Alternator noise, have read all posts
 

I am new to the HHR forum, and have done searches and read all related posts to getting engine/alternator noise after installing an aftermarket radio and amplifier for the front speakers. Well to no surprise, I have the noise. I have tried everything. Including running a new ground from the head unit, cleaning up the ground at the - battery plate and checking my wiring routes. I even it took it to a local stereo shop and had them check it. I have tried the rca ground loop isolators, and also the power line conditioner/filters. Nothing has worked.
What I have noticed in all the threads here were great ideas, and have tried them all. What makes mine different is that I disconnect everything, rca's, hu, and only turn the amps on with the speakers hooked up I still get the noise. I even tried $400 RCA's. Note: they were not mine, I borrowed them from the car audio shop to test with. Also tried new HU, and amps, believe it or not it made it worse.
Any help would be appreciated.

Sorry, I can't be of any help in this area, but some of the electronic gurus will be sure to give you the help you are looking for!

Pull out your head unit, Take a small piece of wire and wrap it around the metal part of rca wire (connector itself) connect the other end to the chassis of the head unit. This will relieve any ground loop problem. Also your rca"s aren't running near any power wire or anything are they? I also noticed you said somethimg about negative battery plate. Don't use that bracket. Clean a new spot on the spare tire well and connect to that. The hhr's are notorious for having bad grounds.

Are you still running the stock amp along with the aftermarket?

Attachment 42034 to the site!!!

tried grounding the rca's to the chassis, still had noise, sorry forgot to mention that.
I have no stock equipment hooked up. I have an LS so I did not have the factory installed sub.

thanks for the quick replies

Try moving the amp ground. Other than that????? Is this a new amp, old amp, have you used it before with out problems??? Has to be a ground problem though.

I am having a similar problem. I have an aftermarket radio hooked up, via a Metra adapter to the factory amp, along with an additional amp for a 10 inch subwoofer. Even with the Metra gain turned way down, I get alternator whine. I tried all of the noise supressors with no luck. I called Metra and they said that the HHR is known for bad noise using the factory amp. I plan on getting the other adapter and trying the factory amp. If that doesnt sound good enough, then I will use a separate amp. But it means running the speaker wires twice-first to the head unit, then to the trunk.

It is true about the horrible grounds on the HHR. Even the place on the shock tower which is recommended for jump starting the car was a bad ground for me. I ran a ground strap to the engine block, then discovered that the other shock tower was not grounded good. I am using a common ground for all of my add-ons. And I plan on adding a second ground to that, just to be safe.

Meanwhile, I am having a problem lately with my battery draining when I have the faceplate left on my radio. When I remove it, the battery is fine. If I leave it on overnight, the battery is dead the next morning. This did not happen when I first installed the aftermarked radio last summer-it began last month. These HHR's have quirky electronics.

First, don't waste any more money on ground loop isolators, they are not going to fix your problem.

How did you route your RCA wires, meaning which route did you take from the head unit to the amp?...

How/where did you ground your amps? How long are the negative cables? After reading your post again, this is the most likely source...

Also, is there anything else hooked up to your head unit? Sirius, Ipod...And last but not least, where did you exactly ground your head unit?

If you can, some pix of your setup, especially your grounding points would help us out a lot...

Ng

Amps and capacitor are grounded to the spare tire well. I cut through the insulation on the well, and used a dremel to remove the paint etc off the metal. The head unit is grounded to bare metal inside the center console. I do have xm, but like I said, I can unplug the rca's which are routed down the passenger side, from the amps and still have alt noise. I will work on some pictures.