Ground loop with Ipod

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I had an Aiwa deck el cheapo from Best Buy. I was using the front auxillary input with my Ipod. The Ipod sits in its cradle plugged into the cradle are the line out to the deck and the +12v charger from the cigarette lighter.

I replaced the deck with a Panasonic with rear inputs, and now I have some nasty hum. If I disconnect the power supply from the Ipod cradle the hum disappears.

How do I fix this problem without putting anything in the signal path? Just leave the cradle unplugged does not work either.

Thanks for any help.

-NaftaliG
 
This is not my mod, but it sounds like this could be your problem.

From Crutchfield;

If you have noise just when you are using a Portable (CD/MD/MP3) Deck, then the problem is most likely ground-related. Most portable players are connected to the head unit using either a cassette adapter, or through 'AUX IN' jack(s) on the front or rear of the head unit. The power for the portable is then obtained through a twelve-volt adapter that is plugged into the cigarette lighter.

The problem lies in the fact that using the cigarette lighter, which is using a different ground than the head unit, creates a ground loop between the two units. Test by unplugging the power converter from the portable, and then playing the portable through your head unit using the batteries of the portable for power. If this eliminates the noise, then you could change the ground location for either the cigarette lighter, or the receiver, so that they are both grounded to the exact same location.

A small wire connected between the radio's ground wire and the lighter's should kill this problem just fine.

Good luck.
 
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