Whining sound from the speakers

[importcar]

What is the proper way to ground an aftermarket radio? I recently installed a new Dual headunit and now there is a whine coming from the factory 6-speaker system. I'm pretty sure I connected the wires correctly (with the crutchfield wire harness).

[abew330]

"alternator whine"
does it seem to pick up when you accelerate and slow down when your rpms go up/down, or it may just be a persistent whining noise ?
usually always caused by improper grounding of your system
OR
loose audio connection between car and HU.

try cleaning up the "grounding location" or ground to a new spot.
can also try a ground loop isolator

also may not help but always a good idea to clean up the connections/cables to/from battery. and get the battery a good charge

[KiDGiB]

Your power wires are too close to your speaker wires. If the whining gets louder as you accelerate, that is because your alternator is affecting the signals to the speakers.

[importcar]

It's a persistant whine that gets louder as the rpm goes up.

The wires aren't soldered. I twisted them together with wire caps.

The ground wire from the head unit is connected to the ground wire on the wire harness. And the wire harness is plugged to the factory wire harness. I don't know where the factory ground wire goes.

Should I bypass the factory ground wire and ground the head unit directly to a metal part in the dash?

[KiDGiB]

Yes you can ground your factory wire, but it should already be grounded from factory. I'd have to say it could be the plastic caps causing the noise in your speakers or if you have a sub-woofer, check your power wires to make sure they aren't running along with your speaker wires.

[importcar]

No subs. Just the factory speakers and the new head unit. I doubt the wire caps are causing the whine.

Does the factory ground (brown wire) lead to the (-) battery terminal or the chassis?

[JohnGD]

Talk to Crutchfield again. My guess is the Dual HU is not up to par in filtering power line noises if you're using stock speakers. I personally would go Alpine.

Power line noise filters:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_003S15A...t.html?tp=3723
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_003S25A...t.html?tp=3723

Various noise filters:
http://www.crutchfield.com/g_181150/...s.html?tp=3723

Originally Posted by importcar

What is the proper way to ground an aftermarket radio? I recently installed a new Dual headunit and now there is a whine coming from the factory 6-speaker system. I'm pretty sure I connected the wires correctly (with the crutchfield wire harness).