Horrible engine noise

[2.3 Evo 8]

My friend picked up this mustang with a $30,000 system in it and it has horrible engine noise when you turn on the radio.

Who should he take it too to fix this problem?

[southside]

What does the engine noise sound like? Systems drag alot of juice which could be causing engine noise

[patrick4588]

having improper settings on your head unit can cause some noise.

[patrick4588]

so will having a bad ground on the head unit or amp. running cheap rca cables or having them close to the power wire will cause noise. there are lots of variables to check. if you dont want to do it yourself, just take it to any audio shop

[BanginJimmy]

What does the engine noise sound like? Systems drag alot of juice which could be causing engine noise


WHAT?!?!?!?





Could be a bad ground on any of several components. Some type of ground loop can also cause it. Cheap RCA's too close to a main power wire can cause noise.

[Z0_o6]

$30,000 system... i would think with that kind of investment it would be installed and set up properly to avoid any interference.

[sina518]

traffic jams inn buford, they built the car

[patrick4588]

last car i had to fix with static was because of improper settings on the amp. they had the gain on the components turned up waaaay to high and you could hear static with the volume all the way off. backed the gain off and retuned it, works perfect now. this was with the car off as well.

[sina518]

engine noise can be alot of things not always the install, sometimes it is a bad RCA, could be a bad ground, a bad radio. we had a car that came in and had horrible engine noise and we did everything, but it didnt go away until we changed the pioneer radio and put a panasonic in, no more noise, not to say panasonic is better because i have had engine noise with a panasonic aswell. a quick fix would be to put ground loop isolators, but i do not reccomend that for the mustang because it has soo many amps and thats a lot of isolators...

[SuperBox]

I used to work at Traffic jams and the common thing that I ran in to with fords was the factory ground was not good to start with. We started to run a ground 4g to og wire from the neg terminal from battery to the chasis. Also. ford uses a lower voltage signal for the amp turn on wire, so you have to put a resistor in line to do away with pops. Recheck your grounds. That is where I would start.

[sina518]

on that mustang wires were ran from the door straight to the amps, the factory amp was taken out because it was not running anything

[Vuongy_Dong]

make sure that the rca wires are not ran together with the power cable. i always run the power wire on one side of the car and the rca on the other. grounding is the main culprit on engine noise.

[sina518]

their is a seperate battery in the trunk that runs the amp's, not ran with the rca's

[BanginJimmy]

their is a seperate battery in the trunk that runs the amp's, not ran with the rca's

I have a strange feeling that tracking down that noise is going to be a cast iron bich.

[b@d @pple]

if it has a pioneer deck in it..start there..if not ,get rid of the bull**** amps,and if that dont work burn it to the ground..

[b@d @pple]

just ****in around..here ya go



Level 1: Check out the Amplifier(s)
------------------------------------------

After you have determined that there is noise in the system, determine
if the amplifier is causing the noise. To do this, mute the signal at
the inputs to the amp by using shorting plugs. If there is no noise,
then the amp is fine, and you can proceed to level 2. However, if
there is noise, then use a test speaker at the amp's output. If this
stops the noise, then the problem is originating in the speaker wiring,
or the passive crossovers. Check to make sure that none of these are
shorting with the body of the car, and start again at level 1. If
noise is still present when using the test speaker, then there may be a
problem with the power supply on the amp. Try connecting an isolated
power supply - if this does not get rid of the noise, then there is
something seriously wrong with the amp, and it should be replaced. If
the noise goes away, then there may be a problem with power supply
filtering or isolation. This can be fixed by changing the amp's ground
point or by adding external supply filtering.


Level 2: Reduce the System
---------------------------------

The amps have been determined to be noise free. If you have any
processors between the head unit and the amps, disconnect them and
connect the head unit directly to the amp. If this gets rid of the
noise, then one (or more) of the processors must be at fault, so
proceed to level 5. Otherwise, try running the signal cables over a
number of different routes. If you are able to find one that does not
produce any noise, permanently route the cables in the same manner, and
proceed to level 5. If not, then you must isolate the head unit from
the car's chassis (except for its ground!) - don't forget to disconnect
the antenna, since it is also grounded to the car. If isolating
the head unit does not solve the problem, the move the grounding point
of the head unit. Hopefully the noise will be gone, and you can
install the head unit with a quiet ground and proceed to level 5,
otherwise go on to level 3.


