Nas Escobar Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Can't wait for pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) I'll get some pics in the morning, but I have bigger fish to fry tomorrow. Today I was chasing Alternator whine for about 5 hours. The car was idling the majority of that time, as well (Alternator noise, remember). After yet another set of RCAs, I discovered that my noise's source was the front RCAs on the noise. That's fine, I just ran the rears back to the crossover and faded to the rear, the crossover takes care of everything else. I put the door sills back on and mounted the head unit back in the dash and the noise is back. After yelling at it, crying, spitting at it, kicking it, calling it's mother a toaster and it's father a Walkman, I shut the car off and checked all my connections. Then the car wouldn't start. I thought "hey, I've been messing with the stereo for awhile, it killed the battery." As I look back now, the car was idling nearly the entire time so playing with the stereo wouldn't have killed the battery... :facepalm SO I jumped it with the truck and the noise was still there. I let it run for about 15 minutes with the stereo off to charge up the battery (needlessly...), then shut it off. I had lights and everything, just a click at the starter. I investigate further and find my Positive post on the battery was a bit loose so I replaced it and jump started it again. The noise was gone! Sweet 8 pound 4 ounces blue eyed baby Jesus all my work had paid off! so for about 10 minutes I jammed out to the stereo while doing a little Irish Jig\Hill Billy dance. Then I shut it off, went inside and drug my wife out to the car like a proud 8 year old. CLICK the car doesn't start. I proceed to ball like an 8 year old girl. So I jump start the car AGAIN so I could show the wife the stereo and such, and guess what. The noise is back, and worse! It was all I could do to not throw a tantrum that would teach my 3 year old a thing or two. I calmly drove the car to work, with the stereo off of course (for it's own safety), keeping it in 1st and 2nd gear so the RPM would be pretty high and charge the battery pretty well. I get to work, shut the car off and CLICK no start. At this point I was done, off to work I went. After work I got a jump from a friend, and then tried to rush home since I figured it was the alternator. I made it 1\4 mile before I lost headlights and interior lights, and another 1\4 mile before I lost everything. Another friend saw me on the side of the road and gave me a charge (as I call it), and I rushed the other 1\2 mile home with him following me. I made it home and needless to say, that is getting fixed tomorrow. My money is on the Alternator, what do you guys think? Edited April 16, 2014 by Booba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Escobar Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 You fried your alternator, that's what I think happened. The sad part was that it was warning you of such an event. This whole time I was thinking about whether or not it was bad terminals, bad grounding, or dying alternator. When the alternator on my Cutlass died, the radio would shut itself off if I was beating the trunk loose. It didn't help that I loved to have the most amount of bass possible. Swapped out the alternator, radio stopped doing that. I suggest getting a good alternator, and if that doesn't cut it, then change your battery terminals. I used to have copper ones (or at least it looked like if it was copper) on my old Grand Am. The terminals pop right out of those plastic retainers. While on this subject, have your battery tested. The last thing you need is a dead alternator and battery. Out of curiosity, how many watts are your amps putting out? A stock alternator can handle 1000 watts RMS, and that would be pushing it. Anything that, you'll fry the alternator, so how much watts your amps need might dictate whether or not you need a heavy duty alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 I've upgraded to a CS144 Alternator that puts out (or did) anywhere from 80-110 amps at idle, the stock cs130D is 30-50, so when my alternator functions properly I should be completely fine. Both terminals are new, although not copper, and the battery is about a year old as well. I'm not saying the battery couldn't be dead, but it is relatively new, I will have it tested along side the alternator today. As far as RMS, I think I am under that 1000wrms threshold, I'm somewhere around 6-700w at most. Thinks for the response! I'll be posting results today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 New alternator is installed and the whine is better, and back to normal whine. It was more of a hum\buzz before. I attribute whine to non shielded RCAs going from the crossover to the amps and the charge wire on the alternator goes to the distribution stud where the head unit is powered from and the amps are powered off of the battery stud. There's about a 0.1v (14.1v and 14.0v)difference between the two, but I'm sure the battery was still charging at the time. System does sound better, there's more mids and the lows are more powerful. My cousin ordered some shorter RCAs that are shielded for me, so they'll be here tomorrow or Friday. That and I'll be running the alternator's charge wire to the battery, I just need to get a stud adapter thing for the battery so I can add another wire. As far as the dash bezel, It's up to 3 coats (4 in some areas), and I'll probably put a 4th or 5th on, just to be safe. Then I'll wet sand it and clear it 3 times, wetsand, and clear it 3 more times, repeat. It'll have a LOT of clear on it. The molding came out okay I guess, there's one little imperfection, but it's not that bad. Here's some pics of everything: Trunk is dirty, but this is the final layout...other than the upside down sub: Crossover, old RCAs aren't shielded, new ones will be blue to match the other new