When I power up the empeg I get a constant crackling sound (even before the engine is running). It doesn't get any louder as I turn up the volume, so I can disguise it somewhat by turning up, but it's still there and very noticeable during quieter songs or when I lower the volume. It is a constant sound, not altered by revving the engine or anything else.

I have searched the board all day and found a few leads, but was hoping you guys could help.

My amp (McIntosh MCC446) is grounded to bare metal in the car's boot (trunk). The empeg itself is not grounded to bare metal directly - I think it's just fed into the vehicle's wiring, which is then grounded as normal. Should I attach a wire from the empeg's metal sled to the car's chassis, behind the empeg? Should I insulate the empeg sled or the RCA jacks with tape?

The problem seemed to only start after I had my crossover installed (McIntosh MEN455). Perhaps this needs to be grounded as well? (I really don't know whether it is or not as it was installed at the audio place).

I also get a loud pop sound when the empeg and/or ignition is turned off, although I think this could be the classic 'negative spike' problem, and I have emailed support to get a diode to fix this.

I also still get (athough rarer now) the little battery symbol flashing up, and sometimes the empeg cuts out for a few seconds if I use my electric windows. This was a huge problem last year, but since then I fitted a vastly uprated alternator and a stonking great big modern day BMW battery (bear in mind this is an MGB!). I should have more than enough juice to power everything at once, not suffer audio cut-out's just because I flash my lights! Perhaps this is also to do with the negative spike bug though.

Hope you can help!

Thanks
Sally