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Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-07-2007, 8:00 AM Reply   
I’m getting bad alternator engine whine thru my mids/highs. I have narrowed down the problem to my eq. I ran a separate ground from the back of my HU , bypassing the factory harness. The only way the noise goes away is if I unplug all RCA’s from the back of the eq and disconnect its power/ground/remote, and just run straight from the HU to the amps. If you plug in the power to the eq’s the noise will return even if there are no RCA’s connected. IF you unplug power to the eq and leave any RCA’s plugged in the noise will appear. Any suggestions? I have dual eq’s…the chances of two eq’s being bad are slim. They are the clarion 7 band eq/line drivers. I have tried running new ground power straight to my battery and the noise was still there. B/c its alt. whine I have to think there is still a ground loop somewhere. I tested the voltage at every device and I am with in .01 volts of each piece of equipment.
Old     (chas)      Join Date: Feb 2002       08-07-2007, 10:07 AM Reply   
Run your power and grounds from the head unit and the EQ's to the same place.
Old     (mikeski)      Join Date: Aug 2003       08-07-2007, 10:35 AM Reply   
I have 1/0 red and black from the battery to the dist block. All power and grounds come from directly off the dist block to each device in my audio system. My audio system is completely isolated from the boat electrical system with the exception of the charging wires. The combiner does not connect the charging circuit until adequate charging voltage is present which allows my system to run isolate off the batteries when I am idling. This eliminates 99% of the electrical noises in the audio system. When my batteries are very low putting a big load on the charging system you can hear a very faint hint of alternator whine in the speakers. Since this really only happens when the boat is moving you never hear it over the wind noise. This is one of the best advantages of the battery combiner setup.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-07-2007, 1:32 PM Reply   
chas, power too? I have the ground's run to the same place. I had assumed a power wire issue woudl cause an increase in the whine as you increased volume on the HU.

With that said I ran a seperate power/ground from the eq straight to the battery but left the power from the boat hooked to my radio...I am 100% sure the noise is coming from the eq.

Mike, my new boat ( 07 22SSV) had a combiner in it from the factory with the dual battery setup...my charging setup is identical to yoru...my battery setup is the same if you are still running the t-105's. My combiner , combines at 13.4 volts...my alt. produces more than this even at idle....so my batteries are almost always combined. My alternator keeps up with my current load very well. Maybe I should just dissconect my combiner?
Old     (chas)      Join Date: Feb 2002       08-07-2007, 1:52 PM Reply   
Yes, we always try to get power and ground at the same place.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-07-2007, 2:07 PM Reply   
would it make a difference to re route power after the plug for the radio wire harness, or woudl you haev to do it before. It's alot easier for me to get to the power wire after the plug. While the plug has a ton of differnt wires the plug itself insulates each one and seperates, so I'm thinking it won't make any difference.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-08-2007, 10:49 AM Reply   
I re-ran all power and ground...the noise is still there.... If I put ground loop isolators on the outputs of the eq the nosie is reduced..so I'm sure I have a ground loop somwhwere. I'm going to try cleaning all my battery posts, and trying a few differetn things with the remote wire. Do the power wire noise filters work as stated?

