Engine Noise (??) on 09 Sedan Ex-L w/Navi?
 

Hi!

Hoping some of you experts out there can help!

I am pretty comfortable with car audio, installs, electrical, etc. I am NOT a professional though, nor educated when we started talking about OHM's etc. To give you base line of where I am at. I've installed systems in my other three cars and all turned out fine (head units, amps, speakers, sub, the whole deal).

This time when I just bought my new 2009 Honda Accord EX-L V6 with Navi (in case the type of car matters for my issue) I decided that I would pay someone to do the work for me. I shopped around, and basically went with the best person based on Yelp! and my general conversations with them. I was pretty confident in their install; until I picked it up.

First - they wired the front components wrong, he forget to take out the stock crossover, so originally the components were only getting mid-frequences. I took it back, they fixed it.

Also, the speakers (all of them) would mape a "vrooomp" sound (like a low bass hum that rapidly went up in pitch, but never got above 60hz (or so). It would only happen when the RPM would idle around 2k-3k, which is about where accord switches gear, so I could hear/feel it very often.

I took it back and he said it was because the gain was up too much, he turned the gain down and it went away.

I tuned the system today (they didn't have it set even close to right - like the front speakers filter was set so high they weren't receiving mid range, etc.

Any who I tuned it to my ear and am much more happy with it. I am HOWEVER now getting that "vrooomp" back. My sub amp (JL 500/1) gain is at 0 and on the XD-400 only the rear speakers's gain is up, about 1/4 turn to balance them out with the front components.

So - ideas?

Also - look how he installed the amps power - any issues there? There is a 100A fuse by the battery, but shouldn't they have used a distribution block instead with fuses for each amp? Could this cause the issue?


My system; Stock Head Unit (as it is all tied to the navi and I didn't want to mess that up) 500/1 JL Amp hooked up to a JL W3 in a prowedge box. JL XD-400 Amp pushing front Alpine SR-60 components and SR60 rear coxials.

Rockford Fosgate 4 gauge wiring.

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Please help!

welcome to HAF. you're in the right place!

sounds like you got a bum installer. maybe the person you talked to didn't actually do the install? regardless, that isn't acceptable.

i think we can assume that nothing the original installer did was correct.

his power wiring is technically ok if the smaller amp has it's own built-in fuses. if not, then his tap is a fire hazard.
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/images/18711.jpg

I don't see fuses. that 8 awg wire is not protected for over current. the amp is not protected either. that violates the manufacturer's warranty.
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/18703.pdf

Page 5 of the owner's manual requires a 40A fuse at the battery when a larger wire is used to power multiple amps. i would require they fuse that amp feed because without it, your mfr warranty could be denied by JL.

how did they get a signal to the amp? did they use high-level inputs on the JL with auto-sensing turned on?

i think your noise problem is grounding. take a pic of the amp grounds. i recommend you re-do those with a bolt through the floor, #1. next, upgrade the Big 3.

they could use a

Stinger SFB1MAXPT Car Audio MAXI Inline Fuse Holder

in lieu of a distribution block - provided the power wire into the large amp isn't compromised. A fused distro block is certainly preferred.