Whining coming from Speakers...could it be the Alternator again???

[Perry V]

Hey guys, last year i had a little bit of a problem. For no apparent reason i started hearing this whine sound coming from my my speakers when my stereo was on(almost sounds like a weird radio signal). It wouldn't do it when i turned my stereo off....but while on, as i drove and raised my rpms, the whine's pitch got higher as the rpm's rose. my battery had died on me last year so i took it in and they replaced my alternator as that was the source of the problem. Now, 1 year later, its the same sound, however, i have no problems with my battery power this time(it's a brand enw battery too). Sometimes it takes the whine like 5 mins to kick in after i start the car. Do you guys think that my alternator is going bad again? My original factory one lasted for like 6 years, and the factory replacement only lasts like 10 months? makes no sense to me....wut do you guys think of my situation.

thanks for any help, i appreciate it very much.

[speedy-v6-camaro]

If it varies with RPMs it means that your speaker wires are too close to a power wire.

[96firebird311]

Originally posted by speedy-v6-camaro:
If it varies with RPMs it means that your speaker wires are too close to a power wire.

I assume you meant RCAs too close to power wire? While this is one of the possible causes, it's not the only possibility. Grounds are probably your first suspect. Also, is the whine worse if you are running the A/C?

[Perry V]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions....i don't think it would be that my speaker wires are too close to a power wire, cause i haven't touched anything...i actually thought it was a bad ground last year, and i checked them...but it ended up being the alternator.... i'll try turning my AC on tomorrow and see wut happens....this buzzing noise is driving me nuts......i don't understand why the stupid thing only kicks after 3 minutes of driving...it is for that reason that i don't think it is a ground...
hopefully i'll figure this stupid thing out soon..

thanks again for all the suggestions.

[Perry V]

Well….. I tried the AC today, and it didn’t make a difference, it still did it, and the sound still rose when my rpms rose.
Here’s why I don’t think it’s a ground or my power wire being to close to my speaker wire:
-when the car is off and the stereo is on, the sound isn’t there any more, it only happens when the engine is running. Also, the noise only kicks in after about 3 mins of driving.
-now if it were one of the problems suggest above, my guess is that it would do it all the time.
It still sounds like its my alternator again (I think), but I don’t see how an alternator can go bad in a year. Have u guys ever heard of one dying so quickly?

Thanks again for the help.

[96firebird311]

Originally posted by Perry V:
my power wire being to close to my speaker wire

That's RCAs being too close to main power wire. Your speaker wire has no where near the current through it as your main power wire. And RCA are far more susceptible to outside flux.

Just because the noise is only present when the engine is running does not exclude the ground possibility. Why? Ground loops. Although I must admit the noise only occuring after 3 minutes of the engine being on is odd. One question, does it matter if the engine is hot or cold? IE. Does it only wait the 3 minutes first thing in the morning? And then after a quick run to the store, it starts as soon as the engine is started? And yes, just for the record, I have heard of people alts going out after only months of use. :( :mad: