Noisy Engine/Alternator..... HELP!!!!
 

Ok, so I hva eto much EFI noise in my CB. When I'm on the throttle, even full squelch cannot contain the noise.

So here are the options that I have found:

http://cgi.ebay.com/CB-STERIO-power-...QQcmdZViewItem

and

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...000608/c-10101


Which would be better, of course the cheaper is more attractive to me, but I'd rather pay teh extra five bucks if it make a difference.

check the ground on the CB... make sure you scrape off the paint.

The second thing you want to be asking yourself are you sure its coming through the power lead? I seem to have a horrible problem with mine picking it up through the antenna. And I have been trying to get rid of it for months...

lol... that was gonna be my second thing to check, is the ground on the antenna. that needs to be a good one too.

and check the antenna wire and make sure the terminators/connectors are still good.

Ok, I am pretty sure it is the power lead, here is why.

I recently rerigged the whole setup.

I ran a 12 gauge ground from the antenna mount to the frame.

I ran the positive and negative all the way to the battery and twisted them the whoel way.

I have Nology plug wires which I think make the EFI even more noisey.

My antenna is tuned to 1.5:1 or less

The noise responds to throttle.

So I am 95% sure that is it.

How about these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pyramid-NS-10-10...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/NOISE-CHOPPER-FI...QQcmdZViewItem

Have you done the Antenna check method? Where you unplug the antenna from the radio and see if the sound is still there.

I only ask this because mine is definetly coming through the antenna and it responds to the throttle as well. I'm not trying to disprove your theory as it seems you have gone through an extensive testing phase. I just don't want to see you spend money on something that may not correct your problem.

good call.

I'll try that. I thought it was bad to turn the radio on without the antenna....or is that bad just if I transmit?

I'll drive around the block iwth teh antenna off and see if I get it still. If it's still there, it must be the ignition.

If the sound goes away, what more can I do for the antenna? I have a 12 gauge wire well grounded at both ends.

I'm also pretty sur ethose Nology wires are the culprit, since tehy have a large capacitor built in them and they put off a heck of a spark.

Well from my exhuasting search I have found very little to help me. You could get EFI noise surpressing plug wires ($) however I have yet to come across a set worth trying.

You might try that one filter that you posted a link for. That is for the antenna. It may or may not work, if it DOES turn out to be your antenna its the cheapest thing to try. I have also been told that if your CB is mounted on the dash or somewhere similar it can cause it to pick up the EFI noise.

You could try running a grounding strap from your alternator as sometimes they are the reason that you get this noise, if it turns out that it is the antenna you may be able to shield it better somehow (the coax I mean) or if you have an antenna where you have to get your own coax, try getting a better shielded or better quailty cable. Its really hard to isolate this problem as it can come from a number of places.

Try unplugging your antenna and see what happens , after that you can go from there.

Damnit, but thanks.....hahahaha

I took the antenna off and drove around with teh cb on. No noise. I put it back on and I have noise.

DAMN!!!

So I guess the antenna is picking it up then?

Here is my setup in more detail if it helps to troubleshoot it.

Wires terminate at the battery, twisted all the way through teh firewall and meet the cb under my cointrain just above the tranny hump. The cb cable runs down the edge ofi the tranny hump and cuts over to the driver side panel under the passenger's feet.(I did this to avoid the speaker wires). from there the cb wire slack is coiled in aloop as recommended by firestik. Then the wire goes to the top of the side panel through a PVC tube (Place to prevent interaction with the speaker wires which run along the bottom of the panel.

The cb wire then pop out by the rear window and attaches to my 4' firestik (the cable is also firestik brand). The firestik is mounted to my swingout tire carrier, whihc I believed to have a poor ground, so I then ran a 12 gauge wire from it to my frame.

That's it in a nutshell. I though I had done everything right, if there is anything else I can do, please let me know.



What

here is the only info I could find about noise when running n teh Firestik page:

"17. If you are hearing whining noises from your radio while your vehicle is running, it is probably due to "dirty power" being supplied to the radio. Under dash power may be more convenient, but the "cleanest" power will be found by running the radio's power leads straight to the battery."

Yota4Runner, you might be interested in this:

http://www.stu-offroad.com/cb/cb_install-4.htm

With the radio on, disconnect the antenna from the radio. Does the alternator whine stop? If it does NOT, try installing a choke type noise eliminator on your positive D.C. lead near the radio. These have been available at Radio Shack over the years. It will look like a small transformer with some condensers etc.

If the alternator noise STOPS when you disconnect the antenna lead, remove the ground connection at the antenna end if it is connected to the body. DO NOT TRANSMIT. If the noise stops, you have a poor connection between THAT part of the vehicle body to frame ground. Most alternator's diodes do not radiate much R.F. up this high in frequency so it is probably a ground loop caused by a poor body ground.

There is a fix but Radio Shack won't have what you need.

Most alternators used on Hummers are of the "self excited" type. Without going into detail, it makes noise elimination fairly easy since there is only one heavy wire leaving the unit. Since we are dealing with high current output at this point, the standard coaxial condensers from Radio Shack will be useless. They will not handle the current. Go by a Motorola communications shop and tell them about the alternator whine. More than likely, they will have a 100 plus amp. coaxial condenser that you will need. This thing ain't cheap so try everything else beforehand. This device goes in series with the main D.C. lead from the alternator. SOLDER the lugs that are used to connect this device. VERY IMPORTANT.

OK, so it sounds like the alternator is my culprit. It seems that I am going to have to filter that power. Sounds expensive.....ouch

I'm gonna keep posting whatever I find to try and help others, but I am definitely open to input....

Here is an alternator filter:

http://www.buyersedge.com/Product/pr...geView=1&iDZ=0

Some more info on Enging Noise:

http://www.roity.com/rc/rfi.html

Also, I just tried grounding my exhaust pipe....made little to no difference.

Yeah, I reckon mines coming from the Alternator too. Have you tried grounding the alternator again? Like haveing a wire come off the alternator to a grounded part of the body or frame? See if that helps at all? Just a thought. My dad has installed these professionally in big rigs for 18 years and is pretty stumped by my problem. :(

Dang, did you ground your alternator?

I'll give it a shot...any suggestion on gauge thickness?

Also, these noise suppressors for alternators...do you know if they are gonna cut interference through the electrical system...or actually cut the interference that is radiated and therefore picked up by my antenna. Just curious.

I think alot of them are designed to work the same way the ones that you get for your stereo do. In the sense they filter out dirty power. I'm not even not so sure we don't have a ground loop problem somewhere. Now I'm not saying thats not going to work for you. But it may not and you will be out the however much money you spent on it.

Now, I have not yet tried grounding my alternator again as I'm not overly sure on how to go about doing it so it helps and not hinders. I want to try and figure out what the heck is wrong with my CB but lately I just haven't had time. Theres a few good threads over on Pavementsucks.com about this kind of thing. Search their CB forums.

I think maybe we need to start small and work our way up to the exspensive things. I'm not even not so sure we don't have a ground loop problem somewhere. To be honest I've tried 3 different antennas in hopes that it was the antenna at fault but to no avail. I tried a Wilson, and two magnet mounts.

Keep me posted on what you find.

Just to throw this out there. Trying running a thicker gauge wire from the antenna to the frame. Seem if that makes any difference.