I don't have an answer to your question, but I do have a question... why do you need 3 amps?
amp whine
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 362
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From: Morristown Tn
amp whine
I have three amps hooked up and the smallest one (cheap a$$) whines with the engine. All work from the same powerblock and from the same ground. The others do not whine. Do noise filters work ?? I realize the answer is to replace it with a better amp. Just kinda short on cash. Thanks.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 5,210
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From: Fort Worth TX
St. Jude Donor '06
Father & Son St. Jude Donor '09
Originally Posted by Prism911
. . . but I do have a question... why do you need 3 amps?
Amp 1 - Front speakers
Amp 2 - Rear speakers
Amp 3 - Sub(s)
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: St. Louis MO
I guess my question was really..... why do you HAVE 3 amps instead of just 2. Is there an audiophile type reason for it? Is there a reason why you don't want the same amp to drive the front and back speakers? The reason I ask is basically to just increase my knowledge about car audio in general.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2001
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From: Canton GA
Cruise-In III Veteran
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St. Jude Donor '03-'05-'06-'10-'11-'12
Originally Posted by Scott_fx
is it a ground loop whine?
Most engine noise comes from ground loops. Disconnect the RCA cables going to the amp that is whining. If the noise goes away, it's very likely a ground loop.
Loops are caused by the amp "seeing" two or more paths to ground and sending voltage along the signal path, your RCA cables. There are a few causes of this:
Bad amplifier ground. Even though all of the grounds may be tied in the same place, if there is too much resistance to one ground, the current will choose the other path in this case being the signal cable path.
Bad signal cable ground. For the same reason, signal has to return to ground somehow and if the signal cables have lifted grounds, the signal will return on the chassis ground.
Internal amplifier problem. If a solder joint has broken or a capacitor has failed, signal ground and earth ground may be compromised resulting in the above two scenarios.
Simply a bad amplifier design. Some of the very cheap amps out there don't use switching power supplies or signal isolation at all. This means that signal and chassis ground are one in the same. Almost all amps that I've seen that do this have noise no matter what you do. Profile was the worst!
Well, that's my two cents. Now, where's my change?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 362
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From: Morristown Tn
So the solution is to run another ground to the amp?? To answer the three amp question , it's because I already had them from another car I sold, all two channel amps and 2 front , two rear and one sub. 
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
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From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Pull the audio input to the amp that whines first and see if it still whines. If so, run its ground as close to the negative terminal on the battery that you can, like the battery terminal itself or the chassis ground that the negative battery cable connects to.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 362
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From: Morristown Tn
ground
I ran a new ground straight to the battery terminal today, still whines 
.. I did notice the alternator making noise today.Same pitch as my amp whine 
I will thoroughly enjoy using a three pound hammer to make some adjustments to this amp!! 
.. I did notice the alternator making noise today.Same pitch as my amp whine I will thoroughly enjoy using a three pound hammer to make some adjustments to this amp!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 5,210
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From: Fort Worth TX
St. Jude Donor '06
Father & Son St. Jude Donor '09
Can you swap the amps so the one that whines is feeding another pair of speakers? If so, make sure a different amp uses the same feeds as the amp in question was using and see if the problem continues. If so, it's a signal and/or ground cable and/or cable connection issue. If not, and the problem is now in a 2nd pair of speakers, the problem must be in the cheap amp and IMO, I'd buy another 2 channel amp and not mess with trying to fix a cheap amp (possibly wasting hours and never fixing the problem).
Good luck and keep us posted.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 75
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From: San Diego Ca
lets not get mid evil
Originally Posted by jjgkdg
The only fixing I'll do with a three pound hammer will not take long.. 
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 362
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From: Morristown Tn
Originally Posted by splash
I have to agree with some of the posters here you have a groundl loop problem. PLEASE DO NOT GROUND YOUR AMP TO THE BATTERY you are asking for trouble in the worst way plus you will always get alt whine there. First are your power and signal wires seperated from each other until they reach the amp. Since you have 3 amps it is a good thing to have a ground distribution block, similar to a power distribution but it doesn't have fuses. Ensure that you are grounded to the body and not to the seat post remember the bottom of our cars is fiberglass so not a good ground. Now once you have done all of that remove the power and ground cables from your battery and amps check your wiring and placement then reconnect the amp that is the furthest away from the battery and hook the battery up last. hope this helps ya!!
Race Director
Joined: May 2003
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From: Iowa
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
[QUOTE=splash. PLEASE DO NOT GROUND YOUR AMP TO THE BATTERY you are asking for trouble in the worst way plus you will [U]always[/U] get alt whine there [QUOTE]
Based on what?? Two of my four vehicles have the amp's ground directly to the battery. Neither have any noise present. One of the vehicles won the USAC World Points Championship. That car has more 1st place trophies than probably anyone else on the forum. It did not get those trophies by having alt whine
The only reason not to ground to the battery is cost. The extra 15 feet or so (plus install) is not free.
PS I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Based on what?? Two of my four vehicles have the amp's ground directly to the battery. Neither have any noise present. One of the vehicles won the USAC World Points Championship. That car has more 1st place trophies than probably anyone else on the forum. It did not get those trophies by having alt whine
The only reason not to ground to the battery is cost. The extra 15 feet or so (plus install) is not free.PS I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.