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Anyone know anything about car stereos?


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Because mine is on crack. I have a JVC CD deck, and every so often, it descends into this awful distortion. It's not speaker distortion - although I know I have one blown speaker - it sounds more like a radio that can't quite pick up a station, except it does this when I'm playing CDs. Actually, it sounds more like the ugly digital distortion we get on my friend's hard disk recorder when the levels are too hot. I've noticed that turning on the headlight switch seems to help? :confused: Any idears?

"I had to have something, and it wasn't there. I couldn't go down the street and buy it, so I built it."

 

Les Paul

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It could be one of two things. 1) Is the CD player intigrated into the unit? Or does it use an RF converter? If it's an RF converter, it very well could be interference since it's treated just like any radio station. 2) When you mention the headlights, it sounds like a power issue. Perhaps, at times, it's pulling too much current and when you turn on the headlights, less current is available and it fixes the problem.

"Bass isn't just for breakfast anymore..."

 

http://www.mp3.com/Addix_Metzatricity

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I've noticed that if I don't attach the radio's groundcable to the chassis of the car I get the same weird sound as I had with old turntables that were not grounded. A far away sound with a lot of noise. Danggit,.... is groundcable actually an english word?

Fan, nu pissar jag taggtråd igen. Jag skulle inte satt på räpan.

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Checks your grounds, all of them. The ground at the unit itself, the rca grounds, the grounds at the changer, the grounds at the amp. The cd player put the most demands on the system because it is the purest? sound, therefore demands the purest power supply. Also try decreasing your bass a little. Last, but not least, you have a bad voltage regulator. When nothing is on but the cd, you are putting sixteen volts or more into your audio system, not a good condition. Adding the headlights draws this down to the twelve volts that everything likes. Kcbass P. S. Triple check the grounds.

 "Let It Be!"

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definitely check the ground leads. also addix had a good point about RF modulators. Does this only happen on the Cd player? does the distortion vary with engine speed? is there an amplifier in the car other than the one in the head unit? any other info you can provide will help pin it down.

Reach out and grab a clue.

 

Something Vicious

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It is a power filter issue. When you turn on the headlights you are adding an inductor (headlights are inductive) across the 12 volts. I would try to find a more direct connection to the battery. I usually used the 12V side of the horn fuse. Lots of current and used infrequently. And as many have said, check your grounds, too.
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