no noise B4 but got noise now

[danstow1 0]

well i toke my deck out the other day and when i put it back in iv got this nasty buzz like real nasty and it will change with engine rpm and there is also a bit of "engine wine" but the buzz is much louder and the really weired thing is if i change source or change channel or if i turn the volume from 0 to1 or from 1 to 0 i get a nasty thump kinda like a turn on thump but louder. I checked my amps grounds and they seam to be fine i was thinking maybe its my deck's grounds or maybe i broke a ground strap somewhere in the car im going to try changing them tomorrow my day off. And i also tried a different deck and it does the same thing but they are both pioneers and i heard something about a pico fuse for the rca's but what are the odes they are both bad. I put the system in over a year ago and have had no noise problems whatsoever any 1 ever heard of i problem like this with the thump when you hit a button on your deck ??

[altoncustomtech 773]

you can find out if it's the fuse or not very quickly by touching a wire or something like that from the outside of the RCA connector to the case of the HU. If it stops then the fuse is blown and it's VERY easy to blow. It's called a PICO fuse because the fuse is rated for PICOAMPS, like .000000001 of an amp. (.001=milli, .000001=micro) At any rate, I'd bet it's the fuse. If it's still making noise after you ground the RCA shell to the case then you've got a ground loop that has occured due to a problem with the HU not being grounded properly or perhaps the RCA's are bad.

[danstow1 0]

you can find out if it's the fuse or not very quickly by touching a wire or something like that from the outside of the RCA connector to the case of the HU. If it stops then the fuse is blown and it's VERY easy to blow. It's called a PICO fuse because the fuse is rated for PICOAMPS, like .000000001 of an amp. (.001=milli, .000001=micro) At any rate, I'd bet it's the fuse. If it's still making noise after you ground the RCA shell to the case then you've got a ground loop that has occured due to a problem with the HU not being grounded properly or perhaps the RCA's are bad.

ummm ill try grounding the rca's but what are the odes that both decks are bad. What would cause that fuse to blow? thanks for the info

[NB50 206]

It's called a PICO fuse because the fuse is rated for PICOAMPS, like .000000001 of an amp. (.001=milli, .000001=micro)

No. I believe the ones in the deck are rated for .5 amps and just doing a quick search you can find ones rated up to 30 amps.

[danstow1 0]

It's called a PICO fuse because the fuse is rated for PICOAMPS, like .000000001 of an amp. (.001=milli, .000001=micro)

No. I believe the ones in the deck are rated for .5 amps and just doing a quick search you can find ones rated up to 30 amps.

what would make it blow

[NB50 206]

Plugging and unplugging the RCAs while musics playing. I blew mine from testing the amps and accidentally touching a screwdriver to the amp case while touching the remote terminal. To test if you blew it put you multimeter on the continuity test and touch one lead to the outer rca connector and the other to the chassis of the head unit. If its not blown you will hear a beep meaning you have continuity through the fuse.

[jcarter1885 995]

Plugging and unplugging the RCAs while musics playing. I blew mine from testing the amps and accidentally touching a screwdriver to the amp case while touching the remote terminal. To test if you blew it put you multimeter on the continuity test and touch one lead to the outer rca connector and the other to the chassis of the head unit. If its not blown you will hear a beep meaning you have continuity through the fuse.

Do all headunits have pico fuse in them or just Pioneer? If all headunits have a Pico fuse in them then why don Pioneers' always fail more than others? I was riding around one day and my one of my subwoofer wires came loose from the terminal and hit the terminals that encase the ground, power and remote wire. So know when my car is on the Sundown SAX-125.2 is now making screaching noise that gets louder with speed or when accessories are turned on or turn the ac to a higher setting. It only happens when the car is on, when the car is off or key in the acc position it doesnt make the sound. I also plugged up my mp3 player and househould boombox to the amp when the car is on and there is no screaching. So Im thinking I must of messed up the headunit somehow, it is a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X492. Thanks for any information bromo and sorry to thread jack.

[NB50 206]

Plugging and unplugging the RCAs while musics playing. I blew mine from testing the amps and accidentally touching a screwdriver to the amp case while touching the remote terminal. To test if you blew it put you multimeter on the continuity test and touch one lead to the outer rca connector and the other to the chassis of the head unit. If its not blown you will hear a beep meaning you have continuity through the fuse.

