danmm7

iTrader: (1)

Hello,

I posted about this a couple of weeks ago and i am still struggling with it. I am running out of ideas and I need help with this install.
Here is the problem... and sorry for the long post.

Car is 2004 TSX with Navi & AT. I am trying to install and XM radio receiver (RoadyXT) and i am using a Honda Adapter to do a direct connect to the head unit. The install of the Honda adapter went smooth and i have a perfectly well working AUX input. (Using the CD/AUX button on the HU)
I tested with an iPod and the sound is great. So, now I want to use the same input to connect an XM radio. Should be simple, right?

I ran all the necessary wiring for the XM and i decided to use the secondary cigarette lighter plug under the arm rest to get power from. This is where it all started. As soon as plugged the power source to the XM radio I could hear a lot of static. Engine was not even running but the car was on “on” position, obviously to power on the HU/Navi, etc.
With the engine running, the noise gots slightly worse, but either way – the static noise was very disturbing at almost any volume. Running the engine or not – not a huge difference.

I tried a “Ground loop insulator” from Radio Shack and I had very limited success. I got less noise but it was still very obvious and disturbing even at half volume – not acceptable at all. Plus, with it, I started to hear some whine from the engine as RPM went up.

I tried something else, kind of extreme – I ran extension cord from the car battery all the way to the XM adapter and I still got the same noise – with the engine ON or OFF.

Here is the interesting part… I ran an extension cigarette lighter cord from another car (Nissan Maxima), plugged the XM radio as it is in the Acura to the extension cord and I got perfect sound. No noise, no static.
Just to confirm, I also ran a power cord from the garage to the Acura and used a “home kit” power adapter for the XM radio – again, no noise – just perfect sound.

Looks like my Acura TSX, somehow, generates a lot of noise. Not sure how and why but at this point, I do not know what to do. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Please help!

peter_bigblock

This sounds similar to the sound I'm getting from my amp and speaker install. Using a mercman harness to go from the head unit to amps in the trunk, I get a crackly-static shrill tone through the tweeters that doesn't go away no matter what I try. I'm beginning to think the TSX just generates noise, but I know others have done all kinds of amp/stereo upgrades with zero noise.

Ugh. Did you figure anything out?

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

Unfortunately, i have not found a solution to my problem.
I tried a lot of things, including the ground loop protector from Radio shack, better cables, direct connection to the battery, a new XM radio (different brand) you name it...... i still get the noise - engine running or not running - it's there.

I am not really sure what else i can do. The XM radio sits in the car but it cannot be used because of "noisy" power source.

ANY fresh ideas will be welcome. I am stuck. It looks like our TSX generates some electrical noise, somewhere. It could be comming from the NAVI unit or something else that is "on" when i turn the key to "acc" position. The alternator cannot be blamed because i do get the noise when the engine is off.

pwvdeluxe

I have been driving myself insane with almost the SAME problem, so I was relieved to see it wasn't just me. Unfortunately I have no solution. I've been puzzled that I don't get the interference when using an Ipod or my phone, but I do get it using an XM radio. I thought maybe I had a bad wire on my antenna that was causing it, but I tried a new one and it did nothing to help. Mine is a 2004, I bought it with an aux hookup that was to be used with an Acura/Honda CD changer, but I use it for aux. Because mine is '04, it doesn't have XM built in, so I'm stuck. Would love advice on this. I considered buying the XM aftermarket device that plugs directly into your car stereo's FM, so it uses the FM antenna for XM. Of course, I assume that prevents me from using FM in the future, but I am not too worried. I wonder if this could fix the problem?

bucsteve

try re-grounding where it is bare metal with no paint and new sources for 12v

rattmann316

never use a cigarette lighter ground. if POSSIBLE use the radio's ground to eliminate a ground loop. other than that you can just try to reground it somewhere substantial.