My next step is to replace the eq's.
Old     (tparider)      Join Date: Aug 2003       08-08-2007, 8:51 PM Reply   
how could the EQs have broken in a timespan of a week?
Old     (chas)      Join Date: Feb 2002       08-08-2007, 10:21 PM Reply   
Have you tried each eq one at a time?
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-09-2007, 6:09 AM Reply   
I've isolated each eq....isolating being removing all power/remote and ground as well as the RCA from each one individually while leaving the other plugged in...same whine. I'm having another set of eyes look at it as well to make sure I didnt' miss something.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-09-2007, 6:41 AM Reply   
I had someone suggest that I not split the RCA's coming out of the eq. I have each eq running a four channel amp. The amps are not capable of combing inputs at the amp so I have to either run one set of RCA's from the headunit and split ( using y-spliter) into two sets, or run two seperate sets fo RCA's from the EQ straight to the amp. Would this make a difference?
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       08-09-2007, 8:51 AM Reply   
Adam: I have had good luck with ground loop isolators (rca's) at the EQ imput. You can get them at Radio Shack. Keep the packaging if it dosent fix your whine then take them back.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-09-2007, 10:57 AM Reply   
I've tried the GLI's at the eq's input/output, and at the output it does reduce the whine somewhat, but it's still there. It may be as good as I'm going ot get. I've heard the PAC GLI's are better...they also have a ground on them as opposed to the ones from Radio Shack that use just the RCA's. I'm hoping the guy that is looking at it today finds something I overlooked. Do you think it could be b/c of my alarm? It's the only thing that was added?
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-09-2007, 12:50 PM Reply   
My buddy looking at it couldnt' find anythign wrong...the noise is still htere...do you think that b/c of the class D design of the new alpine amp, that the noise has always been there but the class AB amps never picked it up?
Old     (billspin)      Join Date: Aug 2004       08-09-2007, 2:06 PM Reply   
I just recently replaced a factory Clarion amp with a Kicker for the interior speakers and sub. I already had a seperate amp for the tower. Before my upgrade I had no buzzing noise when I turned the blower motor on. When I got done the blower motor caused noise. When trying to figure out where to install the Radio Shack ground loop isolator I discovered it was coming from my tower speakers, the area I did nothing to. Once I installed the gli all is good again. Just my .02
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-09-2007, 2:16 PM Reply   
Bill, so you put the GLI on the amp that was pushing the speakers that the buzz was coming from? I'm pretty sure that's what you are saying. I ahev done this....there is still noise. I'm goign to try swapping out the PDX amps with a traditional clas AB amp and see if it goes away. Alpine technical support seems to think, like mentioned above, that it is an issue with the eq and the amp. Not that either one is bad, but that they are not compatable. The Alpine tech said Apline designers did nto take into the account of this type of eq's because they felt they were becomning obsolete, and that with technology in speakers, speaker placement and HU's it would not be an issue. The tech said these amps are very finiky in their input stages.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-09-2007, 2:23 PM Reply   
Anyone currently running an alpine PDX amp thru an eq? If so, what brand? or know of anyone running that type of setup?
Old     (topside_marine)      Join Date: Sep 2005       08-09-2007, 4:37 PM Reply   
Adam,

We installed a similar setup with a clarion deck and equalizer to alpine pdx amps (4 total). We had the same issue with alternator whine and tried many different solutions including ground loop isolators...none worked. We finally isolated the issue to the deck. We checked ground on the chassis of the deck and found when grounded directly to the battery instead of thru the engine harness the noise went away. So we ran a dedicated ground to the deck. Good Luck.
Old     (mikeski)      Join Date: Aug 2003       08-10-2007, 12:21 AM Reply   
Adam,

My deck is grounded to the amp as topside does. I think there is a wire on the combiner you can connect to bump the connect voltage a few points? Check the owners manual, is it a C100 or C150? I am still using the C100 but will probably upgrade to the C150 this winter. Since I changed my bass from 2 ohms to 1 ohm the charging barely keeps up now.
Old     (mikeski)      Join Date: Aug 2003       08-10-2007, 12:22 AM Reply   
One more thing... Check your RCA's, a bad RCA can cause engine noise.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-10-2007, 6:21 AM Reply   
Topside, did you run the ground for the radio back to the battery as well as ground the metal chassis of the radio back to the battery using a separate wire? My ground off the radio does go back to the battery along with the power wire ( fused).

At this point I have swapped every set of RCA’s from the head unit all the way to every amp…no change. Ran all power and ground from all components back to the battery. Tried grounding RCA’s. Tried GLI’s…nothing. Also switched out the amps, switched out eq’s (two different brands) even swapped HU’s….nothing has worked. The noise is still there.

I’m thinking of taking everything out and starting over or just taking it to the pro’s. and paying the $75/hr to find it.

Topside, how did you find that you needed to ground the HU chassis? What test did you perform?

Mikeski, the combiner is not like yours…I can’t recall the name but it’s an OEM part made for skier’s choice. I will look for setting on it tonite. The noise is present weather the combiner is connected or not.

