Car audio question

[Maxx Trooper]

I have a '93 Ford Probe and the other day i went to a place that i heard nothing but good things about, getting car audio systems installed and electronics and things. Well I was getting a Pioneer head unit, 1200 watt amp and a 600 watt subwoofer installed. I had all the stuff, it just had to be installed. i had a appointment at 1pm i got there at 12:45pm and the guy told me a guy called in sick, so they were running a little behind and my car should be done by 4:30pm. But when i scheduled the appointment it was suppose to take 2 hours and i should of been done by 3pm. well to cut the story short i didnt leave with my car until 6:45 pm. i was furious, here i just paid over $120 to have work done, when it was suppose to take 2 hours, it took almost 6 hours. I figured, ok i had to wait but it will be done and sound great. well was i wrong. i start the car up and start to drive home and there is this annoying buzzing sound coming from the speakers, all of them. so i called them up and they tell me in order to fix that i will need a ground kit, so now i have to go back and have them fix it.

so does anyone have any ideas about the buzzing sound coming through the speakers? Its fine when i have the key at ACC but once i start the car the buzzing starts, plus when i put my foot on either the gas, brake or clutch there is a pop and a louder buzzing sound. Any ideas about a way to fix this before i have to take my car back and have them fix it?


BTW the system sounds great when the key is at ACC, no buzzing sound, and it thumps, its great. just when i start the car up it starts to buzz.

thanks,
later

 

[Lessen]

well, I'm no expert but personally with 1200 watts I would invest in a capacitor. 1 farad would be ok, but another .5 farad would be optimum although not really necessary. Like I said I'm no expert so I really don't know what causes the noise but If I remember my old system my digital read cap read a little more when the engine was actually running versus whe it was just in accessory. Alot of people don't feel a capacitor is necessary at such levels but I feel that with all the electronics that cars have these days why not take a little precaution.

 

[jon2]

Does the buzzing sound like it increases when you accelerate? IF so YOu will need a better ground. I think somewhere someone offers a filter for your system but not too sure how that worked. I am sure that one of e the members here will help you out. I will look at your old thread of this car when you got it..

 

[vbgagnon]

Here is what you do. Make sure your ground from the battery is good. If you have to take the wires off and clean where they mount to the chassis. Next take the ground from the amp and clean that one up as well, and make sure the amp is not grounded to an existing screw. If you have to drill a new one be carefull. Sand the area surrounding the connection, and then put some silicone (to seal it) where there is bare metal both sides (inside and out)

If it is still buzzing you'll prob have to reroute wires. You don't want power wire to be next to wires that carry any kind of signal. ie rca wires and speaker wires. My rule of thumb is to pass them on opposite sides of the car.

Try the first step then go from there. Hope it helps.

 

[Rolex]

Does the pitch of it get higher when you accelerate? Not louder, but higher.
I ran into that some years ago and went nuts trying to isolate it.
Call Radio Shack. You need an in-line filter. I seem to remember it was about a $2 quick fix.

 

[Maxx Trooper]

thanks guys. yes the pitch does get higher as i accelerate. but wouldnt u think with the number of stereos they install in cars theywould know about this and fix it ahead of time? i think they are just trying to get some more $$ out of me.

Ill check the ground and if that doesn't fix it i will see if i can get a in-line filter from radio shack. only problem is my car is under atleast 3" of snow plus its sleeting out right now.

thanks,
later

 

[Diver6127]

It's probably in need of an inline noise filter. Also where do the wires pass on the vehicle? Electric fuel pumps will cause the buzzing sound as well. If all fails and you're at your witts end, train your mind to believe that the increasing buzzing noise is the whine of a super charger

Also, as lessen said, capacitors will really help. When you drive at night and crank the system, your lights will fade and brighten with the power drawn from the amp. Consider it an "overflow tank" for your car when amp draw is high from the system. Also, consider getting yourself the "Yellow Top" Optima battery. That's what my brother uses on his car. He's also doing 1500+ amps via 2 amps (one for the speakers and one for 3 10" subs in series).

