New Radio installed :)

[liquidtiger720]

So, thanks to Scott H. I've got my new radio installed, well at least working.

So, everything works fine, fade, balance, etc...cept I have some hideous static.

Whats up with that? Did I do some bad connections with my butt splices? - I used a harness and used butt splices to hook them up.

Or, is there something else I am missing?

[BigKriss]

show us some pics!

[peks]

is the static with just radio or just cd? or all the time?

[liquidtiger720]

its all the time

[kyleN20]

iv found you can attribute that to no connecting the ground wire, would like to see pics

[SRR2]

There are many ways to install a radio the wrong way. Perhaps you chose one of them. You will have to be very specific regarding what you connected to what, radio -> car, if you expect to get any worthwhile suggestions.

[liquidtiger720]

Hmm...mkay

Well, basically...I bought a harness which connect to the car, and then used butt connectors to connect those to the harness from the jvc unit.

The pwr antenna/remote pwr had some kind of plug on it, so I cut if off and used the butt connector to connect it to the wire coming from pin # 16.

Other than that...all I did was connect wires to thier respective mates. I used an antenna adapter, which also fit.

So, today...I have a lot less static, but its still there.


If I can be more elaborate about how I wired them up, let me know.

[kyleN20]

ground wire, did you mention if you connecter your, i know it seem simple but i nkow that was my problem.

[liquidtiger720]

F' me.... now nothing works?!?!?!?!

I went to go take pictures....and now I'm not getting any power to the unit? It only works/turns on when I want to eject the cd? It looks like the red wire...got slightly cut when I was pushing the unit into the socket.


It does seem like if the ground wire is moved, the static goes away...yes, the ground wire is connected.

[liquidtiger720]

okay, nvm. The fuse blew... :(

Anyways...I still have a slight static/whine at low volume...any tips?
the stereo is grounded, unless there is a second ground that I don't know about.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/liquidtiger720/IMG_0645Large.jpg

[Incantation]

does the whine increase in pitch when you increase your rpm? if so you have a power wire too close to a speaker line and it's picking up the alternator.. isolating the wires from eachother will fix it

[liquidtiger720]

does the whine increase in pitch when you increase your rpm? if so you have a power wire too close to a speaker line and it's picking up the alternator.. isolating the wires from eachother will fix it


negative. its pretty constant as far as I can tell.


what is a good way to isolate the wires from each other?

[BMWDriver]

I also get static, but at high volume levels, and only when the engine is running. My HU ground is connected to the ground wire (brown) of the stock setup. Should I try to ground the HU to the frame instead ?

[liquidtiger720]

I also get static, but at high volume levels, and only when the engine is running. My HU ground is connected to the ground wire (brown) of the stock setup. Should I try to ground the HU to the frame instead ?


haha. Mine is opposite, It eventually gets drowned out by the volume of the sounds + engine.

Mine is also grounded by the stock setup.

[Incantation]

well.. depends how you set up the stereo.. if it's just a head unit install chances are the problem is something else

but if you're running RCAs back to an amp or two in the trunk.. the only true way to get rid of all noise FOR SURE is to run it through the center console.. which is a huge pain in the ass

on my setup i ran them under the carpet on the drivers' side .. 3 sets of RCAs at that and i don't experience any line noise as long as i make sure to keep them away from the other wires down there and under the back seat. chances are if you have amps you will be running the RCAS and the power wires through the bottom of the ski port.. if you do this make sure they aren't close

[liquidtiger720]

Yup, HU install only :(.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to live with it.

[Paul in NZ]

Have you checked out E34 .net,and double checked the attenae power thingy....

[Johntee540]

When I do installs of radios and such - I try to solder all the connections. IMHO I find that Butt Splices can be the culprits for the symptoms you decribe. If you dont get them perfect the wires can move inside the splice. - JT

[SRR2]

There's a potential problem using modern radios with differential (ungrounded) power outputs with the common-ground speaker wiring in the older cars. In all honesty, I don't know what you have in your '95, though I'm pretty sure that you have the newer style rectangular radio interface plug.

If you can determine whether the car uses the external trunk-mounted amp AND has the common-ground radio outputs (which is the way it's arranged i think) then you CAN NOT use the (-) outputs from your new head unit. You MUST leave them disconnected and DO NOT connect them to ground. It's possible that the "static" you're hearing is actually the protection circuitry in the power output stages kicking-in to protect those improperly grounded outputs. Or not.

[pundit]

It's funny how unwanted electrical noise and car audio seem to still be an ongoing problem that shouldn't be if car audio manufacturers designed their gear to suit the environment most people use it in.... the car!

Pre outs fitted to many head units are supposed to be there to enable you to use higher power better quality amps. As the amps usually reside in the rear that means 10-15' of 'unbalanced' low level signal just ripe for picking up all kinds of noise on it's merry way to the amp/s. There a several ways to attempt to overcome this.

1. Experiment with various, routing, shielding and ground techniques until the noise is reduced as much as possible. (usually not completely)

2. Reduce the cabling distance by locating everything in the rear using just a controller up front (Car PC for example)

3. Use balanced lines (http://www.nullmodem.com/Audio.htm#BalancedLines) (noise cancelling) between HU and crossover/amps (common in sound reinforcement - not in car audio)

4. Use a spdif digital (Optical is better) link between front and rear.

The last option is theoretically the best and, although a few high end HU's and amplifiers/crossovers have this feature, it does require more complicated volume control to ensure maximium sound quality at all levels. This needs to be done back the amps/crossover etc. using conventional analog level control, not digital. The catch with altering the volume digtally is because that at anything other than maximum volume you actually lose digital sound data as the volume is reduced.

If you begin with 16bits of data at maximum 'digital' level, the act of digitally turn it down results in progressively reducing the bit depth or throwing data away. Now I'm sure many are thinking this is not a good thing but if you listen to MP3's you are already throwing away about 90% of the data anyway. ;)

As for the static however, the marketing people know that a 3D technicolor display will nearly always win out over digital or balanced outputs!