Also I can even hear the fuel pump /pp turn on thru the speakers by just turning the key.
Old     (tparider)      Join Date: Aug 2003       08-10-2007, 8:37 AM Reply   
unreal
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-17-2007, 6:14 AM Reply   
I ended up taking my boat up to a local stereo shop I’ve used in the past that does a lot of boats……they spent 6 hours in my boat and can’t find the source of the problem. I’ve got roughly 15 hours in the boat and can’t find the problem either. The stereo shop confirmed all my findings…all amps are ok, HU is ok, eq’s are ok. I’m beginning to think that maybe it’s not a stereo issue but possibly something electrically has gone wrong with the boat. Is this even possible?

This noise was not their originally, but only appeared after I took the boat in for its 20/50 hour service? They did nothing out of the ordinary, but hook up the computer and clear a check engine code (low oil pressure).

I have a few options either rip everything out and start over or take it back to my dealer and ask them to see what they can find. While my dealer has great customer service their knowledge of boat stereos is lacking.

With how loud and annoying this noise is I would think that it would be an easy find. Any more suggestions?
Old     (wakeprodigy)      Join Date: Oct 2002       08-17-2007, 7:00 AM Reply   
Adam what are model #'s of your eq's. It sounds like your problem could be that your audio signal return (RCA ground) is tied directly to chassis ground (Battery ground). If your EQ's don't have an isolated on board power supply then this could definatley cause this type of behavior.

Tom
Old     (jlembas)      Join Date: Apr 2002       08-17-2007, 7:30 AM Reply   
Exactly what kind of noise are you hearing? Is it a whine or a fast paced ticking sound? We had a boat a few years ago that had a similar problem. Turned out it was the depth finder interfering with electronics.

Try unplugging devices (lights, gauges, etc) in your boat one at a time. Any electrical device is suspect in your case. Good luck and I understand your frustration.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-17-2007, 7:34 AM Reply   
Tom,

What is the fix? I am running two CLARION EQS746 eq's. I swaped out the clairon for two brand new eclipse 5 band eq's...same noise.

Fluid, I'm hearing a high pitched tone sound when the key is turned to the acc. postion then when the motor is started I can hear the alt. The nosie does get louder as RPM's increase.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-17-2007, 7:34 AM Reply   
Tom, my eq's are grounded directly to my battery. They are tied in with my radio ground.
Old     (wakeprodigy)      Join Date: Oct 2002       08-17-2007, 7:51 AM Reply   
Adam,
thoses EQ's have an isolated power supply, so that probably isn't your problem. Try disconnecting your head unit from your EQ's and running your Ipod into the Aux input. Do you still get the noise?
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-17-2007, 8:12 AM Reply   
Tom, I still get the nosie when I run the ipod thru the aux on the eq.

I do not get the noise if I run my eq directly into the amps.
Old     (wakeprodigy)      Join Date: Oct 2002       08-17-2007, 8:22 AM Reply   
ok, your last post confused me a bit as to what you were saying.

- you still had the noise when only running the ipod into the aux input of the eq. are you connecting the ipod via the headphone jack or the bottom connector on the ipod?

- you do not get the noise when your eq runs directly to your amps. Isn't this how you normally have it connected?

- Are you only getting the noise from one amplifier or all?

- with the engine off, run your blower. Can you hear a whine?

Let me know the answers to these questions and I'll give you something to try that I think might fix the problem.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-17-2007, 8:28 AM Reply   
If I run my eq using a 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA, I can plug it directly into one of my amps and get no noise.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-17-2007, 8:31 AM Reply   
- you still had the noise when only running the ipod into the aux input of the eq. are you connecting the ipod via the headphone jack or the bottom connector on the ipod? the headphone jack. I normally run my ipod thru the kenwood ipod "unit" that uses the bottom connector.

- you do not get the noise when your eq runs directly to your amps. Isn't this how you normally have it connected? I do get noise when the signal goes thru the eq

- Are you only getting the noise from one amplifier or all? I assume all, but two are for my mids/highs ( this is where I hear the noise) the other two are sub amps. I can't hear the nosie thru the sub amps ( crossover adn class d sub amp design)

- with the engine off, run your blower. Can you hear a whine? I will cehck this ( give me 15-30 min)...but my guess is I will get noise.


My next step is an inline power filter.
Old     (wakeprodigy)      Join Date: Oct 2002       08-17-2007, 8:41 AM Reply   
It sounds like there may be a break in your signal ground somewhere. If this is the case then we'll have to figure out what caused it to break.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-17-2007, 8:51 AM Reply   
By "signal ground" , you mean RCA ground, correct?

