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davertron posted:So I wired up my amp this weekend and...it works! I haven't actually mounted it in place yet because there is a high-pitched whine when driving (none when the car is off) when listening to audio. I've searched around and sounds like it could be a bad ground? I'm going to try moving the amp and see what happens. If that doesn't work I'll try a different ground on the chassis somewhere. Any other tips?
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Feb 18, 2013 03:00
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Yeah that's normally caused by induction from the power line if you run your RCA's next to it. You really should be running them either side of the vehicle and if they do need to cross, makes the crossover perpendicular. Definitely needs a good, clean earth as well, with it being as short as possible.
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Feb 18, 2013 05:13
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It can also be caused by cheap RCAs that lack decent shielding (i.e. some cheapies you borrowed from your home stereo). Or a crappy ground at either the head unit and/or the amp. Though pretty much every amp wiring kit will have decent RCAs, so if you used the RCAs from a wiring kit, they're probably fine.Lowclock posted:Also it's a good idea to actually scrub away the paint where your ground wire connects. This too. Sand it a bit, and use a decent sized screw/bolt with a washer. some texas redneck posted:Suggestions for component speakers for the front doors? They'll be going into a Saturn Ion coupe, so 5.25" or 6.5" speakers. Crutchfield doesn't seem to think I need shallow stuff, just a mount kit for most speakers along with an adapter harness to plug into the existing wiring. Also, if anybody has suggestions, that'd be just great.  e: what's the best way to wire an amp when you have a side post battery? This is my first time owning a car with one. Is it possible/safe to just use a longer bolt and sandwich a ring terminal between that and the original positive cable? randomidiot fucked around with this message at 05:54 on Feb 18, 2013 |
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Feb 18, 2013 05:21
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mrpeaches posted:I've done it. I kept mine very simple though. I left the original radio/sat radio in the car and use the carputer for nav/music/etc. The music from the computer is piped through the original stereo via bluetooth. Well I enjoy building computers and all sorts of electronics, so thats part of what made me want to try it. The other was to build a system that could do the things I want and be more reliable than a stock unit.
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Feb 18, 2013 05:32
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Puddin posted:Yeah that's normally caused by induction from the power line if you run your RCA's next to it. I've got this guy: http://www.amazon.com/Kinter-Amplif...ords=kinter+amp I didn't run new power/ground for it, I just spliced a barrel connector onto the existing 12v+ switched and ground. It's possible that the ground on the chassis is funky, but if it is it hasn't changed since I removed my broken hu and put this amp in. I'm also not using RCA connectors, just a 3.5mm male-to-male. I was thinking about picking up one of these http://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-NS12-InLine-Noise-Suppressor/dp/B0007V5X4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361191482&sr=8-1&keywords=noise+filter. I guess I'll see if I can find a clean grounding point and try using that instead of the existing ground and see if that makes a difference. If not, any other suggestions? Update: This http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_i=507846 sounds like it could solve my problem, anyone have any experience with one of these? How are these different than the noise suppressor I linked above? davertron fucked around with this message at 15:12 on Feb 18, 2013 |
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Feb 18, 2013 13:46
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Any suggestions for some 2 Ohm 6.5" component speakers and 2 Ohm 6x9" speakers?
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Feb 18, 2013 15:14
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davertron posted:Update: This http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_i=507846 sounds like it could solve my problem, anyone have any experience with one of these? How are these different than the noise suppressor I linked above? I have that exact device, to solve a ground loop issue on my Mazdaspeed3 factory aux in. It worked great, until somehow one of the cables broke internally. I just haven't bothered opening it up to fix it.
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Feb 18, 2013 15:20
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Re: Ground issues You can get ground isolators for cheap that basically filter RCA lines. They work nicely without any [noticeable] impact on sound quality or output! Beyond that, once I had some Chinese triple-way 12v outlet thing in my Civic some years ago that would induce whine on my audio system whenever it was plugged in. It would go in-line with my engine RPMs, which was kind of cool - sounded a bit like a turbo spooling, heh. My wires were run along both lengths of the car, so it wasn't a power line to RCA noise/crosstalk problem, for sure. It still amounts to some kind of ground problem in the end. Use an isolator if you must.
