Author Topic: age old problem of amp pop when turning off  (Read 1846 times)

Offline mark-mk3gti

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age old problem of amp pop when turning off
« on: 03 February 2010, 20:14 »
hi all,  ok for 2weeks ive been pulling my hair out, and thought id sorted it, the story so far,
just to mention thou i have a reasonable idea of whats going on, as some years ago i fitted car audio for a shop, getting on for 10years thou

anyway, n reg 98 mk3 golf gti, few rust patches, sills bit worn etc

run 4awg down left side, 2 rcas down right,  not amazing quality rcas but doubt they are the prob as happens with them removed,  a thin blue wire for amp remote.
earth is on boot floor, but has been up near the lights also, panels scrtched to bare metal

in glove box is a caliber eq, not fancy, and is wired into the car stereo, eg earth and power and remote,  gonna connect earth to seperately to bare metal behinnd lower glove box panel.
earth and power are terminated with gold distribution blocks in the rear.  earth is 4awg also

speakers connecting are new 5,25vibe components in doors and kicker 6x9s in shelf

3 different amps to describe

1st is an old caliber ca460 and when all connected got terrible alternator whine and turning on/off pops quite loud, tried 2 earth point.

2nd is a small 2chan sony and conecting in the same place just front speakers works perfectly, not pops or alt whine.

so assummed amp was just old and the technology wasnt there to stop it, after what i read about amps,

so picked up a jbl gt5-a604 fairly new and 2nd hand (like the other 2) and just swapped in too try, and tried it with just the 6x9s 2 channels at a time, and i get the popping but no whine at all,

so now i dont know what to do, i'm guessing its the earth, but maybe the other end, cos i have noticed the dash lights dim when i use elec windows or turn heater on etc,  gonna try putting another earth cable from batt to inner wing,  but  i have tried it but only used washer bottle mounting bolt previously so not the best, will drill a new hole etc

any ideas?   or is it just a duff amp? or should i stick to sonys :)
« Last Edit: 03 February 2010, 20:20 by mark-mk3gti »

Offline troublestarter

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Re: age old problem of amp pop when turning off
« Reply #1 on: 03 February 2010, 22:08 »
this is easy to solve it is a remote delay
to solve it you need to fit a positive boost relay
just get a 4 pin relay from a motor accessory shop and wire it up like this
connect pin 86 to the remote coming from the h/u
connect pin 87 to a permanent 12v+ supply
connect pin 85 to earth
connect pin 30 to the remote going to the amps
problem solved
www.awesomeautomotive.co.uk<br />mobile vehicle security & audio fitting service<br />insurance accredited

Offline mark-mk3gti

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Re: age old problem of amp pop when turning off
« Reply #2 on: 06 February 2010, 00:01 »
hi there, sorry for delay, yeah thanks for that, have ordered a relay off fleabay as halfrauds wanted 6quid for one, got it off bay for 2.99 so alls good, will keep u posted, hopefully tommorrow.. :)

gti190

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Re: age old problem of amp pop when turning off
« Reply #3 on: 06 February 2010, 08:27 »

Hi and good luck with this.

Any problems I have had have always been due to one of the following:

1.  Poor earth.  It really needs to be as good a contact as possible with quality thick gauge cable and as short as possible.

2.  Interference - extra insulation is usually required as even the cable on 4aw doesnt insulate enough if there is anything to pick up.

3.  Damaged equipment - but damaged or not there is always a good reason to upgrade to more power!  :smiley:

Let us know how you get on.

AJ
gti190

Offline mark-mk3gti

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Re: age old problem of amp pop when turning off
« Reply #4 on: 06 February 2010, 21:07 »
Hi there, yeah thanks for the info, hoping to get it in tommorrow, relay is here so will put both in properly tommorrow, and report my findings :) 

Offline mark-mk3gti

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Re: age old problem of amp pop when turning off
« Reply #5 on: 07 February 2010, 16:59 »
hi folks, well had a couple of hours on my problem, and it is the eq causing it, damn thing, tried better earths and checked all wiring, but still pops, the relay is neat tried it on amp and eq but didnt solve it, so i messed about, and think i have a soloution.

the eq power and remote now both goto the ignition +of the stereo, (or i could use a switch) so as long as i remember to turn off my stereo before turning car off i dont get the pop, its going down the rcas, so i tried without the eq, and prob solved,  and also to annoy 1 even more, 1 of my rca leads is knackered it doesnt send anything down either side, so gotta strip all that out now and run a new rca,  good job i'm off work tommorrow.

i am gonna use the relay still thou as in my amp rack i put a pc fan in there so i can now drive that off the relay, and also some lights to light things up a bit, so thanks for the info;

will update again tommorrow when i have sorted it out, too cold out now and i need some connectors,