# Alternator hum coming from my Equalizer?



## Sean_2004 (Mar 4, 2021)

I’ve had this humming noise in my audio system and I have ruled out that it’s not my grounds or my RCA cables picking up interference and my amp grounds are perfect
But I have come to the conclusion that it’s my equalizer making the noise. I have it grounded to a good spot I just want to know how to fix it because I’m willing to purchase a new one I just need to figure out if it’s just a bad EQ or something else. Can anyone help. Thanks.


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## dumdum (Feb 27, 2007)

How do you know it’s a good ground? Is it grounded at the same place as your amps and radio?


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## Sean_2004 (Mar 4, 2021)

dumdum said:


> How do you know it’s a good ground? Is it grounded at the same place as your amps and radio?


I did see a video and some reviews about my Equalizer which is a 7 Band Clarion. And they all said to give its own ground which i tested with a voltmeter after the humming came back and there is very low resistance. So I do think it’s the EQ I'm just not sure what.


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## dumdum (Feb 27, 2007)

Sean_2004 said:


> I did see a video and some reviews about my Equalizer which is a 7 Band Clarion. And they all said to give its own ground which i tested with a voltmeter after the humming came back and there is very low resistance. So I do think it’s the EQ I'm just not sure what.


That isn’t how you test a ground, or how to ground an eq, take the ground back to the same point as your amps, nowhere else, it is totally not beneficial to give it it’s own Earth... the very opposite...


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## Sean_2004 (Mar 4, 2021)

dumdum said:


> That isn’t how you test a ground, or how to ground an eq, take the ground back to the same point as your amps, nowhere else, it is totally not beneficial to give it it’s own Earth... the very opposite...


OK Maybe your missing my question I want to know how to test an EQ to tell if it’s the source of the problem. YES my EQ has its own independent ground ALL BY ITSELF. Next YES you can test a ground with a voltmeter by setting it to impedance and grounding off the negative terminal to the battery ground and using the positive terminal on the Voltmeter and touching the ground location and checking the amount of resistance in ohms.


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## dumdum (Feb 27, 2007)

Sean_2004 said:


> OK Maybe your missing my question I want to know how to test an EQ to tell if it’s the source of the problem. YES my EQ has its own independent ground ALL BY ITSELF. Next YES you can test a ground with a voltmeter by setting it to impedance and grounding off the negative terminal to the battery ground and using the positive terminal on the Voltmeter and touching the ground location and checking the amount of resistance in ohms.


I don’t speak from 20 years experience so clearly I have no clue

so no a voltmeter set on resistance won’t give an accurate reading as there is no load on the earth location

a single strand of cable will give an excellent resistance reading with no load, as soon as you try and pass 10a through it your going to get a whole different picture

you use a voltmeter set on volts to measure voltage drop with a set load present (H7 light bulbs are an excellent simple to connect 3.5a load or multiples thereof) to fault find an Earth fault, now do you wish to learn or are you going to just show you really don’t know what you’re talking about with fault finding and chat back like the apprentice who knows best?

The easiest way to test the eq properly would be to wire it directly to the same Earth as the amp as close as possible (but not touching it), with known good cable as short as possible with the source unit connected to the same location, easy but you need various leads to do it as you don’t want to be using the ones fitted in the car


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## supermaxx123 (Apr 3, 2010)

By pass your eq with the car on to see if you still have the noise


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