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Feb 18, 2013 19:53
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In my 97 STS, I have been having trouble with the CD Changer in the trunk. I can load a few CDs in, I hear poo poo moving around but it always says "no disc" on the dash. I have been using CD-R's... do you think its just the changer is to old to read CD-R's or is it hosed? I would just like it working when I go to sell the car is about it really. I could care less if it works while I own the car.
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Feb 18, 2013 20:50
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IOwnCalculus posted:I have that exact device, to solve a ground loop issue on my Mazdaspeed3 factory aux in. It worked great, until somehow one of the cables broke internally. I just haven't bothered opening it up to fix it. Kachunkachunk posted:Re: Ground issues I've ordered the ground loop isolator from amazon, should be here in two days, I'll let everyone know if it makes a difference.
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Feb 18, 2013 21:11
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FWIW, I used this isolator for something like 9 or 10 years on an Eclipse amp that needed it (weird issue, fixable, but a GLI was cheaper and quicker), and it served me well. No issues, and pretty cheap. Also kept alternator whine from loving with things for 7 years on my Olds Delta that ate alternators every year or so. It's more expensive on Amazon, but it is surprisingly well stocked in just about every local shop (bulk buying must be crazy cheap on that particular model or something).
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Feb 19, 2013 03:27
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BrokenKnucklez posted:In my 97 STS, I have been having trouble with the CD Changer in the trunk. I can load a few CDs in, I hear poo poo moving around but it always says "no disc" on the dash. I have been using CD-R's... do you think its just the changer is to old to read CD-R's or is it hosed? I would just like it working when I go to sell the car is about it really. I could care less if it works while I own the car. Burn it at 4x or lower? Older CD changers don't like rapid-burned CD-Rs. If you did, then it just doesn't like CD-Rs. 
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Feb 19, 2013 16:01
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I haven't received the ground loop isolator yet, but I purchased this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052QOPEE/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 so that I wouldn't have to plug in power and audio separately. The amp (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006AMF2R8/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) has a usb out that's supposed to be for power, but when I plug that cable into the usb out it doesn't charge my ipod. It does, however, seem to be the cause of the really annoying whine. I drove in to work today with the usb unplugged from the amp, and didn't notice the whine at all. Guess this means I don't need the ground loop isolator so hopefully I can send that back. I'm just going to end up plugging the usb into one of my cigarette lighter jacks using something like http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Power...lighter+adapter (I already have some of these around somewhere).
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Feb 20, 2013 13:45
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davertron posted:Guess this means I don't need the ground loop isolator so hopefully I can send that back.
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Feb 21, 2013 08:59
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The reviews on that amp are pretty bad, pictures of the board found through Google and Chinese supplier sites reveal that it is pretty bad, and you should feel pretty bad for buying it, even though it is only  .
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Feb 21, 2013 11:34
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Lowclock posted:Probably the reverse, actually. You like, super need it. Ha, yeah I need it if I keep the usb plugged back in to the back of the amp, but it's just as easy to plug into a cigarette adapter (and it doesn't charge my iphone from the usb on the amp anyway...) Geirskogul posted:The reviews on that amp are pretty bad, pictures of the board found through Google and Chinese supplier sites reveal that it is pretty bad, and you should feel pretty bad for buying it, even though it is only 
davertron fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Feb 21, 2013 |
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Feb 21, 2013 14:49
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Stupid general bluetooth question: My beater civic has a $60 Dual cd player with bluetooth and it works very well. It syncs with my phone within 10 seconds and then I can just hit play on the cd player and it will start streaming music from the playlist or whatever was paused before on my phone so I don't have to take it out of my pocket. Is this normal with most bluetooth decks? It's a really badass feature not having to pull my phone out since that's what I use primarily to listen to music in the car. I'd like to pick up a nicer deck for my Saabaru like the Kenwood DDX419 since it's a double DIN and I can set the colors to match the interior (sadly this is a big factor), has BT and should work nicely. Should I expect it to have this same feature? Is there a better deck for the money and my needs? I really want BT, aux in and something nice and clean that I can get to match the green interior lighting of my car. I'm not really picky but would probably prefer a double DIN rather than a single with a pocket. That's why I was leaning towards the DVD ones with a screen and all that. Edit: Phone is a Droid Razr M if it matters. It seems like it keeps whatever I had open before still open on the phone which is why the playlist is still there when I click play on the deck. Suburban Dad fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Feb 22, 2013 |
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Feb 22, 2013 01:51
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Yes, most decks have the feature to resume bluetooth streaming including factory bluetooth decks.