Level 3: Move the Head Unit
----------------------------------

The amplifiers are fine, but moving both the ground for the head unit
and the signal cables does not solve the noise problem. Take the unit
completely out of the dash, and put it on either the seat or carpet,
and run new signal cables to the input of the amp. If this solves the
problem, re-install the head unit, one step at a time and skip to level
5. But if the noise persists, then move the head unit as close to the
amp as possible and use the shortest possible signal cables. This will
verify that the original signal cables are not causing the problem -
assuming the noise is gone, reinstall the head unit one step at a time
and go to level 5. Otherwise, there may be a problem with the power
filtering for the head unit. As with the amps, power the head unit
with an isolated power supply (again making sure that the head unit
isn't touching the car's chassis at all). If the noise goes away, you
can add power supply filtering or an isolated power supply; go to
level 2. But if the isolated power supply does not solve the problem,
then you can either replace the head unit and go to level 2, or check
the car's electrical system in level 4.


Level 4: Testing the Car
-------------------------------

There does not seem to be a problem with either the head unit or the
amplifier, and the car's charging system is suspect. To see if this is
the case, we can use a system in a car that is already known to be
"quiet." Bring both cars together as if you were going to jump one,
and use jumper cables to connect the two batteries. Start the engine
of the car with the noise problem, and listen to the "quiet" car's
system. If the noise does not go away, there is a SERIOUS problem with
your car's electrical system (possibly a bad alternator). Have a
qualified mechanic check the charging system out. If there is no noise
in the "quiet" car, then the "noisy" car's charging system is
definitely quiet, so continue with level 5.


Level 5: Adding Signal Processors
-----------------------------------------

We have proven that the amplifiers are good, the head unit is good, and
the car's electrical system is good. Now we need to reconnect each
signal processor. Repeat this level for each signal processor used in
your system; if you have added all of your signal processors, and
there is no longer any noise, CONGRATULATIONS! You've removed the
noise from your system! Connect the signal processor. If there
isn't any noise, then go on to the next signal processor. Otherwise,
try re-routing the signal cables. If this cures the problem, then route
them permanently over the quiet path, and install the next processor.
If not, then isolate the processor from the car's chassis except for a
single grounding point. If this works, then permanently isolate the
processor, and move on to the next processor. If isolation does not
help, then advance to level 6.


Level 6: Processor Isolation Tests
------------------------------------------

Now, noise enters the system when one particular processor is
installed, but regrounding it does not help. Move the processor very
close to the amp, and check for noise again. If there isn't any, then
re-install the processor, carefully routing the cables to ensure no
noise, and continue at level 5 with the next processor. Otherwise, use
an isolated power supply to power the processor, making sure that no
part of the processor is touching the car's chassis. If this solves
the problem, then consider permanently installing an isolated power
supply or possibly a 1:1 transformer, and go to level 5 with the next
processor. Otherwise, separate the processor and isolated power supply
from the car by many feet and re- test. If there is still noise, then
there is a serious problem with the processor's design. Get a
different processor, and continue at level 5 with it. If separating
the power supply and processor from the car does solve the noise
problem, then either the processor is damaged, or your tests were
inaccurate. Repeat level 5.

[myyellowspec]

Wow ^^^ very nice. A if I spent $30,000 on a system my car would fly and it certainly would not have engine noise. If this is a real question you should tell your friend to kill himself for wasting so much money for a poorly installed system.

[2.3 Evo 8]

Thanks BAD@PPLE.



If this is a real question you should tell your friend to kill himself for wasting so much money for a poorly installed system.

He didn't waste anything. He bought the car with the system already installed moron.

[sina518]

If this is the Mustang that was done by/R2B2/Traffic jams the system was never completed. the lady couldnt pay her balance off their for it never got finished

[2.3 Evo 8]

If this is the Mustang that was done by/R2B2/Traffic jams the system was never completed. the lady couldnt pay her balance off their for it never got finished


Everything is being finished now. Do you recall what was lacking "system wise" that needed to be finished for the stereo.

We can take it to PM's if you like.

[sina518]

honestly dont remember i just know it wasnt complet because she wanted the car at daytona spring break nationals and everything got rushed and by the time she got back and put it back in the shop for it to be complete she didnt have money to pay it off so it sat there

[myyellowspec]

So the entire car was $30,000? Or did your "friend" get like 15 tv's in their bumper and a wheatgrass juicer in the trunk lolol. "You've got to pimp my riiiidde" hahahahahaha.

[sina518]

the whole car was rebuilt from the ground up the only thing stock is the shell and the frame

[b@d @pple]

still a mustang

[sina518]

^^^^ i agree, but for the price it got sold for cant really complain

[b@d @pple]

well considering im not privied to that info i wouldnt know

[2.3 Evo 8]

Crack rock prices.