set: The new CS144: The Dash after 2 coats: Close up of the metal flake paint: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Escobar Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 I like!! Did you get rid of the whine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Not sure yet, at the very worst is around 80% better. At first I had some, but the battery was still charging so there was a good voltage difference between the HU and the Amps. My wife drove it to go get lunch and said she didn't hear any whine at all, but I haven't driven it so I don't know for sure. Either way I'm going to be re-routing the bigger charge wire from the alt to the battery, so that'll help, and I'll be changing the crossover to amp RCAs out with some shielded cables which will help a LOT. the RCAs are directly over the fuel pump, so I bet a lot of noise is coming from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 The cluster bezel is done and I think it looks great! The clear coat, wet sanding, polishing, and was really paid off! This think looks like a showroom finish! I already have a 01+ center console sanded down with 400 grit, so I just need to paint, finish, and all that. I haven't started on the ashtray yet, but it'll be coming soon. As far as the Android stuff, it's running fantastic, with the exception of Torque Pro. I'm having start up problems with it and I'll leave it at that...very frustrating. New alternator all but killed the alternator whine, I finally upgraded to the correct type of side post and soldered the connection, and ran the charge wire directly to the battery. Now my lights almost never dim, and alternator whine is BARELY there. From here I'm going to continue the dash in my build thread, since it's not really audio related. Here's a link to it: http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/78728-2000-GTP-then-to-now-Lots-of-pics/page6 Here's some pics and a video: Video: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_s95 Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 that's one hell of a nice looking dash. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 I'm 41 years old, so my car audio days were long ago but there was one thing my gang did (Mostly me) that was totally bad-ass. We would make a rack out of OSB to mount amps, crossovers, and parametric EQ's to, it would have standoffs made from blocks of scrap wood underneath leaving a gap behind it. Then we would lay out carpeting and place the components and mark the corners of the component, not the mounting tab, but just where the mounting tabs came from the body with a dot of marker. Once they were marked we'd slice the carpet with 2 slits per component and then tuck the mounting tabs into the slits and screw them in, this hid the mounting tabs and screws. Then we'd drill a hole in the wood in front of all the inputs and power wires and whatnot big enough for the wires to go through and slice the carpet just enough for the wires to go through the carpet and into the hole. The end result was that no mounting showed and all the wires and cables for every component went like 2 inches before dropping through the carpet, it looked awesome. The standoffs behind the rack gave the wires and cables somewhere to be routed. I wish I had pics of that shit. You've done a stellar job on that car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 Wow, thanks for the ideas! I actually totally forgot the amps and even bolted down, lol. They are wedged in with the sub box so they aren't going anywhere, I just need to get some self tapers to put them down. When I bought the car I gutted the interior and pressure washed the carpet...I need to do that to the trunk, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 A couple of times I integrated that idea into the Sub Enclosure, then carpeted the amp rack and enclosure as one and ran the wires out a couple of spots (seperating power and ground from signal) behind the enclosure where it wasn't visible. 4th and 6th order enclosures were super cool for that as no drivers show, so just the components hovering there on the carpet with no mounting visible and the wires disappearing into the carpeting. 6th order is really bitchin because it's a port on either side of the enclosure that can be made to run right up to factory speaker locations in the back dash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 I thought about a bandpass box, problem is at the end of the day this is a family mobile so I need some sort of trunk space. I can deal with the sub box I have now, but I will most likely find some way to elevate the amps to gain back some trunk space. I'm more of an SQ guy rather than SPL, so I actually have this W3 turned down a bit. On top of that, I want my kids to have their hearing, my boy loves to jam out to AC\DC though, lol. I've installed quite a few stereos, but the only other vehicle I really put time and effort into was my 2001 Civic. It had a Kicker CVR12 powered by this same Pioneer, Infinity Kappa Components in the doors, Kick panels with Type-R tweeters and 6.5 inch free air subs, Polk 3-way 6x9s, and the same Kenwood Excelon I had in this car before this project. I can't remember what amps I had for the surrounding speakers, but they had enough power...nothing special though. It was my first car, so I learned a lot on it and also did a lot of stupid stuff. My personal favorite was blowing up a 1\2 farad cap in my trunk...my car smelled like burnt cookies for 2 weeks. One thing that actually kinda (eventually) paid off was I tore out the interior and sprayed 14 cans worth of underbody\sound deadening into the doors, rear quarters, floor pan, roof, etc. Smelled like total crap for something like 2 months. After that it was fantastic, almost silent ride, you could barely hear the radio outside, all that kind of stuff. I just had to put up with a roofing tar smell in my car for 2 months. I'm still up in the air