All my RCA's have tested fine ( zero resitance, and have been swapped with brand new RCA's)

How do I find the break?

Won't ground loop isolators fix this break? I have tried those to no avail.
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-17-2007, 12:57 PM Reply   
Run the ground for the EQ to an amp's ground input. Still has noise, solder a properly sized cap (50V 2000-22000uf) across the EQ power and ground leads.

(Message edited by olskooltige on August 17, 2007)
Old     (wakeprodigy)      Join Date: Oct 2002       08-17-2007, 1:07 PM Reply   
Signal ground = RCA ground
The break would most likely be either in your EQ or you HU. Since you said earlier that when you plug the HU directly into the amp there is no noise, I'm going to assume the problem is with the EQ. Unplug the RCA's from the EQ and measure the resistance between the RCA ground on the input of your EQ to the RCA ground of the output of the EQ. They should be connected.
Old     (jlembas)      Join Date: Apr 2002       08-17-2007, 1:54 PM Reply   
If you hear the noise while the engine is off, then you have some serious wiring/component issues. There is nothing to cause a high pitch noise when the boat is just in the accessory position unless you have a fan or pump running.

Have you tried to physically move the EQ's to a different location. Maybe they are picking up interference from other electronics. Or maybe the RCA's are too long and picking up the interference. My guess is that the problem is in your HU, but is just becoming more prominent with the addition of the EQ's.

I say get rid of all that junk and rock one of these things. No noise guaranteed!



Upload
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-19-2007, 10:58 AM Reply   
I'm going to pick up the boat today from the stereo shop...they have roughly 15 hours into trying to find the problem....they can't find the source of the problem. They are leaning towards a possible problem with the boats electrical system. I'm taking it back to the dealer and having them see what they can find.
Old     (chas)      Join Date: Feb 2002       08-19-2007, 11:52 AM Reply   
Adam
I'm thinking you need to bring it out to us, if nothing else we could always hit the Delta for a few days and get some water time.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-20-2007, 5:27 AM Reply   
Charles after all the time I've spent on this it may have been cheaper...lol

Before it goes to the dealer, everything is going to be removed and re-installed. Including all new RCA's. When a pair of RCA's off one of the sub amps was hooked up to an ohm meter , the meter went crazy and was going from 100 ohms to .3 to 80, then to 40...very strange readings...only on that pair.
Old     (tparider)      Join Date: Aug 2003       08-20-2007, 8:42 AM Reply   
that's crazy about the RCAs...
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 6:09 AM Reply   
Had everythign re-wired ( all new RCA's) this time by a local shop....the nosie is still there. I took it up to the dealer late last week.
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-27-2007, 6:25 AM Reply   
Try a cap (50V 2000-22000uf) across the EQ power and ground leads and see if it improves.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 6:55 AM Reply   
Steve, doesn't a power "choke" filter do the same thign as the cap? If so I have already tried that, across the power/ground for the HU and eq combined. I'm begining to suspect something had to have happened during my 20 hour service. I brought he boat in everything was fine...when I got it back the next time I started the motor the nosie was there.
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-27-2007, 7:37 AM Reply   
Power choke filter will do similar depending on the type. Some of the chokes are inline caps, some are coils, and some wire hot and ground with a cap and a reference. Most of the ones I have seen are coils (transformer) thereby only filtering out DC noise in the lines. If you are getting AC noise caused by voltage fluctuation from another component (like a fan, ignition, etc), the coil/transformer type is not going to remove. The cap across the power/ground works more like a power conditioner (similar to what you find in CPU power supplies or motherboards). There is a tech for Kicker that helps out with boat issues on tigeowners.com. He has been working with some builders to address the noise that seems to be more prominent in newer boats. Two of the noise suppression methods he has been having success with are caps parallel with power leads and grounding to the amplifiers to take advantage of the built in filtering.

Did you try grounding the HU and EQ to the Amp ground input?

I think a lot of boaters are having problems with the increasing number of electrical components in newer boats. What works for some doesn't always work for everyone so it is usually a try it til its fixed type deal. If you want to talk to the tech directly you can head over to http://www.wakeboatworld.com and post a question in the audio forum (it is limited on traffic as it is only a few weeks old). He responds in those forums. he may be able to offer some suggestions that have not been mentioned here.

