones.

@Mainah is there a way (using an All Sun EM830 digital multimeter) to determine if that speaker is getting a short....or just easier to pull a new wire to it?

Short answer is pulling new wire eliminates variables.

 

[tadmcmichael]

Yes, the engines don't really make a difference. Neither does the blower.

 

[Mainah]

Yes, the engines don't really make a difference. Neither does the blower.

Not much more that can be recommended over the internet. As long as there in only one dedicated ground (Old ground capped off) to a good battery then it becomes more difficult to say what it may be. Some of those things could be other noise induing device on the electrical system or a lemon of a PA4A. Wish there was an easy answer. Best of luck and let us know what you figure out.

 

[tadmcmichael]

Thanks for the help. I know it’s less likely, but could the power wire be inducing noise? Going to try the isolator and see if it works. It’s only $11 and easy to install, so not much downside.

 

[jacoviii]

I looked into some Isolators and found they can remove some needed low or Hi Freq.

 

[tadmcmichael]

Yes, I will install on one side first so I can see if it degrades the sound or if it even works.

 

[Julian]

So both of added new ground wires and it had no impact?

 

[Mainah]

There are more noise causes than just ground Loops. A clean , robust, power circuit (Power and ground) is always the first thing to ensure. From there filters and other things can be used but I prefer to find the root cause and fix it.

 

[tadmcmichael]

Got this figured out! Spent some time with this yesterday and I think it’s actually the Bluetooth that is introducing the whine. A few questions:

1. What is the best volume level on the phone for clean sound output through the stereo?
2. Is it worth buying a different Bluetooth unit that would give me better range and sound or is that just the nature of the beast?
3. If I do replace? What is a good one to buy?

 

[ar240tg]

I have a similar problem. All Jl audio speakers and amp. 2 towers 1&2 @ 75, 4 speakers at 2ohms chan 3&4 @50 and a sub on last two 5&6 bridged and they make a lot of white noise. When I unplug the RCA's the noise stops, and its not evident when I turn it to LPF. I have tried ground loop isolators but that didnt really work. I do hear the blower a bit when its on but thats really it. I can't figure it out for the life of me. I have Jl audio Rca's as well, should I add more shielding? I am hoping that might help a bit. (my gains are much less than half as well)

 

[Scarabscott]

you can try adding a ground wire from head unit and tying it to amp ground. All audio should have 1 common ground.

 

[MicahH]

@tadmcmichael

I was wondering the same as I also run my phone Bluetooth through the stock Polk unit(2016 AR240). I replaced and added, I have a hissing, sometimes my subs Vibrate making a low thumping noise so I turned my phone to airplane mode and listened. Better but not fixed, so I was wondering if a dedicated Bluetooth receiver sidestepping the Connext head unit would be cleaner. I’m going tomake sure all grounds are common but hope that would help. There’s almost too many systems running stock to ensure good sound. Thoughts?

 

[212s]

@tadmcmichaelI was wondering the same as I also run my phone Bluetooth through the stock Polk unit(2016 AR240). I replaced and added, I have a hissing, sometimes my subs Vibrate making a low thumping noise so I turned my phone to airplane mode and listened. Better but not fixed, so I was wondering if a dedicated Bluetooth receiver sidestepping the Connext head unit would be cleaner. I’m going tomake sure all grounds are common but hope that would help. There’s almost too many systems running stock to ensure good sound. Thoughts?

Bluetooth volume should be at maximum on your phone so the stereo has a strong input signal to work with from the start. All source signals must be strong as the stereo will amplify any and all sounds, including noises.

Also, boats are not like cars and there must be a common ground wire for all connections. I added a JL MX500/4 and it's totally silent. But you must ensure that all negative connections have a common ground back to the battery or you'll get ground loop issues. Ground loop isolators might not work, but ground wires always will.

If you still have some engine ignition noise, you can add ferrite filters to help stop spurious noise in the lines. The wiring harnesses from my Fusion head unit are not completely shielded and some noise can get in before the shield line. But if the source is strong, the amp is working with a clean signal.