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Feb 22, 2013 07:14
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Pulled the trigger on a DDX470. Newer, cheaper, looks better all around.
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Feb 23, 2013 17:44
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Lowclock posted:Probably the reverse, actually. You like, super need it. You're right. I think it's the cheap ipod cable I'm using; if I plug it into power at all, I get the whine, regardless of whether it's in the amp itself or the cigarette lighter. The ground loop isolator seems to fix it as long as I keep the isolator/audio cable far enough away from the amp. Still not sure why the amp doesn't charge the iphone out of the usb, maybe the output is too low? Anyway, it's all working now, thanks for the help guys. It's pretty ghetto but I think all told I spent about $40 and 3/4 hours of my time.
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Feb 25, 2013 14:07
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Put a 10kOhm resistor across the data pins on the charger.
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Feb 25, 2013 15:42
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So how is the MP3 searching on those newest head units? I don't use an iPod and my real goal would be to have a big SSD hooked up to a head unit with a large library of tunes on it, somewhere around 60 gigs. From what I've seen, searching leaves a lot to be desired, but I haven't looked lately. It just seems they cater to iPods and nothing else. I want to be able to find either a specific artist, album, or track with a minimum of clicks or menus. It also needs to support custom playlists with ease and simplicity. Is there any particular unit or brand that does this really well? In a perfect world I'd have a head unit with wifi and a giant hard drive right in it.
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Feb 25, 2013 20:29
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LloydDobler posted:So how is the MP3 searching on those newest head units? I don't use an iPod and my real goal would be to have a big SSD hooked up to a head unit with a large library of tunes on it, somewhere around 60 gigs. From what I've seen, searching leaves a lot to be desired, but I haven't looked lately. It just seems they cater to iPods and nothing else. I want to be able to find either a specific artist, album, or track with a minimum of clicks or menus. It also needs to support custom playlists with ease and simplicity. Is there any particular unit or brand that does this really well? I thought about getting an Ipod classic to plug in, but there's so much effort in searching for what you want to listen to unless you have one of the head units that mimics the ipod setup if you don't want to use the ipod to search. I just roll with 2x 8gb usb sticks. It holds enough music for a long drive and it's just easier to put new music on the one that's not being used to swap it over when I want to listen to something new.
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Feb 25, 2013 21:22
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Geirskogul posted:Put a 10kOhm resistor across the data pins on the charger. I think I'll give this a shot, I've read up on this and although it seems like people use whatever the hell resistors they can find, it seems like the consensus is you just need to short the data pins so the iPhone will pull the full 1amps. I'm thinking I'll do this directly on the amp itself, since the only purpose of the usb out on the amp is to charge my iPhone. Can you think of any reason not to do that?
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Feb 26, 2013 21:13
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LloydDobler posted:So how is the MP3 searching on those newest head units? I don't use an iPod and my real goal would be to have a big SSD hooked up to a head unit with a large library of tunes on it, somewhere around 60 gigs. From what I've seen, searching leaves a lot to be desired, but I haven't looked lately. It just seems they cater to iPods and nothing else. I want to be able to find either a specific artist, album, or track with a minimum of clicks or menus. It also needs to support custom playlists with ease and simplicity. Is there any particular unit or brand that does this really well? This is why I ended up getting an ipod classic, and I have a double din touch screen that mimics the ipod so finding what I want is a breeze, but with my old single din it was a pain with 120 gigs of music and podcasts
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Feb 26, 2013 21:27
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I have some doubts that the heat/cold of a typical year will work out okay for SSDs, but I know some nav-equipped head units have hard drives. Maybe they're geared for temperature extremes. The iPod thing isn't a big deal, really. The interfaces will usually give you artist, album, playlist, genre, etc. to categorize by. I have a 120GB iPod that I can drill down to an individual artist/song to in 5-10 seconds or four clicks I think? Depends how far into the alphabet. They very often have some kind of voice feature. The downside is the the audible library has to be updated from time to time, so it'll take a while to do that if you have a big iPod. After it's set, you just hit a button, speak something like, "play Closer by Nine Inch Nails". Then you put the windows down at a light, crank it up, and look like a disgusting pervert when the chorus comes up. Edit: Yeah, helps to have a double-DIN touchscreen. The speaking thing might still apply for single-DIN units, however. Kachunkachunk fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Feb 27, 2013 |
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Feb 27, 2013 01:01
