So I finally got things 100% wired and properly installed my subwoofer box, but now I have grounding problems

I have alternator whine when the radio is off or on. I think it's possible that it is being caused by a bad ground on my BALUN. However, I have a bit of a dilemma about fixing it. I know that it's good to keep grounds as short as possible. I've also heard that it's best to ground everything to the same location.

If I were to ground the balun to the same spot as the amp I would end up with a 6 foot (18awg) ground wire. Should I just attempt to make a better ground connection where it's already grounded, or should I move it to the same ground as the amp?

Also, I am interested in trying to improve my (factory) head unit's ground. Does anybody have experience with doing that?

Is it time to nominate me for longest install ever??

 

Lemme ask you this, because I had a similar issue. when the head unit is off, are your amps off as well? I thought i may have had a ground issue as well, until i took the amps out after an accident, and still had alternator whine. Therefore, I knew mine was coming through the speakers wires or crossovers. I vaguely recalled someone a while back saying not to put crossovers there. My crossovers were in the center console. I moved one of them, and no more whine. May not be your problem, but just a thought.

 

My amps are on whenever the car is on. They have to be that way so the navi voice works.

I had everything set up before with the BALUN in a different location and there was no whine. I believe this whine is either because I moved the ground and I'm getting a loop or because I'm using multiple grounding points instead of one.

 

http://www.termpro.com/articles/noise.html
try that site. it might be helpful
i have my ground on the bolt that hold the lower back seat cushion down.

 

gotcha, yeah, forgot about the nav voice. I think you'd be OK with a long ground cable on the balun. At least worth a shot.

 

Hey Max, with my active BALUN, mercman explicitly instructed to NOT ground the balun on the same bolt as the amp

I don't know why he would say this, but so far his expertise on this forum is second to none. Also, I followed your lead and grounded my 4 gauge wire to the bolt under the seat after scraping all the paint off. I, too, have alternator whine as of now (with no BALUN, and same grounding point), but once I get my new balun i'm hoping it will subside.

JUST FYI, since we have the same grounding point. My alternator whine is only with the headunit on...and since you did your remote turn on a little bit different...that means it either has something to do with our ground spot or your balun ground...because with my HU off I get nothing.

 

Thanks michep, that's really good to know. The spot where I grounded the balun is going to take the removal of 10 screws to get to, so checking the ground strength under the rear seat (which is still off) will be much easier. Hopefully this will be an easy fix.

Interesting that mercman said not to ground to the same point. I'm sure he's right though, and I do recall him saying something similar to me. At one point he had me ground my other accessories to the ground terminal of the amp. Is that the way I should still be making my ground connection? If not, what should be together and what should be separate and where should I ground things to?

Essentially I have 4 things that need to be grounded: the amp, JL unit, BALUN, and remote delay circuit

Right now the amp is grounded to the chassis, and the JL unit and remote delay are grounded to the amp's terminal. The BALUN is the only piece that's grounded at a separate location. Before moving the BALUN and it's ground I didn't have a whine.

 

just make sure the ground for each is a good one. scrape the paint off to expose the metal. you don't need to run everything to the same point. also, keep your power and signal wires at least 18" aprt(pref. on seperate side of car). If it still whines then get a new battery, but most likely its a weak ground.

 

Hi Max,
You can ground your JL and the Active BALUN to the amp ground terminal (on the amp). You can also ground the JL and Active BALUN next to the power amp ground on the chassis. The thing I want you to avoid is using the chassis ground bolt for grounding the JLs and the BALUN. A big reason for this is mechanical; you will not be able to make a good tight amp ground with the small and large wire on the same bolt.

jeff

 

Thanks Jeff, I guess I'll move the balun ground to the same spot as the others on the amp terminal. I thought I was doing a smart thing by shortening the ground on the balun but it looks like I just created more work for myself

Also Jeff, I read something on another site about extending the head unit ground to the same grounding point as the rest of the equipment. Is that rubbish? I am going to put my center console back in today so this is my last chance to easily extend the head unit ground. The reason I ask is because I am still getting a pop when I first turn the car on. Do you feel that the head unit ground is the reason I'm still getting a pop when I first turn the car on?

 

Max,
Do you mean that you get a POP when you start the engine or when you first move the key from off to Acc? Radio On/off or doesn’t mater?

As far as extending the HU ground it won’t mater since the interconnect is balanced and doesn’t reference ground. The other devices connected to the HU (Navi, BT, IPODs, video gadgets) need to all be tied to the same good ground. Fixing and/or improving the grounds for these devices is important. Without actually having your car I can’t say what is a good ground and what isn’t.
jeff

 

I'm not sure what happens if I just turn the car from off to ACC, I'm leaving work soon so I'll check it out when I get in my car.

If I get into the car, turn on the engine, and turn on the radio, THEN I get the pop. If I turn the radio on and off after that there's no pop. Also, if I turn the car on and the radio is already on (due to leaving it on the last time I turned the car off) I get the pop as the car is starting up. I figured it was some sort of charge buildup due to a bad ground. What do you think it is?

 

So I just took things apart again and moved the ground. The alternator whine seems to be gone now

I still have the pop, but that's a much smaller issue

Thanks