 

[jon2]

I would consider it but having a family, I want to be able to hear them. A decent deck and speakers are all I need in my car...in my wifes car is a differnt issue. I am getting a TFT LCD's installed on the ceiling. Its a 12 " monitor and I am using the PS2 Slim version as the dvd and game console of choice.

 

[olds97_lss]

As for tue buzzing... I used to install car audio in my spare time for extra cash in college. I've only done about 30-40 systems ranging from $200 - $5000. Nothing fancy like molded boxes and motorized eq trays or anything, just good solid equipment for people with the lack of knowledge of wireing.

Ford alternaters are by far the noisiest I've come accross. For a 1200W amp, your going to need 2 or 3 of radio shacks large (high current) in line filters all wired in parrellel with each other or your not going to get enough current to run the amp appropriately.

The GM cars I did almost didn't need a filter of any kind, but every damn ford I worked on needed the crap filtered out of it.

Only one ford beat me, but it was the newest ford I worked on (1996 ford contour). It was my wifes car about 5 years ago. I had two 400 watt amps running the surround speakers (8 speaker hookup) and another 800 watt amp running two 10" subs in an isoberic box that I built to fit in the trunk.

No matter what I grounded, where I grounded it or what filter I used, I couldn't get the buzz out of the surround speakers. I was running kenwood amps, kenwood head unit, jbl subs and kenwood speakers on the front dash (2"), front doors (6"), rear doors (6"), rear dash (6"X9").

I've since dumped the subs and the high power amps for some lower power units with a filter going to each amp to make it go away. It sounded like a concert in that car, especially when you screwed with the surround processor... Now I don't have the car anymore and have since started this damn hobby...

 

[Maxx Trooper]

ok thanks guys, the wires run from the trunk down under the back seats, under the floor and come out in the center console. Because of my lack of knowledge about running of the wires, I'm just gona have the professionals do it even if it takes hours cuz i always tend to short cut things and i dont wanna screw this up any worse then what it is. luckily i got a appointment saturday at noon to have the buzzing fixed and I'm gona have them by-pass the factory amp cuz its causing the front speakers to blare and the rear sub to be kinda quiet. Ill check into the capacitors and the yellow top battery. I was thinkin about that the other night with the power drain thing. o yea, the power line for the amp runs right past a electric pump going to the battery

later

 

[4u2nv]

I have installed ALOT of stereos and it could be one of two things. Its definatly your ground. Either your ground wire is to small (What guage whire ya got?) or you just got a bad ground, which is a VERY simple fix. !st your ground wire should be NO longer than 18 inches. So follow it back to where it is, if its over 18 inches, shorten it. Then find a spot where its metal, sand the paint of to expose bare metal, and bolt it on. If after this you still have probs, try a bigger guage of wire. I damn near gurantee if you do these steps itll fix it. Good luck and keep us posted.

a capasitor is just a voltage regulator and a voltage storage spot. Its basically just so your lights dont dim to the beat of your music, and that your car battery doesn't die. I had 3800 watts in a competition car I had with no capacitor. They actually HURT your Db's but is good to have in a daily driver vehicle. There just good to have if you listen to your radio alot without the car runnin.

What kind of equipment ya runnin? Like what brands? Just curious.

 

[Maxx Trooper]

hey guys got my stereo system fixed today, took it up to the guy, took him 15 min to ground it out, charged me $15. but thats only part of the story, the real story was gettin there. There was a big storm that hit NY this morning around 7-8 this morning and my appointment was at 12. i knew the roads were probly gona be bad so i left early well the roads were worse then what i thought. it too me a hour to get to the audio place when it usually takes me 20 min. nothing had been done to the roads, they didnt plow, sand or salt. now keep in mind i wouldnt mind if i had a SUV or a truck, but i have a 93 Ford Probe which is about 4" off the ground so i was gettin pulled around, fishtailin. i had 4 cars behind me so i pulled off at this rest top and let them go by me, well a mile up the road a car that i let go by my missed a turn and ended up in the ditch, some women. i seen about 3 cars off the road in the ditch, thats why u have to drive according to the road conditions, i dont think i got up to 40mph, and i was on main roads the whole time. well ne ways my system sounds great now no static.

