www.iFourWinns.com

I recently upgraded my stereo in my H240 by adding (6) JL Audio M6.5's and a JL10w3 plus The JL M700x5 amp. I put the amp in the cabinet behind the steering wheel and ran both power and ground back to the battery via 4 gauge wire. I now get a ticking noise through the speakers when the boat is running but when engine is off nothing. The power and ground for the head unit are still through the OEM harness and I have everything away from the power and ground wires running back to the battery. Any suggestions on how I cn get rid of the ticking noise when the engine is running? I'm at a loss!!!

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[img]C:\Users\Robert%20Hryniewich\Pictures\Lake%20Powell%202006\BOAT[/img]
08 H240 Loaded
8.1L Volvo DP
Ford Excursion Diesel[img]

RCA wires from the head unit to the amp will cause this, did you use high quality RCA's.
You can also add a filter in line here, but they seldom work

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Bridgewater, PA
2008 Vista 318

http://www.knukonceptz.com/

I have used these for the same problem mentioned in cars and they seemed to fix the problem most of the time (I used Krystal Cables).

You may also be able to find the top of the line Monster or AudioQuest cables outside of original packaging on e-bay for cheap, but I do not see any at the moment.

If better RCAs do not fix the problem it is possible the issue is with the power supply to the HU. Throw a distribution block on the power and ground cables north of where they connect to the amp and use a 12-16ga wire from them to power the HU with an in-line fuse.

You should not be picking up noise from running the speaker wires next to power, and this is especially true if the ticking is apparent in ALL your speakers.

If neither of these help a noise filter is a last ditch effort. I have tried it in several systems, and had it work for a buddy only once.

I bought a Kicker Amp kit which I'm going to switch out the RCA's as they were super long. I recently purchased 3ft JL Audio marine RCA's so I'm going to install them tomorrow and see what happens. If that doesn't work already bought the distribution blocks for power and ground and will run the head unit power and ground to the same spot as the amp.

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[img]C:\Users\Robert%20Hryniewich\Pictures\Lake%20Powell%202006\BOAT[/img]
08 H240 Loaded
8.1L Volvo DP
Ford Excursion Diesel[img]

After thinking about this a little more - the RCA might be part of the issue, but I think ultimately you will end up having to run at least a new ground to the HU.

Just out of curiosity, does your HU have the ability to shut-off the internal amplifier (many of the higher end Alpines did this back in the day)? Usually interference is picked up through the RCAs, but frequently the HU is trying to pull/ground more power than the guage of the wire going to it can handle, and ultimately seeks ground through the RCAs - causing alternator wine or clicking noises from the interference that is inherent in a car/boats DC system (I would imagine more prevalent in a boat due to smaller alternator size). If you can shut-off the internal amp this may also solve the problem without having to run new wires. It may also be possible to run a "jumper" grounding cable between the amp and HU to see if this solves the problem (or just re-wire the ground), but by that point you might as well just do the whole she-bang.

I just replaced the RCA's and re did the wires to feed the two speakers on the hatches. I upgrades my hatches to the 2009 hatches so tomorrow I shall see if my upgrades solved my problems. Will advise

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[img]C:\Users\Robert%20Hryniewich\Pictures\Lake%20Powell%202006\BOAT[/img]
08 H240 Loaded
8.1L Volvo DP
Ford Excursion Diesel[img]

So I just replaced all the RCA cables and made them short 3ft. Didn't work so I'm going to ground both the head unit and amp to same ground point via a ground block. No ticking is present when the motor is off

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[img]C:\Users\Robert%20Hryniewich\Pictures\Lake%20Powell%202006\BOAT[/img]
08 H240 Loaded
8.1L Volvo DP
Ford Excursion Diesel[img]

Kicker generally always supply high quality cables in their kits.
As stated, run a new earth to your HU & take it from there...

