Radio noise frustration!

[mountainpete]

Have you guys tried these?

http://www.powerwerx.com/product.asp?ProdID=1852&CtgID=1003

Haven't tried that one, but I do have this:

http://www.actioncommunications.com...?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ACI&Product_Code=KLF2

And it didn't help.

My next step is to go over every ground in the engine area to make sure they are all solid - especially the onces around the ignition.

Pete

 

[PCRover]

You are describing classic ignition spark noise.

Do you have after market Plug wires? High performance wires can cause your problem. All factory wires are resistive to suppress the ignition pulse.

How many miles on the wires? Old worn out, cracked wires can cause your problem.

Do you have after market ignition system? High energy ignition systems can cause your problem.

Is the hood grounded? Is the engine grounded? Bad grounds can cause your problem.

 

[teotwaki]

Haven't tried that one, but I do have this:

http://www.actioncommunications.com...?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ACI&Product_Code=KLF2

And it didn't help.

My next step is to go over every ground in the engine area to make sure they are all solid - especially the onces around the ignition.

Pete

Those types of filters can help with alternator whine on the 12 VDC line but can't help with ignition noise being picked up by the radio receiver.

 

[mountainpete]

You are describing classic ignition spark noise.

Do you have after market Plug wires? High performance wires can cause your problem. All factory wires are resistive to suppress the ignition pulse.

How many miles on the wires? Old worn out, cracked wires can cause your problem.

Do you have after market ignition system? High energy ignition systems can cause your problem.

Is the hood grounded? Is the engine grounded? Bad grounds can cause your problem.

Factory wires with (60k KM not miles - so they should still be fine). Factory ignition system. Plugs were replaced about 20k ago. I plan on swapping them later this week. Hood doesn't have any special grounds other then what Toyota provided. I plan on checking the engine grounds tomorrow morning.

Pete

 

[mountainpete]

Those types of filters can help with alternator whine on the 12 VDC line but can't help with ignition noise being picked up by the radio receiver.

Yup - learned that after I dropped $40 on the unit at a commercial radio shop. :exclaim:

 

[PCRover]

Try this to isolate the noise source.

Take a piece of antenna cable and connect one end to your radio, take the other end and make a small loop shorting the center to outer conductor. Then use the loop to sniff around the engine listening on the radio for a hot spot where the noise is loudest.

 

[mountainpete]

Try this to isolate the noise source.

Take a piece of antenna cable and connect one end to your radio, take the other end and make a small loop shorting the center to outer conductor. Then use the loop to sniff around the engine listening on the radio for a hot spot where the noise is loudest.

Jim recommended something similar. I didn't have time to try it today, but plan to try it tomorrow. I did try it with an FRS radio but it didn't work at all.

Pete

 

[PCRover]

Mild Ignition noise is common when receiving AM such as Aircraft band, but should be all but unnoticeable on FM signals.

 

[ntsqd]

Factory wires with (60k KM not miles - so they should still be fine). Factory ignition system. Plugs were replaced about 20k ago. I plan on swapping them later this week. Hood doesn't have any special grounds other then what Toyota provided. I plan on checking the engine grounds tomorrow morning.

Pete

Betting that the wires are at least a partial cause. They can look just fine and not be worth a dang at RF suppression. We tried all sorts of plug wires trying to solve a similar problem that plagued our small engine development. Instead of messing with a radio the RF noise messed with the ECU. That wasn't acceptable.

The commonly thought to be good aftermarket RF suppression plug wires, MSD's, made a dent but didn't fix the problem. After reading their technical info we tried some Magnecor wires. They removed the problem. They've been in the dyno room getting all sorts of hot and cold chemicals and gases spilled/vented on them for over a year. No problems at all.

 

[w9awx]

Ground the radio and antenna

I concur with Andrew. Ham radio mobile is a compromise at best. Any lack of grounding will cause some serious noise thru the radio. Run a ground strap to the radio. Also ground the antenna directly to the frame. These two things seem to solve 80-90% of the issues. If that doesn't work, you are probably looking at ground shielding spark plugs and wires, coils, etc.

73
Gregg

 

[mountainpete]

I'm still going through my grounding exercise. It looks like all of the standard ground points are good. However, I am replacing out all my plugs and ignition wires.

I spoke to a very helpful gent at Magnecor and he said that on the 3.4L the replacement wires will not necessarily be any better than a set of new factory wires for RF reduction (with the exception they will last longer). The reason is the coilpacks on the passenger side. Since the Magnecors would have been about $200 with shipping, I just picked up a set of new Toyota wires for about $90.

I'm also going to run an extra groundstrap to the radio as suggested. Not sure about the antenna though. I have tried that already with a temp setup and it made no difference at all.

Pete

 

[mountainpete]

New plugs and wires in - no change - maybe even a hair worse. Still working on extra grounding.

I have also noticed that the radio picks up every possible electrical noise. I touch the key to the ignition (not turn) I hear a click in the radio, I run the garage door opener - tons of noise. It's like it picks up everything!

Is it possible that the radio itself has issues?

Pete

 

[mountainpete]

Well I might have just had a bit of a breakthrough...

8800 is dual receive right? Well I have a routine... I always listen to the local repeater on the left side and shift around on my right. I realized that whenever I tested for noise, it was on the right side.

This was my test:

I listened to the same frequency on left and right with squelch fully open. When I listen to the left side, normal open air. On the right, IGNITION NOISE!

So is it possible that only one of the recievers has a problem?

I'm going to head over to the radio shop tomorrow morning to have them look at it.

Pete

 

[teotwaki]

Well I might have just had a bit of a breakthrough...

8800 is dual receive right? Well I have a routine... I always listen to the local repeater on the left side and shift around on my right. I realized that whenever I tested for noise, it was on the right side.

This was my test:

I listened to the same frequency on left and right with squelch fully open. When I listen to the left side, normal open air. On the right, IGNITION NOISE!

So is it possible that only one of the recievers has a problem?

I'm going to head over to the radio shop tomorrow morning to have them look at it.

Pete

That is an interesting catch. On the right side receiver it is definitely on the correct frequency and mode? Does the sensitivity seem any worse than the left side receiver?

Maybe an internal connection (diode switch, RF relay, etc.) is defective (as you suspect).

 

[mountainpete]

That is an interesting catch. On the right side receiver it is definitely on the correct frequency and mode? Does the sensitivity seem any worse than the left side receiver?

Maybe an internal connection (diode switch, RF relay, etc.) is defective (as you suspect).

Both on exactly the same frequency. Not sure if there is any sensitivity differences. I'll have to test.

Pete