(Message edited by olskooltige on August 27, 2007)
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 8:05 AM Reply   
steve thanks for the link I will try posting.
Do you have a link to the cap your talking about?
The dealer called and know the source of the problem is in the boat (the throttle body – when you disconnect the electronics to it everything is fine.) but point to the fact that no noise is coming thru the bow speakers (coming straight off the HU). I guess the problem has to be in the eq’s or one of the amps.The HU/EQ power ground is wired back to the same place the amps are power/grounded.
Old     (canecorso)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-27-2007, 8:11 AM Reply   
Hook up an oscilliscope to the power leads going to the eq or HU and see what the voltage is and/or how much noise is seen with the boat running. As stated by Steve a cap will help eliminate the high frequency wine that can be attribuited with "RF"

Also a good practice is to always run all power and ground leads as far away as possible from the RCA's (and as soon as possble when coming out of the deck), I have had this problem before and it went away by running them on the opposite side of the boat.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 8:14 AM Reply   
Can I put a cap inline on the main amp power/ground?
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-27-2007, 8:34 AM Reply   
The source unit probably has much better noise filtering that the EQ. Same as your amps.
The cap is one you can pick up in any electronics supply store. You want 50V and 2000-22000uf. Wire it in one leg on the power, and one on the ground. Might move the eq ground and place it directly on the amp ground input to try to get it to float there.

What are you looking to accomplish by adding a cap on the amp power?

(Message edited by olskooltige on August 27, 2007)
Old     (wakeprodigy)      Join Date: Oct 2002       08-27-2007, 8:36 AM Reply   
I assume that your EQ's have an input filter on the power lines to attenuate noise within the audio band. So, I'm not sure how much putting a capacitor from power to ground across your EQ will help. However, if the capacitor in the input filter went bad, then adding the capacitor to the power lines would help. It might be worth a shot to try. I've got some 1200uF, 16V caps at home that I can send down your way for testing. If this fixes the problem you would want to replace the capcitor with one that has a voltage rating of 24V or higher. Or, you could probably just head to radio shack and buy this.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102511&cp=2032058.2032230.203 2267&allCount=100&fbn=Type%2FElectrolytic+Capacito rs&f=PAD%2FProduct+Type%2FElectrolytic+Capacitors& fbc=1&parentPage=family

Make sure to wire the capacitor polarity correctly or else you will be hearing a loud "pop".
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-27-2007, 8:39 AM Reply   
Tom,
inline (series) cap does something completely different than a cap across power/ground leads. Inline cap helps eliminate turn on/off pop, and can remove some signal frequencies. A properly sized cap across the leads (parallel) will remove hissing and alt whine caused by "bleeding" of other components.

(Message edited by olskooltige on August 27, 2007)
Old     (wakeprodigy)      Join Date: Oct 2002       08-27-2007, 8:44 AM Reply   
Steve, I wasn't talking about inline (series) cap. I was talking about a cap across power and ground (shunt). I'm assuming the EQ has an C-L-C input filter with something like 220uF, 100mH, 220uF standard pi configuration to filter the power line. These caps in the input filter are shunt connected, not series.
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-27-2007, 9:05 AM Reply   

Cool. Reading through his post, I don't think his EQ has a filter box on it. If not, then getting rid of the fuzz coming off the throttle body circuit might be 5 minutes with an iron, a cap, solder, and some shrink away.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 10:35 AM Reply   
I follow the logic behind using a cap but how is it soldered into the power and ground of the eq's? The cap will have two leads off of it. Do I solder one lead into the positive and one into the ground? Does it mater where the cap goes inline?

Tom I sent you an email to your hotmail address.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 10:42 AM Reply   
Steve I hope your right...I've already spent a ton of time trying to figure out why this noise is in the stereo.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 11:03 AM Reply   
Steve by adding a cap inline on the amp wont; that reduce any noise coming in from the power/ground to them?

Ealier in the post I was sure the noise was coming from the eq, but when I disconect the eq from the entire sytem I still have noise. How would the cap on the eq help?

