Your car stereo is a constant companion while traveling about. A car stereo making whining noise means you have to turn your radio off or live with annoyance. The sound of screeching on your drive to work is no way to start the day. If this sounds like your situation, you need a solution to this problem, and it is easier than you think.
Car stereo making whining noise
A common occurrence in aftermarket car stereo systems, whining most often comes from an improperly grounded wire. There are many wires to check where you may be getting the whining, eliminating the most obvious, first, may save some time. The key is understanding the whine is caused by a poor earth or an alternator. This will help you understand what is necessary to fix it.
What is alternator whine?
Alternator whine is caused by a difference in voltage (electrical potential) between two connection points. The voltage disparity can be due to an improperly grounded alternator, radio, or stereo component. Stereo whine can be caused by an amplifier picking up on a high-frequency noise and amplifying it. This noise usually comes from your alternator or a wire nearby your amp RCA cables. Troubleshooting your car stereo and its components is how you will find the problem.
Why does it make this noise?
Several things can cause a car stereo to make a whining noise. The most common culprit is electrical feedback from the alternator of your car. A loose wire from any of your stereos components and associated wiring can be the culprit, too. That would include:
- Alternator ground wire
- Amplifier ground wire
- A bad stereo head unit
- Crossovers connectors
- Equalizer ground wire
- Speaker ground wires
How to stop the whining noise
The first step is to isolate the problem. Check the earth/ ground wire to your stereo first, then all other wires associated with the car sound system. This includes the alternator ground, the connection between the alternator and battery, and speaker wires. If after doing this you still have a whine, check all of the other components’ connectors.
Troubleshooting bad ground wires is the no-cost, low-cost method of finding the whine in the stereo. If this procedure fails to cancel the whine, you need to test each component separately with a multimeter.
Using a digital multimeter, you can test the voltage from each component to check that they are all reading the same voltage. If you do not own one, purchasing your own multimeter will be much cheaper than taking your car to a technician. Just think of the fun you will have chasing wires!
Testing your Car Stereo Components
Set the multimeter to 12 volt DC and put the +ve terminal to the power lead and the -ve terminal to the earth connection. Do this for each component of your car stereo. If there is a disparity of over half a volt, you need to tighten or relocate the ground wire.
This means the ground wires of all of your stereo components. Using a multimeter is the most effective way to find any voltage disparities and eliminate the whine.
If none of the above measures eliminate the problem, you can install an audio noise filter on the power leads between the battery and stereo head unit. This should get rid of the whining noise, but it is important that you test the rest of the audio components.
If, after installing the audio noise filter the whining is still present, it is most likely a high-frequency noise traveling along the RCA cables to your amp. Installing a line filter on the RCA cable will remove this noise. If after doing all of the above, you still do not have a solution, you need to check your radio head unit to see if it is the culprit.
The head unit is tested by disconnecting the RCA cables from your amplifier. You will then need to insert a muting plug. This RCA plug has connectors shorted together and will allow you to eliminate noise from crossovers and equalizers. After doing the above, start your car, and if the noise is still there, you have a bad head unit. If the noise is gone, then you have a problem with a component upstream from the amplifier.
Check your Antenna
An overlooked component of your stereo, the antenna can also be a weak link in your car’s stereo system. While checking all of the other components of your system, make sure your antenna is tight and grounded properly.
Eliminate the Whining
A great car stereo is just mediocre if it whines. No one likes a whiner, and finding the cause of car stereo feedback is imperative to your enjoyment. Taking your car to a professional for repair is always an option. However, knowing how your car stereo works and how to fix it is gratifying. Removing the whine from your car stereo is more time-consuming than costly. Doing the job yourself will save money, and when it is fixed, you can say I did this!
I have a 2006 f-150, I’ve installed a sound system and it’s making a hum/whine noise when I accelerate. I thought I fixed the problem by unbolting the amp from under the seat but the hum/whine is still there. I been trying to fix this without taking it back to the audio peeps who installed it, it’s professionally done and I been messing with it a lot trying to fix this lol I tried a axxessss 1000 something like that behind the radio (in line filter) that made it worse so I removed it. I would love to try something between my alternator and battery (filter) but I can not find it on the internet. I found you so I’m hopping for some good luck 😃 anyway I plan on doing something tomorrow to the truck like undoing the audison apf8.9 bit amp and one 10” centro hertz sub 4, 6x8s 2 way kicker ks series and ks kicker tweeters ks series also with a alpine head unit and steering wheel controls exc.. any way if u could help me out with this hum noise I’ll try it out and reward you if my problem gets fixed no doubt!!!
Thanks for the post
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