Strange Problem Driving Me NUTS!!!
 

Hopefully someone here is smarter than me and can solve this problem for me. When i am driving my runner with the radio on i get this anoying high pitched noise when i press the gas, the harder i press the gas the louder it is. My wife barely notices it, but i drive it daily and its really starting to annoy me. The wierd thing is sometimes it doesnt happen, but majority of the time it does. and if the radio is off when i drive it never happens. Please help before i go nuts

You mean the noise is coming through the radio speakers? Or is it external to the audio system? If it's coming through the speakers, it sounds like radio frequency interference from your engine electronics or something...

I cant tell if it comes through the radio or the speakers, i have tried to listen closely but i cant really tell. Just know it only happens if radio is on.

does it happen witht he volume all the way down? if not it probobly comes throught the speakers

Aftermarket or factory stereo? If the stereo is aftermarket who installed it?

^What he said^

That's called alternator whine. Ditto the question on the sound system... (Might even only be a HU...)

Ditto on the alternator whine. That has my vote. There are filters that can be installed on the alternator and/or radio that will cure it.

its a factory cd/cassette combo, only thing i have added was some pioneer speakers, but it had this problem before i installed them thought better speakers might drowned it out, but doesnt. i also thought it could have to do with the alternator, because when reving the whine gets louder the higher my rpms are.

Sounds like you need an In-line Noise filter. It gets attahced to the Power and ground lines for your deck. It like a $10 piece. Funny thing is Ive never heard of a Factory Unit needing one ????? I thought they came with them ?


I think there is a fuse built into the Filter. I dont know if the fuse blows if the deck will stop working or if it just stops flitering noise.

Might be worthwhile to check out.

By any chance, did you or someone else install new plug wires? Some aftermarket wire sets are not suppression rated, and will cause the same type of RF interference with radios.

can be caused by improper ground - good installs power and ground directly at the battery and no place else

I speak from experience - the first HU/amp I installed quickly and just grounded as close to the piece as I could find. lots of whine.

The next time around I ran power and ground from the battery - no whine!

Filters for the whine are a crutch.

You need to check all of your big chassis grounds (frame to body, body to engine block, etc.). Was there ever an aftermarket system in this rig by the PO?

That is also a sign of either alternator problems or dead cells in the battery. Has the current battery ever been run down completely? How is the speed of your power accessories? (windows, wipers) Is there corrosion on the battery terminals? (overcharge/undercharge condition)

Alternator whine is usually a faulty ground loop.

See this article on isolating and getting rid of it.
http://www.termpro.com/articles/noise.html

My guess is a bad plug wire or non noise supression wires, possibly poor speaker wire routing. Oh yeah, and good suggestion on checking the condition of all the ground straps. These get dirty/corroded over time and can cause all sorts of issues.