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2011 Four Winns H180 SS.
Aussie built Mustang 2800.
SOLD - 1997 Four Winns Horizon RS

Does the boat have a single battery or a dual battery setup? If a dual battery setup, then the head-units yellow B+/MEM and black GND wires need to share the same battery source as the amp(s). Whether dual or single battery, the amp's ground cabling needs to to terminate at the battery. Do not connect to a ground BUSS, etc. For the amp's B+ cable, it also needs to go directly to the battery (if a single battery setup or a dual battery setup with an ACR/VSR) or to the "C" post of the switch with a dual battery setup w/o a ACR/VSR.

in 90% of the cases I come across where an amp has been added to an existing system, the noise is now present and the fix is to relocate the head-unit wiring to the same source as the amp. On a single battery setup, take the head-unit's yellow and black wires directly to the amps power and ground lugs. This allows the system to take advantage of the large CAPs in the amp and filter some noise.

Next would be to make sure the amp gains are not set too high. This typically results in a hiss or white noise type sound, and not a pop, crackle or rhythmic ticking, but worth double checking. If you google "amp gain setting", you can come up with 2 or 3 credible sites with a nice tutorial posted.

Hey Wyl-e-coyote (Mike), what system do you have in your boat. Love to see some pictures of your boat and audio set-up.
Just make sure you okay advertising your business with the administrator's of this board, before you post any links to product that you sell.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Thanks for the warm welcome, Cap'n.

My current boat is a 24ft hard-top pontoon thats currently under the knife getting a floor up resto. Once the floor and vinyl are done, the stereo will consist of:
Sony CDX-H910 head-unit and two remotes and a remote USB/AUX socket.
4 pair Kicker KM6250.2 driven by a Kicker IX500.4 full-range Class-D amp. LED rings behind each speaker.
2 Kicker L3-12's powered by a single IX1000.1. LED rings also
2 pair Kicker KB6000's hanging off the hard top, 1 pair facing forward and one pair facing aft driven by an IX500.4.
1 group-24 main starting battery and 4 Shuriken 100Ah AGM batteries standing alone just to power the stereo and lights.
Additional LED lighting in and under the boat as well as around the top.

Previous boat was a Tige 22ve. System was fairly stock, except an amp change for the 4 towers that doubled their power and built an enclosure for the OEM sub running infinite-baffle. Before that was a 98 180 Horizon. Added head-unit, CD changer, and a pair of 6x9's. The main cabin 6.5" and 6x9 where powered off a Rockford Fosgate 4 chnl amp, leaving the bow pair on the head-unit. Also added a house battery and switch.

Cap'n, this is not my first rodeo, or boat owners forum for that matter. I am a member on about 12 forums and an active contributor on no less then 8. On Not one of those accounts, am I using my business name as my user ID. Im not a troll or spammer, but a true boat enthusiast. Ive been boating and working on boats for better then 15 years. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others. I also like reading the forums as it allows me to learn more about the particular boats and what owners like and dislike about their systems. I will not be posting links to my website in public threads, but I will make product recommendations when asked, many of which I do sell and install. Not because Im looking to score a sale, but because they are brands I truly believe in their build and sound quality. Again, I will not be posting links, just simply giving brands and models that I believe will fit the OP's needs based on the info given.

Regards,
Wylie_Tunes

Thanks for the proper introduction. I'm familiar with your participation on other forums. It may be of some value to have you answer audio related questions on this forum, time will tell.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Steady as she goes

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

I just set my amp tonight. Turn radio to 75 percent volume with gains all the way down. Turn up gain until you start to hear distortion, then turn down a bit.

Done.

Ticking might be confused with amp clipping? How long is your RCA cable and what kind? I'm using
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NC ... 00_s00_i00

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

Ground the stereo at the same location as the amplifiers or directly to the amplifier's ground. This will eliminate any ground loops you may have between the stereo and amplifier. If you still have noise, do the same thing with the power lead just remember to place a fuse on the lead to protect the wire.