My subwoofer i got from Pepboys, 2 10" subs in a box, 600 watts combined. Pioneer cd player i think the DEH-16, Xtreme 1600 watt amp, and a Legacy 1000 watt amp wiring kit. Its not all name brand stuff, but hey it thumps more then other peoples systems. i have about $300 in the complete system. It still has the stock speakers and the factory amp wasn't by-passed. So sometime this month I'm gona make another appointment and have all the factory speakers replaced the the factory amp by-passed. anyone have any suggestions on what to replace my factory speakers with? i think the guy said they are 5 X 10 but i havent seen any 5 X 10 speakers for sale. maybe he said 4 X 10?

later

 

[Rolex]

If you turn it up and stand outside the car, and you can see your windows move to the beat, you have a good system. If the windows move on the car parked NEXT to you, you have a GREAT system.
Just don't come within 3 miles of me.

 

[Team 17]

More than likely they are 6 x 9. I'd use the Sony Explodes 3 way. I have mine hooked up to a 400watt amp and they hit nicely. Not expensive neither.

 

[joneser4u]

You have a 400 watt amp on a pair of 6x9? Sony 6x9?

 

[4u2nv]

Id just stay away from Boston speakers.. I havnt had any good luck with them. For 6x9's Id go with Infinitys, or Eclispse. Pioneer actually makes some decent 6x9's also. There a good bang for the buck. Audio stuff is a prime example of ya get what ya pay for though, so keep that in mind. Glad to hear ya got your system fixed and ya made it home ok.

 

[kwong2001]

If you turn it up and stand outside the car, and you can see your windows move to the beat, you have a good system. If the windows move on the car parked NEXT to you, you have a GREAT system.
Just don't come within 3 miles of me.

lol, with my system, I can turn it up all the way, stand outside, and I can hardly tell i have a system, even with the windows down. I've had my system tested at 137db with my current speaker setup of 2 12's and a 500w amp running on a stock headunit (i've now got a pioneer deh8500). The big thing for killer bass is sound deadening and a good box.

This's what my system did to my mirror

 

[Team 17]

You have a 400 watt amp on a pair of 6x9? Sony 6x9?

Yes I do. Of course I don't turn the volume to the max.

 

[Maxx Trooper]

If you turn it up and stand outside the car, and you can see your windows move to the beat, you have a good system. If the windows move on the car parked NEXT to you, you have a GREAT system.
Just don't come within 3 miles of me.

I can turn my system up to 26, the volume, the highest i have gotten it is 18, its that loud. when i drive around i usually keep it around 3-4 just so i can hear my radar detector if it goes off. I can hear my system a block away turned up to 18 with the windows up, u can hear the music crystal clear. I will have to try and see if my windows beat... hmm... can u say hearing aid? lol.

Thats nuts that ur mirror came off ur window. sittin in the front seat of my car, with a rap cd in, and having the bass turned like 3/4 of the way up, and the volume at 15, its like getting a massage. Then if u are seating in the back seats where the sub woofers are, its nuts. Just it hurts ur ears a bit. lol.

Once i get the money from my Sportmaxx i sold for $300, I'm gona get some 250 watt tweeters, by-pass the factory amp, and replace all the factory speakers with something with 150-300 watts each, whatever fits.

later

 

[nitro13]

got my system in not real long ago 2 10" orion c subs powered by a memphis mc-250d amp in sealed box,sound nice but once you turn it up rattles the car.Added some dynamat trunk still rattles got to add one more layer to fix it.


nitro13,