The clue about changing the battery and adding a capacitor tends to point to inadequate voltage. I can't find anyone who agrees that changing the signal cables would be a valid move, so I suggest you concentrate on the charging system. Take a voltmeter and wire it to a cigarette lighter plug. This will allow you to monitor the voltage. If the voltage drops below 11.6 volts while stopped with your foot on the brake, I would suspect that your alternator is not keeping up.
I have a '97 Eclipse that I tried to get a JVC Kameleon head unit installed in. I took the car to the best local shop, and they did it wrong. They then tried to fix it to no avail. I then took my car to another installer, and it still doesn't work. They say that it is hard to bypass the factory Infinity system to install an aftermarket head unit, and now my radio drains my battery, and my antenna stays up, even when I'm not listening to the radio.
I have tried to find someone who can do it, but at this point I am just trying to find a list of the Mitsubishi wiring colors, so I can fix it myself. These two local shops wouldn't give them to me, because they want me to keep wasting money on their hack install skills. I am confident that I can handle it, as I used to be an installer, I had just hoped to let someone else do my head unit, because I had never bypassed a factory amp before. If you have any tips, or could tell me where to find the wiring colors on the Internet, I would greatly appreciate it.ThanksSteve MillarVia the Internet
This sounds a bit extraordinary, so I called Rob Putnam at Soundgate who is a manufacturer of really high quality interface modules. He confirmed that the Eclipse Infinity system accepts a basic unconverted signal of anywhere from 2 to 6 volts by wiring the JVC's RCA connectors directly to a 6-pin DIN connector. In other words, this is a relatively easy hookup that does not require an interface adapter. In this case you are not bypassing the amplifier, but are feeding signal through it.
It worries me that the unit drains the battery and the antenna does not retract. If you have the experience, you should get on with an in-depth look at possible causes. Feel free to send me some pictures.
Hi guys,I have a problem that no installer I have taken the car to can solve. Noise. A hum when the car is NOT running. When you power head unit from external power supply (amp still powered from the car) no noise is present. When you unplug the RCA's there is no noise. When you run all power and ground to battery you still have noise. I live in Woodstock, ON Canada. It is between Toronto and London. Is there an installer that might be able to help me somewhere? Any ideas for me to try to solve problem or any installers you know that are better than most, please email me.
Thanks a bunch for your timeMorris VervaeckeVia the Internet
Although you haven't revealed which vehicle you have, try the same test with the park brake engaged. No, I'm not kidding! If the noise is not present with the park brake engaged, you can suspect the Daytime Running Light circuit. This is mandatory equipment on all passenger cars in Canada and is starting to appear on some US models. A pulse width generator that powers the headlights at a lower current level by sending short pulses of voltage to the headlights causes the hum. The car appears from a distance to have its headlights on, but the power consumption is way down and headlight life is not reduced a significant amount.
To prevent this module from radiating noise into audio circuits, find the module using a noise sniffer. You may need to have a professional installer perform this part of the process. Re-route your signal cables away from the module. If the module is too close to the head unit, you may need to relocate the module to a new location.