Help! Car Radio makes Whining sound

[kinyo]

KrisKros,

your problem is a classic case of poor grounding ... the radio is apparently connected to ground by the screw(s) which is not the proper way to ground (that screw is actually carrying the current required by the radio when it should be black wire doing it)

what you hear is alternator whine normally caused by improper grounding of audio system ... this is easily fixed by competent installer (assuming the radio's noise filter circuit is still intact) ... it would be best to bring your car to any good car audio shop since you admit lacking electronics know-how ... other than grounding, there maybe something wrong with your radio too because the black wire isn't doing its job

you may not realize it, but you are so darn lucky to have that spark not kill your radio or bust a fuse ... having sparks (when tinkering) and not bust a fuse is a possible indication of miswiring the power supply for your radio

so go and have it fixed by your suking car audio shop ... tell them to fix the grounding and make sure that the power supply for the radio is going through an appropriate fuse

[StraightSix]

From what you've described, your stereo is suffering from alternator whine. The cause of most alernator whines is poor grounding, like what GlennSter said.

The frame or cage where your stereo is mounted probably has a poor/loose connection to the car's body. I suggest you run a length of wire, as short as possible, from your stereo's metal casing to the car's firewall/flooring and make sure that the connection is clean and tight as in kita mo bakal at makintab siya.

The black wire you described is the stereo's ground wire. The sparks were caused by insufficient conduction, as it was OK after the screw was set, just like what you said. Your stereo probably has a clock or memory function but as long as the sparks are not big enough to cause a fire (an exaggeration), that's normal.

If you're confident that you already have a good ground connection and you still have the whine, it's time to consider putting a filter in the line.

[KrisKros]

Wow, salamat sa information, that really helped alot. I'll probably take it in next month to get checked out, and step into the 21st century (finally) by buying a cd player HU. But, i'll make sure to get that problem fixed before having it installed for sure. Thanks

[caloyski5]

i would also say poor grounding like what papa glenn said