Hey, was just wondering tonight... how do RCA tracks actually get burnt? What causes them to go all crappy on you? I know we hear that it's a cause of engine noise all the time... but I don't fully understand why. Is it just the solder joints getting loose from excess heat and vibration?

RCA tracks being 'burnt' is usually defined as the line outputs on your Head Unit being pushed with excessive electrical signal, hence damaging components like capacitors and resistors within that circuit area.

In some rare cases (HU failure, big bang, smelly smoke etc) I have seen that there has been way too much voltage applied to these areas, and you can see the tracks on the PCB in this area that have had the varnish on them burnt away coz of the heat. Mind you this had to do with water ingress into the HU.....

More likely that the inputs on your amps have been vibrated the crap out of and the solder has let go on the chassis mount RCA connector (ground side usually). A skillful dab of solder in the right place can fix it.

Before you go chasing this sort of thing, narrow it down with a known good amp and RCA cables and see if that fixes the problem. If so, it's the amp or RCAs. If not, next port of call is to swap your HU with a known good one. If that fixes it, you can confirm the HU. Replace your old amp and RCAs to double confirm.

MitsiMonsta's pretty much summed it up.

Yeah, coulda been the amp accidently grounding itself throug the RCA cables, in turn going through the RCA tracks on the back of your headunit. Usually is a 'dry joint' between the RCA plugs and PCB board mount.

Vibrations can also cause connections to turn all gay.

Have ya tried plugging a discman/ipod etc into the RCA plugs on your amp? if the squealing goes away, it would be your headunit.

heheheh thanks Eek, was kind of hard to put into words.....

yeah, I have no noise at all when I plug the ipod straight into the amp, so I know it's the H/U. Tim suggested I plug the head unit into some other speakers.... so will give that a shot on saturday or something when I move, coz the speakers'll be coming out of my room. I move into my new house! And it's still in the same estate eek! :) I'm keeping an eye out for the new eclipse range and ipod adapter... but only half an eye at the moment. I need money for other things.

Could also be the RCA's.... try plugging the iPod into the HU end of the RCAs lead. If you have noise, it's the RCAs.....Buy decent Stinger triple shielded - worth every cent.

yeah, I have no noise at all when I plug the ipod straight into the amp, so I know it's the H/U. Tim suggested I plug the head unit into some other speakers.... so will give that a shot on saturday or something when I move, coz the speakers'll be coming out of my room. I move into my new house! And it's still in the same estate eek! :) I'm keeping an eye out for the new eclipse range and ipod adapter... but only half an eye at the moment. I need money for other things.

for gods sake phil move out of our estate!!!! lol

if you're feeling adventerous and high/drunk you could take apart the headunit and have a look at the rca joints and tracks.

no, I like it here too much! SOOOOO handy to everything!!! And free feed at parents if things get too tight at our new home! :)

Yeah, I will pull the head unit to bits when I get a chance to check out the tracks. Pretty used to soldering and fixing up that kind of bizzo. used to watch and help dad repair organs and synths and amps when I was knee high to a grasshopper.... so a bit of that rubbed off.

Got triple shielded cables.... though technically shielding actually induces more noise than it stops. Twisted pair rca's are theoretically the 'best' for stopping induced noise. My head unit has no aux in or rca in's or anything, so no way to reverse test like that. Pretty sure that'd have no effect anyways. I've basically eliminated the cables since I can run my system with the car on, with the rcas I use with no noise. It's simply the head unit that is the only thing I can fault.

no, I like it here too much! SOOOOO handy to everything!!! And free feed at parents if things get too tight at our new home! :)

Yeah, I will pull the head unit to bits when I get a chance to check out the tracks. Pretty used to soldering and fixing up that kind of bizzo. used to watch and help dad repair organs and synths and amps when I was knee high to a grasshopper.... so a bit of that rubbed off.

Got triple shielded cables.... though technically shielding actually induces more noise than it stops. Twisted pair rca's are theoretically the 'best' for stopping induced noise. My head unit has no aux in or rca in's or anything, so no way to reverse test like that. Pretty sure that'd have no effect anyways. I've basically eliminated the cables since I can run my system with the car on, with the rcas I use with no noise. It's simply the head unit that is the only thing I can fault.


hehe, so true

uno what though....i say save up a coupla hundred dollars and get a new headunit. Probably don't bother with LCD screen or DVD function :P

Thats the smartest thing ive ever heard come out of you two.. Using the ipod instead of the deck for a process of elimination..


Thanks guys as now ive pulle dout my sub the wizz is crazy.. mines been doing it for the past 6 years thats ive had all me gear and its driving me up the wall.. Ive always thought it was my electronic Clarion DSP/EQ..

Ill do some tests.. Thanks EEk And Joel..:D

yeah well, i'm kinda shellshocked... Ego said thanks... and to me??

F************************************************* **********!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:bowrofl:

lol, he's also a bit slow, as I said that I'd done that oh..... a few weeks ago now, if not a month or two! ;) Just playin.