i have an xbox in the car running off a $50 power inverter through the cigarette plug

the audio rca's from the xbox are turned into a headphone jack via an adapter and sent through the aux in on the cd player

i get a buzzing noise from all speakers as soon as i turn the xbox on.

anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this buzzing?

i've never really worked with power inverters before so it could e something basic...

thanks in advance for any input

need to make sure your RCA's are well away from any power wires
best place to run them i've found is straight under the drivers seat as theres no wires in that area
i had engine noise before, moved the RCA to under the seat and the noise went away :)

need to make sure your RCA's are well away from any power wires
best place to run them i've found is straight under the drivers seat as theres no wires in that area
i had engine noise before, moved the RCA to under the seat and the noise went away :)
He is running through the ciggy lighter... They run right next to the RCA's, I'd suggest hardwiring the inverter and making sure to avoid audio cables with the new wiring...

i tried moving the rca's, didnt do anything towards getting rid of the buzzing unfortunately

its strange it doesn't make any noise when i run the audio through a tv also connected to the same power inverter
it only makes noise when plugged into the aux in on the front of the deck

also tried connecting the inverter to a battery completely separate to the car, still the same noise.

have you tried getting the dedicated 12v xbox power packs you can buy, invertors and audio dont usually go well together

i havent tried them yet, sound like a good idea though, any idea about where to get them from?

i havent tried them yet, sound like a good idea though, any idea about where to get them from?

You actually don't need an inverter at all, The xbox runs at 12v... Read the following: http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Mods/12V%20Mini%20Xbox.htm

Just grab a figure 8 cable, fuse it, and splice it into your ciggy connecter (You may want to run a relay to decrease voltage drop).

Side question:

Has anyone tested the current draw from an Xbox?

p.s Life - how can you decrease voltage drop via running a relay, when each contact has a certain resistance to the flow of electricity within the relay?

Side question:

Has anyone tested the current draw from an Xbox?

p.s Life - how can you decrease voltage drop via running a relay, when each contact has a certain resistance to the flow of electricity within the relay?

Well going off the tiny wires that are used for the ciggy lighter, I assume by using a thicker wire and full-sized automotive relay you should be able to do it quite easy.

While I dont disagree with using a relay, decreasing voltage drop would not be the main objective. Seperating the circuit from the ciggie lighter would be the main benefit.

Voltage drop shouldnt be a major concern when running an inverter which should supply the correct voltage to the xbox.

While running a bigger gauge cable over a thinner cable does reduce voltage drop, this also depends on the length of the cable, the size difference etc Over short periods, or simply over marginally thicker cable, the voltage difference when running through a relay might be marginal at best.

Is the headphone jack thing plugging in properly?

Is it audio with a quiet buzz, or a full on buzz without audio?

its a buzz with audio at about equal volume each
i have checked all the cables, so i think it seems to be a power related issue

now i gotta find out how to get the xbox running without any inverters

I have tried using an Ipod connected via a 'front aux in" 3.5mm jack, and also get an annoying buzz/whine which varies a bit with engine speed and seems particularly annoying around 2000rpm.

If I use the Ipod running on its own batteries, no noise. Likewise, an IPod played via a cassette-shell adaptor = no noise.

I think your problem is related: -problem stems from having an an audio source (Ipod/XBox) DIRECTLY connected to audio HU (ie: connected by wires) when the audio source and the Head-unit are grounded/earthed at different locations...... GROUND LOOP is one term for this problem, which can also plague higer-end domestic audio. Electronic stores or audio stores sell "Ground Loop Isolators" which go into the audio line between components, and filter out the noise.

Haven't actually tried them yet, tho when I first encountered this problem I installed an "Aerpro" noise filter in the power-supply (cig lighter) for IPod charger/adaptor..... this reduced noise but didn't eliminate it. later spoke with a guy at a Jaycar store who suggested "ground loops". One day I'll get around to trying some - mainly reason I haven't tried any is they are usually a dual-RCA item, so I'll have to run 3.5mm stereo to RCA adaptor cable, then the isolators, then RCA-to-3.5mm adaptors, then hide the whole mess - then pull console out again to tape-up the connections, and....... I'm a lazy bugger.

BUT, I reckon that might be your problem too. Google or Wiki "ground loop" and see if it makes sense to you.

You actually don't need an inverter at all, The xbox runs at 12v... Read the following: http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Mods/12V%20Mini%20Xbox.htm

Just grab a figure 8 cable, fuse it, and splice it into your ciggy connecter (You may want to run a relay to decrease voltage drop).

lul whut ?

The xbox runs on 12v yes, but the power supply steps 240v (or 110v) down to 12v 5v and 3.3v, just straight plugging a figure 8 cable that has been cut up and fused is crazy ?

PC's also run on 12v 5v and 3.3v, no dramas right, just cut up a kettle cable and plug it in, no worries !

lul whut ?

The xbox runs on 12v yes, but the power supply steps 240v (or 110v) down to 12v 5v and 3.3v, just straight plugging a figure 8 cable that has been cut up and fused is crazy ?

PC's also run on 12v 5v and 3.3v, no dramas right, just cut up a kettle cable and plug it in, no worries !

So use a 12v PC PSU?

Well, the XBOX is basically a computer running dumb sofware isn't it? Perhaps looking into a proper DC-DC converter for in-car PCs might help? Not sure if it will be worth the cost for you though. IMO, it's pointless to run an inverter to go from 12V DC to 240V AC, just to have it come back down to 12V, 5V and 3.3V again....only reason you 'might' want to do that, is to save chopping up your xbox? But hey, it's car audio...be a man! Do the right thing!

Also, for the person with the iPod. Yes, there have been a few people with issues when charging and listening to the iPod at the same time. Indeed it does cause a gorund loop, which is why you are getting noise. You could make your own ipod dock cable, and get the Line-out from the DAC, bypassing the internal headphone amp, and wire the 12V firewire + and - pins, so you can charge the iPod while you're playing in car. It reduces the need for you to plug two things into the end of your ipod, and the sound from the line-out is much better. You can find the pinout for the ipod dock connector at http://pinouts.ru/Devices/ipod_pinout.shtml

I made one from a Belkin auto adapter thingo and it works fine. You may want to stick a 1Mohm resistor on pin 21, so when you disconnect the connector, the ipod shuts off automatically. Purely optional though.

still having trouble mate?

http://aerpro.com/list.php?pcode=AP3052&cat_name=New+Products&cat_no=&product_name=Two+Channel+Ground+Loop+Isolator&cat_sno=

have you tried something like this?

if it's a cheaper inverter then it could be switching noise caused by the switch mode psu in the xbox not liking the "triangle" or "square" wave output
of the inverter.

Have you tried plugging another device into the aux-in on the head unit? The aux-in could be dodgy.