Just finished installing a 4 channel amp (already had a sub installed via RCA's) and there is no whine noise when the key is in accessory but when you put it in the "pre start" / when the car is running there is a whine through all the speakers and sub. I don't believe it's alternator whine since it happens when the engine isn't running and it doesn't go up and down in pitch when accelerating/decelerating. What would cause it to start whining when in the key is in the pre start position. To give an idea of noise level if the unit is above level 8-10 then you really can't hear it.

I've read about the pico fuse blowing but it seems that the noise from that is extremely loud, such as having the unit up to volume 25 to drown it out. Does anyone know if you can have this quiet of a whine like i have from a pico fuse blowing?

this does sound a lot like it could be the pico fuses, one other thing that i have seen is the signal ground go bad with some pioneers. this is actually very easy to test, take a small piece of wire, and stick it kinda into the RCA as you are plugging it in (sorry kinda hard to describe) so that it is only touching the outer part of the RCA connector. and then ground the other end (you will need to do this for each RCA)

however, i do think that it is kinda weird that it doesnt happen when the radio is in ACC, you may have something in the cars ignition system that is emmiting interference, and the radio or the RCA cables is picking this up.

kinda like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dje-CG4UGQ0

sorry this is not the best video, but its the first one i found that covered the problem i was talking about. he calls it a "static noise" but its more of a whine that ive heard.

and instead of wrapping a small piece of wire around the RCA's, i just insert a little bit of the wire in the outer ring of the plug as i am plugging it back in.

I grounded each rca to the avic and the sound is still being made...another thing is when putting the car in pre start all the amps turned on, no sound, pioneer unit says starting up and right before the music plays the sound starts to happen...any advice where to go from here? I wouldnt think a new ground is needed for the avic since i didn't have any noise when the speakers were powered just by the avic. Does it lead to being some sort of Interference in prestart when the signal goes through the rca's since there is no whine when in acc (so that means the pico fuse should be intact correct?)

not 100% sure on that, ive never had to do the repair, but i have seen it a couple times.

I took the unit apart and tested for continuity across the pico fuses and all are fine, non blown

I get noise in the sub from the cd player reading the nav disc so it just must be the way it is

well it might be a problem with the sound board in the actual unit itself, when no music is playing there should definitely not be any noises coming out of any of the speakers.

it never did this before adding the 4ch amp right?

Actually i think the sub always make the thumping sound with the radio but just thought it was the fuel pump and other thngs starting up since it isnt that loud and its in the trunk back when i didnt have the 4 channel...i just added another geound to the radio and im pretty sure the thumping is gone but the whine still remains

The Noise gets louder and softer when turning the gain on the amp up and down. With the gain all the way down its barely there. Could it be the amp creating the noise? It's an MB Quart ONX4.60

Also could the ground be picking up the noise

well i doubt that it is the amp that is creating the noise, usually if there is an internal problem with an amp that causes it to make a noise, the gain wont effect it (not always but usually) however if the noise is getting picked emitted from somewhere in the car (again, most likely something in the ignition system, since it doesn't happen when the key is in acc, and it can happen when the motor is not running (definitely not the alternator)) the RCA's could be like an antenna for this and picking up the noise and then the amplifier is boosting up the level (which is why the gain will effect it)

if the amp was creating the noise, it should happen any time it is on, even in just ACC.

more things to test.

does the amp make the same noise if the RCA's are unplugged? if so, i would try for a better ground, or test with a different amp

if no.

does it make the sound with the rca's plugged into the amp, but not the radio? (if no on the first but yes on the second, you need to reroute your RCA's or you have a bad RCA and need to replace them)

if no again, im back to suspecting the radio, you could try to unground the radio from where it is, and run a temporary ground from the radio back to where the amp is grounded, if this doesn't help i would test with a different radio if possible.

also if it hasn't been done yet, the power system for the amp needs to be tested for voltage drops, and the factory power wires need to be looked at.

New grounds to the radio did nothing, when i unplug the rcas there is a tiny amount of noise (probably inaudible if sitting in the seat), when i plug in the rcas im using without them being plugged into the headunit i get really bad static/interference/buzzing and when i plug in some rca cables i got from the house there is silence....so is it those kicker rca's?

sounds like it, but it may or not be a defective cable, it also could be some factory wires or modules that the cables are routed near that is emitting the interference and the RCA's are just picking it up.

Awhile back though the first thing i did was route the rcas down the middle of the car above the carpet (like i did today with the cheap house ones) and i got the same noise...im going to the audio shop tomorrow to pick up a new cable and hopefully it'll solve this problem

***Fingers Crossed***

New rcas did the same thing...after it was all together the head unit worked fine. Then i shut it down and got some files to tune it and now it starts up and just says off. The cd player spins but none of the buttons on the front work...now what the hell happened? It worked one minute and not the next

If i hit reset itll start back up and work but when you got to start the car again itll just go to the off screenn and nothng works