Do all headunits have pico fuse in them or just Pioneer? If all headunits have a Pico fuse in them then why don Pioneers' always fail more than others? I was riding around one day and my one of my subwoofer wires came loose from the terminal and hit the terminals that encase the ground, power and remote wire. So know when my car is on the Sundown SAX-125.2 is now making screaching noise that gets louder with speed or when accessories are turned on or turn the ac to a higher setting. It only happens when the car is on, when the car is off or key in the acc position it doesnt make the sound. I also plugged up my mp3 player and househould boombox to the amp when the car is on and there is no screaching. So Im thinking I must of messed up the headunit somehow, it is a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X492. Thanks for any information bromo and sorry to thread jack.

No not all head units use a fuse on the grounds of the rcas. Some use a resistor. When I had my pico fuse problem there was not a slight whine from the alternator. It was more like an unbearably screaching noise emitting from all the speakers, I couldn't even sit in my car when it was happening. I do get a slight alternator whine from the deck every now and then, it comes and goes. I am going to try and ground the deck better to eliminate it when it gets a little warmer out.

[jcarter1885 995]

Do you think my situation sounds like a bad head unit or bad amp or both?

[NB50 206]

Test it out. Hook up a mp3 player to the amps and bypass the head unit.

[jcarter1885 995]

Test it out. Hook up a mp3 player to the amps and bypass the head unit.

I only have one amp in my car at the moment and I just went outside and did the test again with the car on (accessories on and lights on, I have stepped on the gas pedal to rev the engine) and no noise with the MP3 hooked up to it. Just might have to ride around like that for a while till I get my radio fixed. Thanks man, just to be sure since the sound went away it is all on the head unit as being the source of the problem.

[ulrisa 26]

Do you think my situation sounds like a bad head unit or bad amp or both?

This same exact thing happened to me, but it was a pioneer. I'm guessing it is probably the same problem, some type of internal fuse that was fried when current tried to go through the rcas from your power terminals. This may be the same case for the original poster, the rca might have touched something while you were moving things around. Try grounding the rcas. I did this, it was a temporary fix until I got a new h/u, but it did work.

I bought a few rca couplers from radioshack (like these Male Female , hopefully you can find a cheaper place. I didn't want to modify my rca's directly, but you can if you want. I also picked up some small inline fuses, so if it happened again my h/u wouldn't fry. I soldered a wire from the outer part of the rca to the fuse holder. You could then solder on another wire and attach a ring terminal and ground it (I did it to the h/u chassis). Then I just plugged the couplers in the back of the h/u, then the rcas into the couplers. Voila, the noise disappeared.

There is always the option of buying a new unit as well if this doesn't work or whatever.

I hope this helps!

[danstow1 0]

Do you think my situation sounds like a bad head unit or bad amp or both?

This same exact thing happened to me, but it was a pioneer. I'm guessing it is probably the same problem, some type of internal fuse that was fried when current tried to go through the rcas from your power terminals. This may be the same case for the original poster, the rca might have touched something while you were moving things around. Try grounding the rcas. I did this, it was a temporary fix until I got a new h/u, but it did work.

I bought a few rca couplers from radioshack (like these Male Female , hopefully you can find a cheaper place. I didn't want to modify my rca's directly, but you can if you want. I also picked up some small inline fuses, so if it happened again my h/u wouldn't fry. I soldered a wire from the outer part of the rca to the fuse holder. You could then solder on another wire and attach a ring terminal and ground it (I did it to the h/u chassis). Then I just plugged the couplers in the back of the h/u, then the rcas into the couplers. Voila, the noise disappeared.

There is always the option of buying a new unit as well if this doesn't work or whatever.

I hope this helps!ya well if thats the case a bad fuse iv got a alpine i will wire it up tomarow and C what happens. did you guys get a thump when you hit a button on your deck

[jcarter1885 995]

Do you think my situation sounds like a bad head unit or bad amp or both?

This same exact thing happened to me, but it was a pioneer. I'm guessing it is probably the same problem, some type of internal fuse that was fried when current tried to go through the rcas from your power terminals. This may be the same case for the original poster, the rca might have touched something while you were moving things around. Try grounding the rcas. I did this, it was a temporary fix until I got a new h/u, but it did work.

