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#258713 - 22/06/2005 10:20 Just another part of the sad saga
edsmiata
addict

Registered: 18/08/2002
Posts: 544
Loc: New Jersey
As you may or may not remember...my installation has been plagued with ignition whine basically forever....recently i rewired everything and it seemed to be working noise free!

However, now more frequently than not...the noise returns but much louder, as if the ground wire had come off....this is not the case, but i notice that when i jostle the empeg in its sled i am able to find a 'sweet spot' where the noise diappears again...as i keep driving the noise fades in and out and sounds like a dentist drill, varying with the rpm of the engine and turning on and off as the 'sweet spot' is found and lost.

common sense tells me that the problem lies within the player itslef or the connector harness attached to the player (the sled had been replaced with a brand new one and all of those connectors are good)

anybody out ther experience a similar situation or have any ideas on how to go about fixing this?

thanks

ed
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#258714 - 22/06/2005 12:07 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: edsmiata]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
Remove the roll-off caps in the player?

Depends on your player version and whether they are fitted. It is also not guaranteed to work - however, I started doing it as standard on repair players and I had a significant number of surprised responses from owners saying "the alternator noise has gone!" including on the most troublesome of cars to put a player in, a BMW.
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#258715 - 22/06/2005 12:15 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: schofiel]
edsmiata
addict

Registered: 18/08/2002
Posts: 544
Loc: New Jersey
I have the latest version, which i think is the MK IIa...

please let me know what the 'rolloff' caps are and how i may do that.

interesting that you note the BMW as i heard some of them have the battery in the trunks, which is where the battery is for the miata...i wonder if that is the common problem?

let me know!

thanks

ed
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#258716 - 22/06/2005 13:18 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: edsmiata]
Glen_L
member

Registered: 24/02/2003
Posts: 111
Loc: Elk Grove, CA
FAQ Linky. It looks like you don't have rolloff caps in your Mk2a.
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#258717 - 22/06/2005 14:04 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: edsmiata]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
common sense tells me that the problem lies within the player itslef or the connector harness attached to the player

Agreed. Open the player and reseat the inner connecting wires for the docking connector assembly. Look for loose solder joints or other such things.

Also look for problems with the docking connector contacts themselves, such as crud on the contact points.
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Tony Fabris

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#258718 - 23/06/2005 15:00 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: tfabris]
edsmiata
addict

Registered: 18/08/2002
Posts: 544
Loc: New Jersey
welll very strange..im telling ya..this install should be a poster child for futility...

i opened the case and checked all of the wires and all seem pretty sturdy...checked the contact on the harness and seems just as solid

but...

last night i did notice that this only happens after the player has been on for a while and the unit has a chance to heat up..and as the dash of the miata is quite tight...and it is sitting right on top of my clarion head unit..it is QUITE hot to the touch

at this point in time i am able to shimmy the unit in the sled until i pin point the sweet spot where all is quiet

but thee is more!

as this is all happening i noticed that one of the channels dies out on me..so i kinda jostle the unit in the sled (finding it difficult to find proper adjectives)and the dead channel kicks in, independant of the presence of noise or what...

for the record..i had the header cable replaced to the HD's and had the contacts resoldered by Stu at Eutronics (very satisfying process by the way)

so there you have it

it seems the best way to trouble shoot this is to finde somebody with another empeg (read:Paul G!) and see if the problem resurfaces.

other than that an i-pod seems to be the safest solution...

any suggestions?

thanks,

Ed
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#258719 - 23/06/2005 15:08 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: edsmiata]
pgrzelak
carpal tunnel

Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
You rang?

Last time we tried this, there was no noise from either player. But then, neither had been on for a while.

Perhaps the best way to test the theory is that I loan you a player for a while - let you drive with it for a while and see what kind of results you get.

PM or email me. Time to at least eliminate one of the variables.
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Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs

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#258720 - 23/06/2005 15:27 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: pgrzelak]
edsmiata
addict

Registered: 18/08/2002
Posts: 544
Loc: New Jersey
it may have seemed like i was fishing...well..yes actually i was fishing!

thanks for your kind offer....let me send u a pm and go from there!

thanks paul!

Ed
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#258721 - 24/06/2005 10:56 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: edsmiata]
jmwking
old hand

Registered: 27/02/2003
Posts: 775
Loc: Washington, DC metro
Hmm... Getting to borrow one of the largest collections of music for a while.

Priceless!

Now if we start seeing requests on the most effecient way to "back up" music from an empeg...

-jk

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#258722 - 24/06/2005 11:49 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: jmwking]
pgrzelak
carpal tunnel

Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Hahahahahaha. Hadn't thought about it quite that way, but, uh, yeah...
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Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs

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#258723 - 24/06/2005 13:01 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: pgrzelak]
edsmiata
addict

Registered: 18/08/2002
Posts: 544
Loc: New Jersey
...already did it!!!!
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#258724 - 03/07/2005 07:12 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: edsmiata]
CFinch106
new poster

Registered: 14/07/2004
Posts: 23
I'm getting the dead channel problem as well, it'll kind of sound like static, then the right side of the car will go dead, and only the back left will have volume very low, then it'll pop back in for a while.

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#258725 - 04/07/2005 04:48 Re: Just another part of the sad saga [Re: CFinch106]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
Bad connections in wiring harness/sled connector.
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

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