I finally did it!

[MN Probe GT]

I have the stock subwoofer working with an aftermarket CD player with the stock amplifier bypassed.

So yea....I've been planning on doing this for over 2 years and I just got it to work now.

But I do have a problem with it...

There seems to be interfearance with the audio cables.

First, there is a quiet and quick popping sound coming from it any time the CD player is playing. If I pause it or mute it, it stops. So maybe there is interfearance coming from the CD player that I can't even help.

The other problem is more annoying and I should be able to fix. Everytime my brake lights go on, there is a loud popping sound and a similar, but quieter popping sound when they go off. I did run the audio cable above the pedals and down the drivers side, but what could cause so much interfearance to make this popping sound? Any area that I should try to avoid? I have to put the car back together tomorrow, so I don't have much time :(

[Eric94GT]

Must be some of the wires going down by the bottom of the door. Maybe try going down the passenger side.

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by Eric94GT
Must be some of the wires going down by the bottom of the door. Maybe try going down the passenger side.

thats like 3x harder.

[jay]

they say you shouldnt run the power wire and RCA wire on one side of the car floor.. i found that it seems to cut the engine and other annoying sounds by runnin the RCA wires on the passenger side and run the ACC and POWER to the rear on the driver side....

[Splat]

that's exactly your problem. Run the signal wires down the passenger side door and it should alleviate your popping. It is a lot more work, but if you wanna get rid of the annoyance then you should do it.

[Shrep]

Originally posted by Splat
that's exactly your problem. Run the signal wires down the passenger side door and it should alleviate your popping. It is a lot more work, but if you wanna get rid of the annoyance then you should do it. yessir!

Also, there is a chance that that may not quite take care of all of it, and if that's the case, just wire in a cap.

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by Shrep
yessir!

Also, there is a chance that that may not quite take care of all of it, and if that's the case, just wire in a cap.

I really hope you don't mean capaciter. :lol:

[Shrep]

Originally posted by MN Probe GT
I really hope you don't mean capaciter. :lol: I've seen it work.

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by Shrep
I've seen it work.

I'm not saying it won't work...

It's just that I'm using THE CHEAPEST amp I could find with the STOCK subwoofer.

the amp is one I got at WALMART for like $40. It's a 2 channel 80 watt amp. I'm only using 1 channel though.

btw, you guys are all wrong. There are just as many wires down the passenger side of the car. So I tested out some things and found out that it is NOT the audio cable that is causing this. It has to be one of the power or ground wires. I'm guessing since some of the interferance is coming from the CD player, that I shouldn't be tapping the ACC power going into the CD player. Perhaps when I have time I will look up a better ACC wire to use.

In the meantime I turned the gain on the amp down to about 1/3 (I had it at full before) You can still hear the popping with the car off, but when the engine is running I can't hear it. To compensate I turned up the volume on the sub out as high as it would go on my CD player, which isn't much higher because the range isn't very large.

Even with the low gain, I can still tell the difference. And to me, hearing the bass, but not knowing for sure if there is a sub is the perfect balance. When you're next to a car and you can hear and feel the bass...you know they have a subwoofer and it sounds like shit.

[probespeed]

Is the amp grounded really good ?

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by probespeed
Is the amp grounded really good ?

It's using one of the ground wires that the stock sub amp used. I guess I could try grounding it to the metal in that area.

[jay]

that might work better... but again.. those wires need to be apart.. and you shouldnt get any weird noises...

[Splat]

If the power wire for the amp AND the signal wire for the amp are adjacent to each other you will get interferance. I know what I'm talking about, I wired subs in my saturn AND my probe PLUS my brother in law deals with electicity/sound/speakers/amps/signals/and wires all day, everyday.

I'm not wrong. Keep the signal and power wires as far apart. If the small wires in the door are causing interferance then you better get some thicker insulation on your signal cable.

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by Splat
If the power wire for the amp AND the signal wire for the amp are adjacent to each other you will get interferance. I know what I'm talking about, I wired subs in my saturn AND my probe PLUS my brother in law deals with electicity/sound/speakers/amps/signals/and wires all day, everyday.

I'm not wrong. Keep the signal and power wires as far apart. If the small wires in the door are causing interferance then you better get some thicker insulation on your signal cable.

I TOLD YOU that's NOT the problem.

I ran the audio cable FAR away from ANY other wires and I had the same exact problem. So it has to be the power or ground wires. for the constant 12v wire I tapped into a power wire for the stock sub amp and the same for the ground. For the ACC (remote turn on) power I tapped into the ACC wire on the back of my CD player.

[wannabfast]

how insulated is that tap on the acc wire?

[Shrep]

You didn't mention before that the noise occurred while the car was off...

You have a ground issue.

[probespeed]

I'm still trying to figure out why someone would want to run the factory sub with an aftermarket amp :confused:

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by Shrep
You didn't mention before that the noise occurred while the car was off...

You have a ground issue.

why does it make any difference ACC or ON, the radio doesn't know the difference. :)

Originally posted by probespeed
I'm still trying to figure out why someone would want to run the factory sub with an aftermarket amp :confused:

I already explained that.

oh well next time I'm home I will ground it at the metal by the amp.

[wannabfast]

hehe bad ground.. normally u ground at the nearest piece of bare metal...

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by wannabfast
hehe bad ground.. normally u ground at the nearest piece of bare metal...

I love those little blue tap in things though. :lol:

[probespeed]

:rolleyes:

[Shrep]

Originally posted by MN Probe GT
why does it make any difference ACC or ON, the radio doesn't know the difference. :) Sorry, I thought you meant that it made that noise when the ignition switch is OFF.

[MN Probe GT]

Originally posted by Shrep
Sorry, I thought you meant that it made that noise when the ignition switch is OFF.

yea sorry, what I meant is that when the engine isn't running, I can still hear it.