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Kachunkachunk posted:I have some doubts that the heat/cold of a typical year will work out okay for SSDs, but I know some nav-equipped head units have hard drives. Maybe they're geared for temperature extremes. SSDs have a huge operational temperature range, most manufacturers publish a maximum operating temperature of at least +60* C (and they're tolerant of even higher temperatures - near the boiling point - when not in use) and its highly unlikely that anyone will encounter cold enough temperatures to bother them unless you're driving at the poles on a record-setting low day. There might be some minor concern if you live in a desert climate and routinely park your car in full sun with the windows up, but generally if a HDD can survive in a car a SSD shouldn't have any problems doing so - they have the advantage of no moving parts and shock resistance in the neighborhood of something that would physically destroy the drive. In simpler terms - think about a USB thumbdrive. Would you bat an eye at using one or leaving one in a car? SSDs are essentially bigger versions built with better components and a different data connector. Geoj fucked around with this message at 07:17 on Feb 27, 2013 |
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Feb 27, 2013 07:07
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Yanked the stereo out to figure out why I've got no speaker output, looks like the P.O. had an amplifier in there at one point. Found a nice little tangle of hacked-in wiring, because harness adapters are far too expensive. I especially like this innovative splice for what I hope is the switched 12V signal.  Yes, those are 2 output wires coming out of one crimp connector, one going to the head and the other running into the dash, I assume for the now-gone amp, as are the gold speaker wires. The amp output wires are also crimped directly onto the factory speaker wires, dunno how proper that is but it seems lazy to me. So I'm gonna delve into hooking this up, should I wire it all into the Kenwood pigtail or get a factory radio connector and an adaptor? Truck is a 91 Blazer.
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Feb 27, 2013 07:20
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Factory harness is long gone, right? And IIRC, this is a beater? Personally, I'd rip out anything non-factory, and splice into whatever wiring is left. It's a beater anyway, you just need power to the HU and output to front speakers. More than likely, you'll find that the P.O. had a (now missing) amp powering the front speakers through the factory wiring. Clean that up and you should be able to get your HU powering the speakers again.
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Feb 27, 2013 08:06
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Well, looks like you were right, I was able to hook the speakers up real drat easy, after a quick trip to Radio Shack to replenish my supply of crimp connectors since I hosed up on a couple of them. The inline fuse on the power wire is still about 3 feet longer than it needs to be, but what loving ever. I have tunes now! Speakers are a bit tinny, and it sounds like a few may be torn. I might get some nice quality component speakers way down the road, but everything works for now and that's good enough for me. Of course, I had to pull the HU right back off to get access to the heater core, but that's for another thread. 
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Feb 28, 2013 01:25
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1996 BMW 328is with an existing and functional Panasonic CD player installed about 5 years ago at Futureshop, by the previous owner. I'm looking to replace my head unit. I want something that plays MP3 and other digital formats (Windows, etc.) through a front-mount USB port. This is apparently a widely-available feature, so no worries there. The last time I installed a new, aftermarket head unit was a bottom-end Sony CD/MP3/USB device about 4 months ago in my-since-sold Ford Falcon ute, in Australia. I'm now in Canada, so I expect the availability of some parts or accessories to be different. Anyway, that install was easy because there were readily available wiring harness adaptors from Ford -> ISO and ISO -> Sony. My current car has a Panasonic unit in it so I was thinking I'd just find whatever new Panasonic unit that has the features I want and it should be a pretty straightforward swap. Unfortunately, Panasonic's website looks like a refugee from 2001 and doesn't actually provide links to any CD receivers, it just loops back to the main website that includes no mention of car audio. Crutchfield doesn't list any Panasonic units that I can find. Did Panasonic stop making car audio? I'm looking for another head unit. First question: Will a similar system, of (car brand) -> (universal standard) -> (head unit brand) adaptors be available in Canada? I haven't looked behind the Panasonic yet, and I've heard mid-90's BMW had a fairly odd set of wires. Is this something that can be solved with $30 worth of plug-and-forget wiring adaptors? Second question: How do I find out about little features that are important to me but apparently unimportant to most other people? I'm specifically looking for something that does -Fast-forward (and reverse) in a single track, e.g. by holding down the forward or reverse button This was missing from a unit I had in a previous car from a few years ago. It made listening to hour-long podcasts difficult. -A pause button, ideally something big and obvious that I can find quickly. This was missing from the Sony unit I put into the ute. There was mute, but no pause. Again, podcasts are a bit difficult without this feature. -A stiffer or less feature-laden main dial/button. I reach and try to adjust the volume, and suddenly I'm in the sound-emulation mode menus. Blah! The Sony was really bad for this, as there was no way back to "this dial adjusts volume" except switching input source.
