• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Accessories Car charger causes buzz in car stereo

H

Hi Ho

Newbie
I have had this problem in two different cars and now with three different phones. When I plug my phone into a car charger and also plug it into the audio input jack in the console I get a very annoying buzz/whine that seems to be linked to the speed of the engine. Has anyone else had this problem? How did you fix it? The Evo needs to be plugged in while driving if I'm using GPS or it drains the battery way too fast but the noise induced in the audio system is unacceptable.
 
Not sure if this is your problem or not but I know if you run a power line parallel to an audio line (speaker wire, RCA's, etc.) that problem will occur. As the power of your engine increases it provides more power to your cars electrical system which is why the noise increases. If your audio and car charger lines are running near each other try separating them a bit.
 
This is generally referred to as a ground-loop problem. They are very common in car audio situations. Using shielded audio cables can help, and as stated above keeping the power cables away from the audio cables can help. If nothing else eliminates the issue, a ground-loop isolator can be used to break the differential between the phone and your head unit.
 
CrowsSong is right. It's a ground problem. Try a different power source in the car if available. If you only have one, try a different charger first. It could be related to bad ground contact. If that doesn't cut it I would consider hard-wiring a charger or cig-outlet to a 12V source like your radio power. A lot of times car manufacturers really skimp on the wire size going to the cig lighter and it doesn't provide enough power or a solid enough ground for audio devices to not give alternator whine.

Hope some of that helps.

-Josh
 
I would hope the car is wired adequately considering that this plug is in the console near the audio input jack and its purpose it to provide power to charge devices in the car while they play through the car stereo.

I will try a ground loop isolator.

Thanks
 
I actually came up with a better solution. Those ground loop violators will almost certainly affect audio quality in a negative way. I didn't want to do that. I ended up using my inverter and a wall charger. No noise and fast charging.
 
ya i would say ground loop isolater, that will fix it for sure, but they are usualy bulky, otherwise you can try some RF Chokes. but it's like hit n miss with them!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom