# I HAVE CONQUERED PIONEER'S ALTERNATOR WHINE!!!



## samdoan (Mar 17, 2009)

This is probably a repost but man I'm so excited that I fixed that problem that I just have to let someone know!!!!

Ok I have a Pioneer DEH-4900IB which I love except for the dreaded alternator whine. I bought it because of the aesthetics, features, and the price. A comparable Alpine would have cost about $50 more...not sure why mid range Alpines don't have 3 sets of pre-outs. 

Anyways...since day one I've gotten huge alternator whine. Everything affects the whine...rpm's, rolling up windows, my heated seats, and my HID headlights. I've had this unit for about 2 years and have effortlessly tried to fix it. I've moved the ground to about a billion different places with no help whatsoever.

Yesterday while I had my head unit out to hook up my ipod cable I thought "**** this...I need a definite fix for this alternator whine!" and I hit the forums. I've previously read that the problem was the pico fuses that Pioneer uses but that was something I couldn't fix. 

Well! I stumbled on this really ghetto looking fix. It involves wrapping wire around each of the RCA jacks on the back of the head unit and then grounding it to the head unit itself. Courtesy of the carudio.com forums.

>>>Engine whine and ground loop fixes... take two - Car Audio Forum - CarAudio.com










Honestly, I was extremely hesitant to do this. I've worked tirelessly at fixing this problem in the past and I really didn't want to waste anymore of my time doing something that wasn't going to solve the problem. But being as fed up with the alternator whine as I was, I went ahead and did it....AND IT WORKS :laugh:!

So yeah...I'm super excited that this retardedly ghetto looking fix actually solved my problem. I was definitely hesitant in doing it in the first place, but after reading so many testimonials from other people on caraudio.com I decided to give it a shot!

So to all of you out there who are suffering from the same woes...do this!!!!


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## basicxj (Jan 1, 2008)

Some more good reading on the subject: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio/13889-pioneer-rca-preout-noise-prevention.html


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

That's step one. Now get out the soldering iron and a resistor and fix it properly


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

Welcome to like 2 years ago


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## 03blueSI (Feb 5, 2006)

This is caused by plugging in RCA's while there is power to the HU. Unhook the battery while installing or removing a Pioneer HU and you won't blow the Pico fuse to begin with. I have never had a problem with a Pioneer HU.


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

Yeah, first off, this is a pretty old fix. Number two, it doesn't fix the problem completely, at least not back when I tried it. Mostly, but not completely. The pico fuse is the correct and 100% way to solve it.


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## dovogod (Jan 21, 2009)

I opened up my d2 and soldered wires and ran a fuse outside the case, so if i ever screw up again just swap out the fuse nice and easy.


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## bafukie (Nov 23, 2007)

surely aan unorthodox method... but hell if it works.. great


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## 1sty (Jun 24, 2009)

what units does this actually effect?
I have been running a DEHP4900ib for 3 years now and never had even a hint of alternator whine except for when I tried to use my really old audio control EQS.


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

1sty said:


> what units does this actually effect?
> I have been running a DEHP4900ib for 3 years now and never had even a hint of alternator whine except for when I tried to use my really old audio control EQS.


I would take a guess that quite a few over the last 2-3 years are affected by this. On the up side, to prevent it, do not hot swap your RCAs as that seems to be the most common reason behind this issue.


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## johnmasters (Mar 30, 2009)

Should this also work on an amp with alternator whine?


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## Deton Nation (Jul 3, 2009)

nice job!


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## basicxj (Jan 1, 2008)

johnmasters said:


> Should this also work on an amp with alternator whine?


Have you narrowed the whine down to the amp and eliminated your head unit as the cause (by substituting a source other than your head unit, such as an mp3 player) ?

If so, I would say "no," in that whine originating from the amp rather than the head unit is most likely caused by a ground loop or internal fault.


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## johnmasters (Mar 30, 2009)

I have not substituted the source but of the five amps I have played around with lately only one does it and it did it in every other car I've installed it in.

That sure would be an easy fix!


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## evo9 (Jul 6, 2005)

bass_lover1 said:


> Welcome to like 2 years ago




HEY!!!! If you gonna do it. Do it right.












The old school monster 401xln rca cables, with the drain wire would have solve your problem.


.


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## proofinlife (Jun 16, 2010)

OP's methodology worked 100% !!

Also took gijoe's advice and soldered each area where the RCA ground shield met the bare cable. VOILA! No more disgusting alternator whine.

I've read up on this issue before, and someone said it's because a hot wire came in contact with the RCA plugs, and another poster here said it was because of hot swapping the RCA's. It wasn't the case for me. I simply turned on my car, heard a loud POP, and out came the whine!

Regardless, fix worked perfectly on my pioneer and I'm happily listening to music without being embarrassed any longer!

Model : DEH-4100UB

Note : Apologies to moderators for the old bump, it's just this thread comes up in google with "Alternator Whine Affect Sub" as #1 entry, so I figured adding to this thread would help out all people coming from google here!


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## AggieTreed (Apr 10, 2011)

I just registered for this site to say thanks for this post. I had horrible alternator whine in my brand new kicker speakers and I was about to pull my hair out every time I turned on my truck. I ran that wire like the pic and the whine was gone. Amazing! My system sounds awesome now!


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## AggieTreed (Apr 10, 2011)

Btw bass_lover1 I like your pic. Meshuggah was one of the first bands thumping through my crystal clean sounding speakers


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## samdoan (Mar 17, 2009)

Thread necromancers rejoice! Funny thing is I've since upgraded to a CD5030 and have alternator whine once again haha.


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