I bought a few rca couplers from radioshack (like these Male Female , hopefully you can find a cheaper place. I didn't want to modify my rca's directly, but you can if you want. I also picked up some small inline fuses, so if it happened again my h/u wouldn't fry. I soldered a wire from the outer part of the rca to the fuse holder. You could then solder on another wire and attach a ring terminal and ground it (I did it to the h/u chassis). Then I just plugged the couplers in the back of the h/u, then the rcas into the couplers. Voila, the noise disappeared.

There is always the option of buying a new unit as well if this doesn't work or whatever.

I hope this helps!

Thanks maan I figured it was the head unit, I would go through all that but Im just gonna buy a new radio and through the old one in my mom's car since she wont be running amps or anything and her factory one is going bad.

[jcarter1885 995]

Do you think my situation sounds like a bad head unit or bad amp or both?

This same exact thing happened to me, but it was a pioneer. I'm guessing it is probably the same problem, some type of internal fuse that was fried when current tried to go through the rcas from your power terminals. This may be the same case for the original poster, the rca might have touched something while you were moving things around. Try grounding the rcas. I did this, it was a temporary fix until I got a new h/u, but it did work.

I bought a few rca couplers from radioshack (like these Male Female , hopefully you can find a cheaper place. I didn't want to modify my rca's directly, but you can if you want. I also picked up some small inline fuses, so if it happened again my h/u wouldn't fry. I soldered a wire from the outer part of the rca to the fuse holder. You could then solder on another wire and attach a ring terminal and ground it (I did it to the h/u chassis). Then I just plugged the couplers in the back of the h/u, then the rcas into the couplers. Voila, the noise disappeared.

There is always the option of buying a new unit as well if this doesn't work or whatever.

I hope this helps!ya well if thats the case a bad fuse iv got a alpine i will wire it up tomarow and C what happens. did you guys get a thump when you hit a button on your deck

Yeah I would get a thump every now and then, do you have an MP3 player to hook up directly to your amp to test it like I did?

[ulrisa 26]

Thanks maan I figured it was the head unit, I would go through all that but Im just gonna buy a new radio and through the old one in my mom's car since she wont be running amps or anything and her factory one is going bad.

Yeah it's definitely the better option in the long run. I did the same thing pretty much, I just gave my old head unit to my girlfriend.

[Duran 387]

Jay-cee it sounds like a grounding issue with your HU.

[jcarter1885 995]

Jay-cee it sounds like a grounding issue with your HU.

The ground was not a problem before my speaker wire fell out the terminal and hit the power/ground and remote start set of terminals of my sub amp while driving around and system playing. I turned the radio off and back on and my sub amp at the the time was making a continuous thumping like it was playing a certain frequency every other second continuously with the volume on zero (got rid of that amp and those subs). At the same time my sub amp was acting crazy my Sundown SAX-125.2 was also going crazy with the screaching. My head unit is grounded to the chassis of my vehicle where it has always been right under my dash.

Well maybe tomorrow I will change up the ground Im bought to go out there in a minute and find out where I can ground it too. It is on the metal bracket holding the dash to the car's chassis.

[danstow1 0]

Do you think my situation sounds like a bad head unit or bad amp or both?

This same exact thing happened to me, but it was a pioneer. I'm guessing it is probably the same problem, some type of internal fuse that was fried when current tried to go through the rcas from your power terminals. This may be the same case for the original poster, the rca might have touched something while you were moving things around. Try grounding the rcas. I did this, it was a temporary fix until I got a new h/u, but it did work.

I bought a few rca couplers from radioshack (like these Male Female , hopefully you can find a cheaper place. I didn't want to modify my rca's directly, but you can if you want. I also picked up some small inline fuses, so if it happened again my h/u wouldn't fry. I soldered a wire from the outer part of the rca to the fuse holder. You could then solder on another wire and attach a ring terminal and ground it (I did it to the h/u chassis). Then I just plugged the couplers in the back of the h/u, then the rcas into the couplers. Voila, the noise disappeared.

There is always the option of buying a new unit as well if this doesn't work or whatever.

I hope this helps!ya well if thats the case a bad fuse iv got a alpine i will wire it up tomarow and C what happens. did you guys get a thump when you hit a button on your deck

Yeah I would get a thump every now and then, do you have an MP3 player to hook up directly to your amp to test it like I did?

ya that was my problem i grounded the rca and it went away i was surprised that both the pioneer decks i tried both had the same problem iv ben using pioneers for years and i have never even heard of that pico fuse and i have never had a problem. Hooked up my alpine and NO more NOISE SWeeT thanks for the help fellas