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  #1  
Old 01-29-2012, 10:43 AM
Ford92Ranger Ford92Ranger is offline
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Default Any ideas?

I installed my amp over the last couple days (Boss r1004) it's a 4-channel amp but for now I am just using it for my back speakers, and only using two of the channels. Idk if that matters. But I got all of the wires ran, hooked everything up, got it grounded, turned my truck on, and the speakers were crackling and popping, and you could faintly hear the music.

I played with everything, checked all my wires for polarity, checked the ground, played with the gains on the amp, played with the settings on my stereo, and it helped a little. Now the speakers mostly static when the bass hits on a song. And now it seems like the gains aren't doing anything either. And the speakers sound better with the amp turned off.

My only idea is that maybe I used a bad wire coming off the head unit for the remote? I have no idea otherwise. The rca's are running along with the power wire, but they are both well insulated and I didn't think this would be a problem. If anybody thinks that this is why I am having a problem, I can re-route the power wire, but it will be a pain in the ass. So I want to be sure before I try this.



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Ok, so over the last week I have done a few things, got rid of all the static, the speakers sound good, the fade doesn't affect anything, and the gains work properly. Now the only problem I am having is that there is a noise coming from the speakers. I have been told it is alternator whine/ground loop. I still need to track down the problem, but I believe it is the RCA cables because the noise does not vary with the rpm's. I am going to try a few things once the weather clears up (I live in Colorado and we just got hammered with snow). If I cannot fix the problem myself, I am going to buy a ground loop isolator. And if that doesn't work, I will eventually invest in some quality RCA cables.

I thought I would just write this so new people looking at the thread can know what I am dealing with now, not my original problem.
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Last edited by Ford92Ranger; 02-05-2012 at 04:03 PM.
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  #2  
Old 01-29-2012, 01:39 PM
1madRanger 1madRanger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford92Ranger View Post
anything either. And the speakers sound better with the amp turned off.
Wait... do you have the speakers powered via both the stereo AND the amp?
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  #3  
Old 01-29-2012, 03:30 PM
GoGoPowerRanger GoGoPowerRanger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

Was thinking the same thing....disconnect the deck speaker wires from the deck and only use the speaker connections from the amp. Make sure to disconnect both wires from each channel on the deck. Usually they are green, white, grey, & purple, with a same wire color with a black stripe
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  #4  
Old 01-29-2012, 04:54 PM
Ford92Ranger Ford92Ranger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

I tried that already, when I did the speakers weren't working at all. I figured it out though. I had the fade on just the rear speakers cause that's what I was working on. Well I decided to turn it to front and back speakers, and the popping/cracking/static went away. So there goes that problem. It sounds good now, but I noticed while I am driving there is like a little bit of clipping in the songs. And still if I turn it on a song with a lot of bass (On My Level by Wiz Khalifa) then it starts to static again. Idk, weird.

I still don't think that the amp made it sound all that much better, if at all. Oh well, that's what I get for buying a cheap amp haha.
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  #5  
Old 01-29-2012, 08:21 PM
1madRanger 1madRanger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

well the fade shouldnt matter. The sound should be coming solely from your Pre-out via RCA jacks. the fad would then be level on the seperate channels. You might have a bad pre-out connection coming from your deck.
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  #6  
Old 01-30-2012, 02:56 AM
GLH GLH is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

Also, the 6x8's are not meant to play bass as in Rap 'music'.

Last edited by GLH; 01-30-2012 at 08:38 PM.
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:56 AM
Ford92Ranger Ford92Ranger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

i have 5x7s not 6x8's. and it has a tweeter in the middle of the speaker so its not solely for bass. i will disconnect the speaker wire from the deck today and see how it sounds though.
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  #8  
Old 01-30-2012, 11:00 AM
ob269 ob269 is offline
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford92Ranger View Post
i have 5x7s not 6x8's. and it has a tweeter in the middle of the speaker so its not solely for bass. i will disconnect the speaker wire from the deck today and see how it sounds though.
5x7s are 6x8. It depends on where you measure, they're the same speaker..

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  #9  
Old 01-30-2012, 01:15 PM
Ford92Ranger Ford92Ranger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

oh. still not just for bass though. i was gonna try shortening my ground, regrounding my headunit, routing my powerr cord away from my rca's, and pulling the speaker wire out from the speakers.
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  #10  
Old 01-30-2012, 01:42 PM
johnspalding4 johnspalding4 is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

Quote:
Originally Posted by GLH View Post
... play bass as in Rap 'music'.
I laughed so hard. So, so very true..
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  #11  
Old 01-30-2012, 08:39 PM
GLH GLH is offline
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Lightbulb Re: Any ideas?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford92Ranger View Post
i have 5x7s not 6x8's. and it has a tweeter in the middle of the speaker so its not solely for bass. i will disconnect the speaker wire from the deck today and see how it sounds though.
5x7's and 6x8's are the same, and yes, 99% are full range speakers and are not for playing low bass.
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  #12  
Old 01-31-2012, 01:56 PM
Ford92Ranger Ford92Ranger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

my bad i thought you said they are for bass haha.
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  #13  
Old 01-31-2012, 02:01 PM
doyouquaxu doyouquaxu is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford92Ranger View Post
routing my powerr cord away from my rca's
that will help a TON
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  #14  
Old 01-31-2012, 09:01 PM
Ford92Ranger Ford92Ranger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

Quote:
Originally Posted by doyouquaxu View Post
that will help a TON
I've heard it both ways, so many times. One of my good friends who's dad installs stereos says it doesn't matter. But I am still getting some noise so I am going to try it tomorrow. Yay, get to tear into my truck again! Haha.



Today I re-grounded my amp, I did a shorter cord and doubled it up. I pulled the factory wiring out of the speakers (dunno why I didn't do that the first time.) And I set my gain to a level where it sounded good. It's sounding really good now. But when the engine is running there is noise coming through the speakers, it is the same volume no matter how loud I set the music to. And if I play my stereo without the engine running it goes away. I assume it's related to the power cord running with the rca's (it is ziptied with them through my cab) but I am not sure. I will get into it all tomorrow.
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  #15  
Old 02-01-2012, 04:59 PM
1madRanger 1madRanger is offline
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Default Re: Any ideas?

your ground is picking up the harmonic waves from the engine.

where is your ground?
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