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Mar 11, 2013 20:29
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I'll try to do these in order. Haven't seen one in the US in years. Yes. More like $3 if you go to Amazon. Everything has fast forward/reverse. I don't recall seeing a deck without a pause. Most decks use soft dials now that make going through menus faster than mashing buttons. Best advice I could give you would be to go to Best Buy or somewhere and just play with them. Usually they're really similar between manufacturer lines, but they're kind of universally crappy. I also hate Sony decks.
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Mar 11, 2013 21:10
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Does anybody have any experience regarding (passive) HI->LO Level Adapters from a stock head unit to an external amp? I won't be patching outputs on existing speakers connected and I realize that the exact answer will depend on several undefined factors. Where is the best place to connect the the adapter? Near the Head Unit or the amp?
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Mar 12, 2013 21:49
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If they are installed and set up right they're fine. Put it near the amp.
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Mar 12, 2013 23:54
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I'm in the middle of upgrading my system in a 1992 HDJ80 Landcruiser, and I have a few questions about installing speakers. The current hole for the door speakers looks like this  It's for a 4" speaker, and I'm wanting to go up to a 6". Obviously I'm going to need to trim the door metal, as that opening is only 80mm across, is the best way to do that with a dremel? From what I gather I'll need spacers too, I'm just confused as to how exactly they get installed. Do I just screw the spacer directly on to the trim, through the vinyl and all, or should I be cutting away the excess trim and screwing straight into the sheet metal? Is there anything I can do to make the mountings a little more bulletproof, I spend 90% of my time on dirt roads and I'm worried the speakers will shake themselves out. As for speakers, I'm currently looking at Infinity Kappa 62.9i's, has anyone had experience with them before? I just want nice clear sound, I don't need super volume or anything. Is there any reason to spend to money for higher end speakers considering I'm not running external amps? The system will be driven by a JVC X50BT head unit.
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Mar 13, 2013 08:41
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Are you trying to go "banging, dawg!" loud or something? What is wrong with 4" speakers? Doesn't seem like it's worth the work.
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Mar 13, 2013 08:46
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Screwing a ring of MDF or plastic to your door is not a lot of work.
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Mar 13, 2013 08:59
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Screwing a speaker into the existing hole is less.
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Mar 13, 2013 09:26
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Geirskogul posted:Screwing a speaker into the existing hole is less. I've already upgraded the 4" from stock to pioneers, and I'm still not super happy with the sound. Doing 90 km/h on corrugated roads tends to make everything a little muddy, but with the 4" I feel like I'm listening to a pringles can with a piezo in it. Subs aren't an option, so I'm trying to get the best bass response I can out of the cruisers admittedly cavernous interior.
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Mar 13, 2013 09:57
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Geirskogul posted:Screwing a speaker into the existing hole is less. That's great. He asked how to upgrade his speakers, not how to be as lazy as possible. Using spacer rings to go from 4" to 6.5" is an entirely reasonable thing to do that will give you a lot more volume and low end, and save you some distortion, even if you don't have an amp, especially if you don't have a subwoofer. You can even buy them premade for a perfect fit for a lot of applications. Another alternative would be kick panel enclosures, but it might take some more money and research to find them if you cant make them yourself. efb kinda. Kontour posted:I'm in the middle of upgrading my system in a 1992 HDJ80 Landcruiser, and I have a few questions about installing speakers. e: I think you would also really like adding a 4 channel amp to power them with. It makes a big difference just sending more power to the same speakers. Lowclock fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Mar 13, 2013 |
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Mar 13, 2013 10:02
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