I need a way to filter all power/ground coming in to the stereo. My amps are directly connect ( fused power) to my batteries ( 2-6volts).
Old     (jlembas)      Join Date: Apr 2002       08-27-2007, 11:16 AM Reply   
Have you tried swapping out your head unit yet or trying a different brand? Is your head unit located near any other electronics or wires?
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 11:21 AM Reply   
I have swaped out HU's...the smae one. I have not tried a different brand. Ther are a few harnesses of wires within a few inches of the HU. I think the HU is ok, b/c the bow speakers are connected directly to the HU and they have no noise.
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-27-2007, 11:23 AM Reply   
Inline will not remove noise other than certain ranges and on/off pop when fitted with a transistor. You might need to add the cap/conditioner to more than one component. You should get in touch with the Kicker tech and he can tell you what results he has been getting recently.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 11:30 AM Reply   
Something else I noticed a few nites ago was the a very quite hissing sound coming from my tower and interior speakers with only power/ground and remote connected to them. No RCA connections. This was after the re-wire of everything.
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-27-2007, 11:38 AM Reply   
Yes....that would be normal.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 11:45 AM Reply   
steve I posted over on wakeboatworld as you suggested.
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-27-2007, 8:25 PM Reply   
My dealer has no idea where to go from here. There are going to call skier's choice in the morning. I did not get a chance to add any caps just yet...I did try a few more things, but the noise is still there.

I listened to another 22SSV in the shop (2007) and noticed a very faint noise identical to mine...I'm wondering if something got knocked loose while at the dealer for service?
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       08-31-2007, 5:30 PM Reply   
I think I've narrowed it down to something on the boat, the stereo is fine...so I think. Why? I totally isolated the HU/eq/amps on another battery and still got the noise! Someone told me to put a small battery powered a/fm radio in teh compartment...when the whole boat is off, and you turn the key to the right ( acc. postion) I can hear the high pitched tone thru the am/fm radio. It gets louder the close I get to the main groudn coming from the engine. I'm going to check the fuel pump next. I tightned the groudn earlier but the pum may be bad?
Old     (882001)      Join Date: Nov 2003       08-31-2007, 5:42 PM Reply   
http://www.stu-offroad.com/cb/cb_install-4.htm
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       09-06-2007, 6:33 AM Reply   
tried placing a cap in series on the fuel pump....no change. The fuel pump is bleeding noise thru the speakers ( while the key is in the acc position) but there must be something else bleeding noise too, b/c the noise doesn't go away with the cap on it. Skier's choice has been working with my dealer on trying to locate the source of the noise.
Old     (tparider)      Join Date: Aug 2003       09-06-2007, 9:04 AM Reply   
what a saga....
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       09-07-2007, 7:35 AM Reply   
Just got off the phone with my delaer. Skier's choice is out of ideas...allthey haev to say is they feel it is a bad ground somewhere on the boat. I'm in a tough situation, the boat is only 4 months old and this problem is ridiculous. No one seems to have an answer? Any ideas on what my next step should be?

I'm not confident in my dealer's ability to diagnose the problem.
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       09-07-2007, 8:45 AM Reply   
I think you need to take a drive to Stillwater, OK
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       09-07-2007, 8:57 AM Reply   
Steve...funny you say that. We're actually trying to work somethign out. either a you fly here or I drve there.

I'm almost to the point where I'm willing to fly someone out to Houston, and pay a "reward" to figure it out. On of those if you figure it out I'll give you $500, but if not you go home with zero.
Old     (clubmyke)      Join Date: Aug 2004       09-07-2007, 10:04 AM Reply   
adam,

sent you a message...
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       09-13-2007, 8:56 AM Reply   
ok, my dealer wants a second/third opinion. Anyone want to come to houston for a day/two. Here's the deal. Your flight is covered, we can work out a deal on your compensation. My dealer wants re-assurance that it's either a boat problem or stereo problem. This needs to be soemone from a stereo shop with credentials. I'm not asking for favors just an unbiased fresh set of eyes to look at it. The boat will be up at the dealers shop, but if need be I can probably get bay space at a local stero shop. The west coast installers haev alto mroe knowledge when it comes to boat stereo than anyone down here. At teh end of the day the ideal scenario this person will be able to tell me what is causing the noise and how to fix it. I know this is a crazy proposition but no one in Houston has been able to figure this out. PM or email me for details @ awcurtis@eprod.com
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       09-13-2007, 10:06 AM Reply   
Mike-SKI,Club-Mike,Clay & Me will come out and do a Over-haulin verison of your stereo LOL. This is how it will go. While the 2 Mike's fight over how a set of Wetsounds should be hooked up Clay and I will rip out all your stereo equipment and rat's nest wire. And throw everything from your old system into the Texas waters way's as a peace offering to the stereo god's hopefully this will give us good luck on the new install.

