Help: Extreme stereo static

[Calitecas]

Hey guys,thanks for taking time to look at the tread. Hopefully some one would be able to give me a little help on the mater.
I have a 94, 2.3 4 cyl, 5spd, Ext. Cab Ranger, with after market stereo.
For the past few months I've been having very extreme static out of my ranger. When the car is on and I am shifting into first, the moment I release the clutch and press on the gas the radio will cut out for a few seconds. Thru out the whole range of the 5 speeds I would hear the static when I press the gas. The harder I press the gas the more prominent the static is. The static sounds very much like if someone had a live speaker, and while the music is playing thru the speaker a peice of metal makes contact with the neg and pos terminals creating a very harsh clipping sound. The static will start about 20 minutes after I start to drive and wil not happen all the time. As well as the radio function for stereo does not work, when selected for radio all I hear is white noise/hiss.

After reading several threads on radio noise/distortion, I have so far done the following to fix the problem, but so far has not fixed it

I have:
installed a new alternator
installed a new battery
grounded the stereos ground directly to the battery
cleaned up the ignition capacitor on the coils
checked and re-connected the after-market wiring harness to the trucks wiring harness


Thanks again for the time to read the thread, if anyone has any ideas on what can be done, or if you need any more information let me know

 

[martin]

Sounds like an issue with the antenna.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Sounds like a condenser or whatever its called. There is a condenser on or by your coil, it should be a little cylinder with a few wires coming out of it. Its supposed to prevent that static, it may be in the alternator in the newer models though... I'm not sure.

 

[4x4fun]

you mighty have two separate issues.

the white noise is normally EMI. which normally happens when you get a high voltage line next to a signal wire. like RCA's. so if there is a voltage wire that's doing something related to speed. it can increase the noise as you drive faster.

make sure you dont have any wires in any linkage (es)

but i would rerun your ant. and make sure its all clean. i can get getting interference from that too. and run new wires. when something is getting this tricky you can spend alot of time to find out what it. when its easier to just start over.

 

[Calitecas]

martin, original ranger 84, 4x4 fun, thanks for writing back

For the ant. Is there anything other then the actual ant. and line that can fail in the connection to the radio?

The condenser in my ranger is next to the coils as well. Not too sure if there is much more I can do to the condenser, other then change it out. So far I have cleaned both connections with elec cleaner. Has any one been able to order this condenser from any of the parts stores?

As I have the truck now there is only one wire running from the battery neg straight to the radio. The only other wires are the oem radio wires directly connected to the after market wires. Would not having the original ford harness connected to the after market stereo harness make a diffrence in interference/static?


Earlier on today I had given Al and Eds a call to see what they had to say about the problem. They had said that from what it sounds like I may be needing a new stereo all together. That usually even if there is somethng wrong with the ant. ,I would still be able to hear a few channels on the radio. If this is true then there maybe something very wrong with my electrical system that would cause a head unit to fail so prematurely. Has anyone had there head unit die out unexpectly due to some electrical malfunctions?

thanks for reading

 

[martin]

coaxial cables like the antenna wire have a nasty habit of getting corrosion inside them, especially when they are older or if the insulation cracks.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Earlier on today I had given Al and Eds a call to see what they had to say about the problem. They had said that from what it sounds like I may be needing a new stereo all together. That usually even if there is somethng wrong with the ant. ,I would still be able to hear a few channels on the radio. If this is true then there maybe something very wrong with my electrical system that would cause a head unit to fail so prematurely. Has anyone had there head unit die out unexpectly due to some electrical malfunctions?

thanks for reading

That may be true about the antenna but I haven't a clue... You might try pulling the stereo and looking in the back to see if the connection to the antenna is rusted. or if something looks burnt around any of those areas. I can see how a HU would fail all of the sudden, It may have just had a defect in it and it fried... Generally if theres a problem with the electrical system and it gets to the radio (like a surge or something) it will pop the fuses in the back of the stereo which would prevent any damage to the stereo. But say if if sat in really humid or damp air, or even just gets really dusty... that can all cause the stereo to get gunked up and not work properly. They may be designed for cars but that doesn't mean they like hazardous conditions.

 

[Calitecas]

From previous posts about static/whine I've read that there is some sort of condenser or attachment that can be conected to the fuel pump that reduces static. Has anyone heard about anything like this before?

The reason I ask is because this morning after starting my car, I was able to hear the static pretty clear. I turned off the radio, drove over to the gas station, filled it up and started the car. When I turned on the radio this time the static was not there at all. The whole 40 miles to work there war no sign of static whats so ever. About 7 hours later on the way home the static returned only when I would press the gas pedal. What do you guys think?

 

[strvger]

as long as you're looking at everything, i'd double check the grounds on both antenna and the radio. just a thought.