Feedback Noise

[chrisk]

Hey I know next to nothing about Audio stuff, so I'm sorry if I'm not able to provide much detail here.

My problem is that I'm encountering quite a bit of feedback static when the stereo is on, through all of the speakers. The feedback is always there when the engine is running, and it gets louder when accessories such as pumps are flipped on. I was just wondering what some common causes of this would be?

My system consists of 4 boat speakers, 2 tower speakers, Alpine head, 12 in sub, one 4 channel amp for the speakers, one 2 channel amp for the sub, and the Krypt 4200 EQ. Thanks for the help!

[haugy]

I am no stereo guy, so I'm guessing here.
But I think interference has to do with a bad ground, or your wires are too close to a power wire. But what the hell do I know?

[WakeSurfCanada]

I am no stereo guy, so I'm guessing here.
But I think interference has to do with a bad ground, or your wires are too close to a power wire. But what the hell do I know?

So many potential culprits in this type situation.

In the 12v industry it is referred to as "engine noise"

I would start off by cleaning up call you ground connections on your amps, EQ and headunit. Make sure there is no rust or corrosion present.

Check all your connections on the alternator as well, make sure they are clean an without rusty or corrosion.

From there I would make sure that you RCA's are zip tied (as much as possible) away from any power sources, specifically the ones running to you amp.

If neither of these options help, then its just going to be a process of elimination.

Start by having all your audio RCA's unplugged (even take the WS420 our of the equation, to see if it makes a difference. Then hook the RCA's back up one at a time see if there is one specifically that is giving you the issue.

Lastly if you do find one that is the culprit try routing it elsewhere away from other power sources.

Here is another option as well. In the industry it is considered somewhat of a "band-aid" to the situation vs actually finding the route of the problem, but it would be a "ground loop isolator" and would basically go in-line with your RCA's. They can be purchased at just about any car audio shop for 15-30 bucks, obviously you get what you pay for in terms of quality and performance.

Hope this helps, I know its a bit of a run around, but engine noise can come from so many different sources its a matter of breaking it down to figure out the main source of it.

Cheers,

[chrisk]

Yeah I figured there were a lot of possibly causes.. I'll try investigating where I have my power sources running and see if I can find a new direction for those, then move onto the process of elimination with the RCA's. Thanks for the help.