I had a nice E4300 JL amp put in this morning, and only after I left the shop did I notice some high pitched noise coming off the speakers. I was in a hurry and couldn't go back.

Not only is it present at volume 0, but it changes and distorts with music from 1-40. Interestingly enough, the noise only happens when the radio is ON; however, when the radio is OFF, another noise comes on intermitently for about 2-3 seconds (like a whoop sound).

I noticed the guy in the shop put the ground wire together with what looked like the ground wire of the fuel pump (back of the the trunk, under all carpeting).

So the questions is:

Where should I put the GROUND wire of the amplifier? I would like to fix this myself as I left town and won't have the opportunity to go back to the shop until the 29th.

The amp is running:

Alpine Type R 6.5 components (sounds awesome with this amp)
JL 12W3v2 d2 sub (very very nice)

Thanks for your input!

 

So long as the ground is attached to a metal body part you should be fine. Just make sure there's no paint on the surface you are mounting to.

 

Well, that raises more questions then. What could be the source of the noises? It's not engine noise, since it's constant.

So complicated. :'(

 

could be the amp itself or maybe the RCA cables you are using. Are you using RCAs?? sometimes cheap cables can induce noise into your system.

 

They did use RCAs from the head unit to the amp. I guess I'll just wait until I can take the car to the store. I also noticed they ran the power cable right next to the audio cables. Didn't seem very smart to me, but what do I know. I'm not an electronics guru.

Anyone else notice how hot the stock amp runs? I checked on it while driving (traffic was horrible in LA) to see if moving the wires around did anything (not really), and the amp was too hot for me to touch. I turned the stereo off and tried again an hour later (more traffic) and it was just warm. I wonder if it's normal for it to be so hot. It's only running the rear door speakers now.

 

I noticed this morning the noise comes up when the engine is OFF also (stereo ON). Very odd!

Makes the ground issue almost irrelevant.

 

Having the power cables next to the audio cables won't make any difference because it's DC not AC power.

It sounds to me like there is something physically wrong with your amp.

 

you had trouble with installing the door speakers im assuming, as i too have just discovered the problem with my type r's fitting. how did you go about correcting this? sorry its a bit off topic

 

I do not have any hum after installing my amplifier, but I do hear the whine of the alternator (a little) when i rev up.

some ideas on how to reduce hum:

use high quality RCA cables.
Run your audio signals away from power cables, lines, etc in your car.
Ground to a good secure source, with plenty of contact surface to the frame of the car.

I ground my amp to the same ground as the fuel pump in the trunk. Depending on where you mount the amp, you'll need to mount to a different secure location. A small screw isn't going to cut it, you gotta use a ground bolt.

 

My amp is on the exact same ground you mentioned, using the screw that was there before.

I was looking through the connections on my new amp and noticed an RCA ground loop isolator (a really cheap one) just before the amp. I removed it from the RCA cable and all the noise went away, with the engine OFF. The radio sounds great!

However, with the engine ON, a substantial engine hum (including RPM) comes on the speakers. Seems like I need a "real" RCA filter. I'll see if I can find one tomorrow and if that solves everything. If not, I'll just wait to take the car to the shop. I did pay $120 in installation, so in reality it should be perfect already.

The RCA cable seems like reasonably gold plated ones, but they are definitely not shielded.

 

The shop that installed the speakers (different than amp) used an electric saw to cut away enough metal to fit them in. They also used a 1" plastic spacer. The plastic is thick and I get zero vibrations.

In fact, the doors no longer have rattles like I used to at high bass settings.

 

so how much was the fee to have them install it? and how long did it take?

 

I paid $60, and it took almost 5 hours. The guy had not worked in a TSX before, or any late model Acura; which didn't help at all. He openned things that... he didn't need. I.e. he took the right fan cover out to find access to the right tweeter. That took close to 20 minutes to put back in (it was useless). The first tweeter, he tried to cut the inner edge of the hole with a drill and 90deg tool (SIC) -- a razor works best and it's done in five minutes tops.

Today I noticed one of the crossovers seems to be bouncing (makes noise). It's the right one -- which is behind the glove compartment. He didn't tie it down (SIC)... I can't stand the noise and will try to fix it tomorrow. He didn't tie the other one down, either, but that made noises immediately and I had him fix it.

I highly recommend you find a shop with good traffic and experience! I went for a small local one because the price was very good ($185 for the type R). I also got the JL sub 12W3v2 for $145. Both were in closeout and I couldn't resist saving money and buying local.

I wish you the best of luck! The end result is worth it (the new speakers sound awesome). Just might take some days to get it right.


PS: The type S doesn't require any cutting. Highly recommend you look into those. They have better efficiency and probably sound the same (check store).