on which sounds better, the Grand Prix or the Civic, they both had pluses and minuses. I can say the Infinity Kappa series has come a LONG way in the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 I had 2 10's in a 4th order enclosure mounted isobaric, when we did the math on it the airspace total between the 2 sides was 1.9 cubic feet, it was crazy small, the drivers barely fit. It somehow didn't get any port noise, I can't remember what the frequency range was but it was really punchy, maybe only high 30's on the low side. Isobaric can greatly reduce the enclosure size though if you want to save space. And with kids I like 4th and 6th a little better because the drivers are safely located inside where nothing can get to them. You do need to spend a little time in the back seat though no matter what so you know how loud it actually is back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted April 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 I might look into a bandpass a bit later on, but this'll do for now. I've got $75 in the sub and $15 in the box, so I'm still pretty ahead of the game, lol. I did have to modify the box and nearly double the port size to get it into the low 30hz (I have the exactly frequency written down somewhere, I think it's around 31hz). I will say I like the JL over the Kicker, the Kicker might have hit a bit harder but the JL is so much cleaner...especially for being in a ported box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 The important thing is driver parameters, If you don't already have one, doenload an enclosure design program. I would never buy drivers without getting the parameters first and seeing what they do and how much space they need to do it in. Isobaric is the key to smaller enclosures, there is a simple formula online (which I used to just know) you can use to turn a driver's specs into an Isopair to then plug into enclosure design software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Escobar Posted April 27, 2014 Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 lmp, what's a good enclosure design program? I want to make a box for my Cutlass in the near future, but need to start laying ground work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted April 27, 2014 Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 I used to use one called QuickBox, it was sold by Pyramid. The reality is there isn't anything any of them can really do differently, they all follow the same formula's regarding the Thiele Small Parameters. Download all the ones you can find and just play with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Escobar Posted April 27, 2014 Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 I see... I was hoping you knew of a good free one that's easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_s95 Posted May 2, 2014 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 I see... I was hoping you knew of a good free one that's easy to use. This doesn't really give you a specific layout of all the pieces you need to cut out or anything, but if you put in the dimensions you need and what you want to tune your box to, it will spit out your box length, width, height, port size, and other stuff. This whole website is a great resource for the whole cost of nothing. http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/boxcalcs.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted May 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 I'm thinking that after I get back from AZ in July I'll build a new box\trunk floor. I like the way this sounds on 90% of songs, but then other songs it's too punchy or to quiet. Today I'm gonna go zero out all my EQ bands, and rework my gain structure to see if that helps at all, but I doubt it will. When I do build it, I'll be putting a lot of research into the box itself, so I can get the most out of the space I have available to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted May 2, 2014 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 It took me awhile to dial my 12 in where it complements the Rock music I listen to. But it's well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted May 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Turns out my boy pulled the center console down and messed with the crossovers a bit. Looks like I get to start locking it again. This weekend I plan on putting sound deadening in the doors and trunk. My cousin owns a local car audio shop so I might get a good deal on Hushmat. If not, I'll be headed up to Springfield to buy 4 rolls of Peel n Seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted May 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2014 I'm dynamating everything, check out my build thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booba Posted September 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 Hey guys, I figured I should go ahead and update this thread. Everything seems to be working great! I've made a few changes, but nothing too major I was able to remove the USB IR receiver so I only use the internal one now, which makes things a lot easier. A new firmware update to the head unit fixed the Torque Pro problem. It now opens at boot up with no errors or prompts. I also was able to get Sygic (GPS) to work, and I can get it to fix GPS (within 3 feet) in less than 3 seconds. I'm borrowing a Jl JX 500\1 from a friend to see how my sub will sound and so far, I like it but I'll still build a new box for it to get the best out of the sub. Yesterday I tore the headunit itself apart to add a heat sink to the CPU, they put a dual core 1.2 GHZ CPU in there with no cooler...great idea. Seems to run better and boot fast now, so that's a good thing. Here's a video I made for a friend back in Phoenix to see what it does...although I forgot the back-up camera. [video=youtube;n2wpBcCaSkI] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.