Then when your boat it totally gutted we will do a new install. Each day we will take pick's and ask for Wakeword advice on how and what to install. What ever Wakeworld says we will do. Example If Wakeworld says install 20 subs and a washing machine "We must do it" No questions asked.
Voting will be done on the front page like the current poll's are done now.

Just think about what we would end up with?

Just figure out how we are going to pay for everything and My bag's are packed.
Old     (c640947)      Join Date: Jan 2005       09-13-2007, 10:23 AM Reply   
how can they still need confirmation that it's the stereo when a portable radio set near the engine produce the same whine?
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       09-13-2007, 11:31 AM Reply   
Grant, no washing machines. Give me soem time on the "paying for it" part....

Andrew, I'm guessing before anything drastic is done they want more than one opinion from a professional shop. I'm done trying to hypothesize why all this is happening.
Old     (noti_dad)      Join Date: Jul 2003       09-13-2007, 11:54 AM Reply   
My boat could use that overhaul. How about a WW Pimp my Boat Stereo fund. If you vote what has to be used you need to donate to the fund. I'll buy your plane tickets, WW fund pays for the equipment, and you work for free. LOL!!!

oooooh just thought that since you're documenting it, maybe manufactuers would provide the equipment. ?? They do it on Overhaulin' all the time. hmmmmmmmmm, we might have something here.
Old     (jon4pres)      Join Date: May 2004       09-13-2007, 12:02 PM Reply   
Dave,

Except you have a nice new boat you need to Overhaul someone with an old boat. Like maybe an 82 correct craft with a blue stripe and homemade tower.
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       09-13-2007, 12:05 PM Reply   
Adam: Sorry the only advice I could offer right now was a little humor. Alternator whine is a pain in the A$$. I have had my share of it. Im 100% free of it now. I hate telling you to try this or that and having it not work. IMO alternator whine is not a Single one thing. Its not one product or one install tip that corrects or gets rid of it. Its a combination of many small things that all add up to a noise free system.

My tip's
#1 Balmar Alterantor
#2 Noise Supperssor at the power output of the alternator.(This coil piggy backs the Power Wire)
#3 A single High Quality 0-AGW Power wire running from the alternator directley to the battery bank
#4 A High Quality 0-AGW Ground wire running from the alternator's Ground directley to Motor and Motor supports. With a Clean solid connection
#5 A High Quality 0-AGW wire running from the Ground on the Motor and Motor supports to your battery.
#6 Try and run the Power and Ground wires from your Alternator away from any signal processor like a Amp or Head unit or RCA's
Take the power from your battery bank split it off and make a
power supply that powers all of your stereo equipment. I.E Head unit Eq's Ipod any thing that produces sound. It all pulls power ground and kick on from the same source. Use Bosch 40amp relays on the Power and Kick on.
This is how all the systems I have done are hooked up. The power ground and kick on are all sepperate from the boats stock wireing The Stereo system has nothing to do with the boats stock electrical. If your alternator is good and you hook it up the way I have decribed you will have no engine noise
Old     (olskooltige)      Join Date: Mar 2007       09-13-2007, 12:12 PM Reply   
He might in his case. His stereo was completely isolated in the boat and still had noise. On the bench it didn't. All the wiring, and all components were tested in and out of the boat and it made no difference. His boat is communicating with aliens through the tower I think.
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       09-13-2007, 12:27 PM Reply   
Not to be RUDE. But I have seen some picture of Adams wire job on his last boat and lets just say I wouldnt bet money that his problem is with his boat. Im betting its in the instalation. Where and what is anyones guess.

If you brought your boat to me I wouldnt touch it with a 10 foot pole unless your were willing to start from scratch. Thats the only way you could bet you were gonna have no noise. You could spend weeks trying to chase the noise down with no for sure you will fix it or you could spend the same amount or less time doing it the way I described and fix it and be back on the water.

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