*edit: i posted this in the specific gen (civic 92-00) but someone suggest i posted here, might get better help..

this is on a b18c1 swap..95civic sedan..i've just notice this the past few days..dont remember it ever happen b4..i have a minimal system..8in sub power by 150w sony amp, on 8G power wire..custom ground kit..bat>>chassis...bat>>tranny ground..valve cover >> chassis...12v+>>alternator..those for the Big 3 i guess..
problem:
i turn on the headlight at night and i can hear the whining noise get a lil louder when i step on the gas..turn the light off and it's gone..turn it onto parking light and it's back again..

thing i've tried:
1 - remove the Big 3 ground kit...
test = still whine
2 - unplug the amp power and ground wire from amp
test = still whine
3 - remove power to amp and big 3
test = still whine

i thought it was the ground kit that's making the noise but as u see when i remove it completely, it still does it..

so basically it doesn't matter whether or not i have the big 3 in or not..problem still persist..

do u think it could be the alternator going bad??
i don't know if this is related but, last week i change the fuel filter, pcv valve..clean the battery terminal by sanding off the corrosion..coats terminals with battery protection spray (from auto part store)..
that's all, nothing else..

thanks

 

Where is the whining noise comming from? 94

 

i have killer whine in through my speakers when headlights are on too...my brother had same problem and he unhooked one of the RCA cables from the amp and it fixed his.

I dont want to be that ghetto so i just turn the sound extremly loud lol...

 

^^really..but wouldn't unplugging the amp power and ground altogher would stop the noise though??

sound coming from speakers..i'm gonna try the rca method and see..like i said, this just now started a few days ago..

thanks

 

What speakers?

What does your system consist of?

Makes and models of HU, amps, speakers and sub(s)

What kind of wiring are you using, RCAs, and power and grounds, and where are they run?

Where are amp(s) mounted, and how and where are they grounded? 94

 

speakers: crunch gt-s (very cheap speakers from sounddomain.com)
systems: 8inch jbl sub, sony 150w amp, monster cable rca, 8G power amp no brand name.

Ground from amp to bolt that hold down the seat cushion, the cushion u sat on not lean on..

HU: eclipse mp3 5v i believe

amp mounted on the back of the seat..so the ground wire to the amp is only about 2ft long..

that's it..i've tried last night to unplug the rca cable and that didn't solve anything..it still buzz and whine when the headlights are on..so i know it's not the system..and for the size of my system, the battery have plenty of juice to push it..i don't even turn up the volume 1/2way..

 

OK, one more time, is the noise coming from the sub, low-pass, [that has the Sony amp on it] or is it comming from the Crunch speakers, full-range/high-pass, [that I assume are powered by the Eclipse HU]?

When you unplug the RCAs, are you doing it at the amp or the HU?

If at the amp, try it at the HU.

If the noise is on the Crunch, powered by HU, try pulling the RCAs at the HU, try unplugging the radio ant., check your HU ground, [black in OEM radio harness].

How is the HU wired, are you using a wire harness adapter, or is the Eclipse harness wired directly to the OEM harness?

Have you grounded the HUs chassis, a proper metal "L" bracket off the back of the HU to the stock read radio support makes a good chassis ground.

One last thing, if the HUs constant power, [yellow] is connected to the OEM radio harness constant power, [white w/yellow or blue tracer] redo it, run a fused 12ga-10ga from the batt. to behind the HU and connect the HUs yellow to it, don't forget to cap off the OEM radio harness constant power.

I would also check the batt. to chassis and chassis to motor grounds in the engine bay. 94

 

To me it sounds like your deck is causing the problem. If I understood you correctly.

Sounds like a bad deck ground. I am assuming you are powering your mids and tweets using deck power. Do as mentioned above ^^^^^

If that doesn't fix it try a new deck.

 

noise seems to be coming from the speaker
aftermarket harness
unplug rca at amp with amp fuse pulled out = amp dead
i've had this HU for 6months and nothing like this happen b4
yes HU is grounded, using metra installation harness
all wires from HU and Harness are hooked up correctly
all ground wire from batt to chassis are solid tight

went to advance auto parts to get battery & alt check
battery=good
alt=ok, not as good..he said something about normal range is up 90 something..mines running at 20-30ish..then again, they were checking the entire current flow of the car, that's wat he told me ..so alternator might be the coprate.. *sigh* better look into another alternator..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civic402lx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">alt=ok, not as good..he said something about normal range is up 90 something..mines running at 20-30ish..then again, they were checking the entire current flow of the car, that's wat he told me ..so alternator might be the coprate.. *sigh* better look into another alternator..</TD></TR></TABLE>

So how was the alternator checked? Did he load test it? If he load tested it and it only put out 20-30 amps then ya I would say your alternator is toast. But if all he did was measure the current draw while the car was running then he's an idiot and shouldn't have said your alternator was ok.

I'd take it to another mechanic and ask them specifically to load test your alternator.

 

how do u properly do a load test and what does that mean??
what he did was, he tested the battery first w/out the car running..so he hooked up postive and negative terminal then wait for his machine to read..

then on the opposite side of his machine he took out a clamp like but the tip is round when it comes together and he he hung it from the positive terminal cable off the battery..

told me to start the car, and i did..he said something like, the test is a testing the load or the entire draw from the car when everything is running and such..then said someting about 90 and mine being pretty low..

so i don't know if that's how u properly load test the alternator or not..

 

They have a resistor box that applies a large load. Then they measure the current going back into the battery from the alternator this will tell if the alternator is charging. What ever load they apply they should be able to read a matching current supply comming from the alternator.

Measuring what is on the + cable only shows what your car is using at the present time and doesn't really mean anything meaningful.

 

hmm..i c..thanks for clearing that up..i'll just have to bring it to my mechanic and have him do the test..i hope he have something for that..

 

Remember when you run your rca and power cables to the rear that they are seperate. If run together you will get a whining noise. I ran power down one side and rca down the other. But now my battery is in the trunk. But no whine ever.

 

is the dimmer wire connected on your head unit?

 

yes..makes no different..the noise should've gone away if i turn off the deck..and it's still there..i think i'm just gonna get a new alt. when it's warm up and see what happen..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civic402lx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes..makes no different..the noise should've gone away if i turn off the deck..and it's still there..i think i'm just gonna get a new alt. when it's warm up and see what happen..</TD></TR></TABLE>
I still think it's more then likely an issue with your wiring at your stereo or your stereo itself.

 

i'll have to wait til it start warming up b4 i take it all a part..i didnt do anything to the stereo when i change the fuel filter..all i did were un hook the battery, both terminal, and remove the amp's power source, ground, remote, and speaker wires..take the seat out..that's it..didn't happen b4 the maintainance..oh well, we'll see what happen i guess..and usually when u have a ground loop noise it's on all the time, not just when the headlights are on..i've install enough stereo and amp to know this isn't from the wiring or stereo..stereo is practically new..bought it in the summer..so, i don't know..