Some of you may remember helping me decide what components to install.
I allowed Circuit city to do the install. All seemed well but then I noticed engine noise in the speakers a day or two later. They threw on a ground noise block at the AMP and that stopped it. Ofcourse I did not want that ugly thing there so today I took it up and they pulled the console and installed the block at the HU. Also had a rattle in the passenger door with base. More screws in the speaker to VrumVrum mount helped if not eliminate it. Time will tell. They pull the car out, I get in and turn the key to "ACC". Now the Whine is louder, increases with engine rev and in addition I hear along with the whine a sonar bleeping sound. None of this can be heard when I power the HU/AMP up. All the techs (three) get together and listen to the noises and call another tech who was off and is suppose to be the GOD of installs. He listens to the whine and blleps over the phone and has them tell me it's my AMP! A capacitor is bad or a board is going bad? This is a brand new MTX 564 purchased from car domain. I kind of question the AMP ground location (drivers side rear small compartment in rear under panel where a small computer is). Any of this clicking lights on for you? I've already called car domain and ordered a replacement AMP but for some reason I'm not really confident. In addition, I did to much playing the radio during detailing of the car even before upgrading the bose system and now the damn Interstate battery was ran down too many times and died. I had to go buy a yellow top today. Any input welcome...

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. NEVER EVER LET ANYONE at BestBuy, Circuit City, or Ultimate Electronics work on your car. They may have a few good techs somewhere, but I believe most good audio guys are working at better shops.

You might just want to suck it up and call a local pro.

 

I suppose, after the fact, I'm feeling pretty stupid buying above average equipment and then skimping on the install. It was half the price an EXPERT at CarToys wanted to do the job.

 

I learned the hard way as well.

 

Most likely you have a ground loop problem. Both the amp and HU should be grounded at the same point. From what I read, it sounds like the amp is grounded in a bad location in the back and the HU is grounded at a ok spot.

In the install I did in my coupe, I grounded both at the chassies ground below the seatbelt retractor on the passanger side. I have absolutely no noise.

Gary

 

sorry, but

I'm not convinced by what I've read so far that the amp is your problem. Best of luck to ya

 

I am a mobile installer at Best Buy and all of the people that get stuff installed at the local shops come to us the second time or come to us to get their stuff fixed after the other places screw it up. Maybe we just have better techs than most or maybe we just care more but I would confidently say that 99% of our customers are very happy with their installations. As for your noises I agree that it's probably a bad ground in the amp. If you have a Z06 your best ground location is between the right rear compartment and the middle compartment. I spent a half an hour trying to find a suitable ground location and I have no noise what so ever. If you have a coupe the the best location I found is the child seat loop on the pass. side. Both of these ground locations gave me no noise. I have owned a Coupe and a Z06 and I personally did the install on both. Some Best Buy locations are not as good as others so I would appreciate it if we were not all grouped together. My install bay is currently ranked fifth in the nation. I hope my input helps.

Greg

 

Greg....if you are interested in raising the reputation of Best Buy installations then you should petition the corporate offices. Best Buy is nationally known for not having installers with ample experience.

StingR...your problem lies with the installation. Take it to a more qualified shop to have the problem sorted out. You should have no noise in the system.

 

sorry, but

The local Best Buy here in Cedar Rapids has a very bad rep. I will not let them even breath on my vette. I also heard a rumor they are being investigated for breakins after a stereo install was done, wether it was a car or house deliverly.

 

by who? is there a ranking online anywhere?

 

Thanks to all...... I'm going to ground it again myself while awaiting the new AMP. I'll post my findings.

 

Like I said... "They may have a few good techs somewhere, but I believe most good audio guys are working at better shops."

When I went to Best Buy and Ultimate and talked to their BEST installers they didn't even know my vette had 6 speakers, let alone that two of them had their own amps. Unfortunately I didn't test their knowledge BEFORE I let them touch my car at Ultimate. I wound up re-installing the HU myself after I complained about not having any base and the response I got from the service manager was "it's impossible to upgrade the stereo in a corvette." .

 

Update:

I had tried grounding my AMP again to several places while awaiting the new AMP but the noise was still there. Received my replacement AMP from CarDomain yesterday and took the car back today. I warned them that it had better fix the problem or I'd take it elsewhere. I think they got the message that I would want my money back also. Anyway, the new AMP installed, the alternator noise and bleeping sonar sound were gone but I had the speaker buzz. The tech then removed the ground loop blocks from the HU and all works great now.

It's apparent that the AMP was the cause of all my problems!