Very Bad Ground Noise - No Music

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Just joined Diy Audio today. I am having a huge issue with my car stereo system. I have a Pioneer Premier DEH-P500UB head unit, Alpine V12 Amp (55X4), Infinity Basslink Sub hooked up to Pioneer Preimer PRS Speakers. At first I had everything hooked up minus the sub and all was fine. I added the Basslink Sub which was powered from a Lightning Audio power distribution block that feeds the V12 also. Still everything was fine. The next day I started to get a little bit of whining in the speakers from the alternator. I wasn't sure where it was coming from. i used a factory head unit plug adaptor and the amp and sub were both grounded nicely with short thick ground cables to metal. One day later I was listening to music from my Ipod and I heard a pop. All of a sudden there was nothing but loud whining noises with a few pops here and there. When I move the volume switch from zero to one it pops. If I turn the volume up from there is just kind of stays the same with the whining noise. Not sure what to do now. I read on the internet that Pioneer Head Units are touchy. I have traced everything out and am beginning to believe it is in the head unit itself. Someone at work told me it could be the ground loop filter that is inside the Pioneer. Could this be it. If anyone knows for sure what it could be please let me know. I am fairly sure it isn't a grouning issue but not 100 percent positive. THANKS!!
 
Perry thanks for the reply. I have not checked out the shield ground yet but I will do that. Thank you for the links also. I am not good enough to crack open the componenents and fix circuits or anything like that. My head unit has a USB on the back for the Ipod connection. Like I said I get nothing but a lound whining noise all of the time. It does not matter if I have my head unit on Aux1, Tuner, Ipod or CD. When you turn the volume from 1 to zero there is a loud popping noise in the speakers. As the RPM's in my motor go up the whining noise turns to a higher pitch whine. I read somewher else on the internet that there definetely a bad ground on the amp if there is a popping noise when you turn the volume back and forth between zero and one. I used a self tapping screw to ground the amp to the floor of my car. It is nice and snug but maybe I need to re check this also. I also read that the Pioneer Head Units are kind of touchy. I don't know if this is true or not though. Anyhow, I am going insane without my music. Oh the other thing weird that happened was that the head unit turned on in my car when I started it this moring. I didn't even have the face on the unit. I listedned to the whining for about one minute and then it automatically shut off by itself after about one minute or so. If anyone has had this problem please let me know. Thank you for your time.
 
If all 6 of the RCA jacks are mounted in one location of the radio, you can get by with doing only one set of the RCA cables. It should not matter which one you fix. If there are 4 Jacks mounted to the rear of the radio and there is one set of them on a cable coming from the other side of the radio, you will have to perform the test at the top of that page, One or the other may be OK and only the one that does not show ground will need to be done. If neither show ground when testing, you will have to do one set on the 4 jack side and also do the set on the cable.
 
You need to find what caused the ground issue. Somehow + voltage made it to the ground shields of the rca's, that's not healthy. Make sure your amp grounds are excellent. You could try putting a small (1 amp or so) fuse in the middle of the rca ground repair wire just in case, until you find the cause.
 
Thank you all for your wealth of knowledge. I will try to get this unit fixed and when/if I do I will let you know. Obviously I am not made of money so your help is GREATLY APPRECIATED. I am going to test the grounds again to make sure they are alright. I have a replacement Pioneer Head Unit that I am going to hook up since I have taken the other one back. I will let you know if this works for me. If it does and it blows again I am goint to have to solder the wires to the RCA's next time. Thank you again for your time and your help. I will keep you posted.
 
Checked grounds . Had a bad ground off the the amp that is built into the Infinity Basslink Sub. This must of made its way back through the RCA cables somehow. Any how fixed this ground and replaced the head unit. Works like a champ for now. It must of blown out the internal RCA ground in the head unit. It sure did make an aweful sound having this piece blown out. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!! You guys are awesome. I will still visit the site and try to help out if I can. Thanks Again.
 
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