i just installed my amp tonight and i get a really bad buzzing/hum noise when the volume is low. it's still there when i turn it up i just can't hear it.

my HU worked fine before so i think i can rule that out, but i did run my power wire through the grommet on the passenger side next to the PCM. Is this causing the interference? CAn i fix it with a hum eliminator?How?

 

Check your ground wires. Make sure that they are making good metal contact. Meaning if you are securing the wire to a metal surface make sure it is clean from paint or anything else that is covering it.

 

I agree. Sounds like a bad ground to me also. Make sure your amp ground is as short as possible. Would stay under 6 inches if possible.

 

i took off all the paint under my ground wire and it still does it. the noise i was picking up was from my heater motor. so i unhooked my amp to see if that helped but noise was still there. i traced it down to my RCA cables when i unplugged them from the HU it stopped.

i want to try grounding the shielding on my RCA cables to see if that gets rid of it. will this help?

 

Do your RCA cables use "twisted pair" construction? If not they should. Twisted pair RCA cables reject radiated noise. Shielding alone isn't enough.

Grounding the RCA's won't do anything. The barrel of the RCA plug is already grounded to the chassis of the amp and HU.

 

i didn't want to but i think i'm gonna buy some quality RCA cables and rip out the "old" ones
Any specific brand better?

 

The Stinger Hyper Series is a good affordable RCA cable that uses twisted pair construction.

 

you didnt run the signal wires the same side as the power/turn on did you?

 

true , u usally run teh RCAs on teh opposite side of the power/remote wires

 

It could be one of 2 things as mentioned- bad ground or you ran the rca cables on the same side as the power wires.

 

i ran all the wires together... it never gave me problems before.
but i've only wired a couple systems

 

I always make it a point to keep the power wires away from the signal cables. My power wires run down the side of the car while the RCA's run down the center thru the console and under the carpet back to where my amps are.

 

thats your problem, NEVER run your signal wires by the power wires, or you will get this HUM/BUZZ 99% of the time. I always run the power wires down the passenger size of an fbody, and the signal wires either down the driver side, or right down the middle under the center console.

 

i'm a dumbass... i took the trim panel i ran the wire under and there was a screw hole in between the strands of my RCA cables. once i took the screw out it worked fine no motor noise or engine whine. next time i'll make sure to tie the wires down better!!!

 

Did that myself once a long time ago.