Whine on CB radio

[TomoHawk]

I've been trying out a CB radio in my car lately.

I have a new handheld CB radio with a roof-mounted antenna, and a cigarette lighter adapter. I also have a 4-spot splitter for the lighter plug. There's alkalines inside the radio just in case.

When I'm driving I get a high-pitch whine noise on the radio. I tried the dash radio on & off- it's not that. I nav computer on & off- no difference. Maybe it's the GPS cable or power wire?? It seems the whine is only there when the car is rolling.

Any ideas? I will have to try different things like moving the radio behind the seats, running without the lighter plug splitter, routing the antenna wire differently. Just not time for it today- club touring tomorrow.

thx

[=Enigma=]

Does the pitch of the whine change with engine RPM or stay constant regardless of RPM?

[bigoak]

Improper grounding can often create the whine you describe in a variety of audio equipment. Check to make sure everything is grounded properly.

[TomoHawk]

Does the pitch of the whine change with engine RPM or stay constant regardless of RPM?

Sorry Enigma, almost forgot about you there...

I stopped in a parking lot on the way home yesterday, and tried ravving the engine some, and I didn't hear any change in the pitch of the whine.

Speaking of whine, my club is touring the local wineries today (whineries? )

thx

[Mr Camouflage]

OK. Does the whine stop if you turn the engine off, but switch it back to on (without restarting the car)?

[TomoHawk]

I think I fixed the problem.

One of the sockets in the splitter has a light on it ( an l.e.d., I think) so that is probably the source of the whine. I plugged into one of the other sockets and things were fine.

I think I will next try to wire the 12 volt splitter into the fuse box or battery, so I don't need to have an unsightly wire going across the radio to the light socket.

thx

[Blue Meanie]

Did you check to see if your wife was in the seat next to you? I often get a whining sound coming from the passenger side of the cabin when my wife is in the car. Coincidence?

[TomoHawk]

Funny!

I thought it was, " I take my wife driving in the car, so I have a passenger-side airbag."

Anyway, I plugged the power CB adapter into a different plug in the 12V accesory splitter, and the whine stopped. The plug that had the whine, also had a light in it.

thx

[texasz]

From what I recall from when I was in to big car audio if the whine goes up as the RPMs do this is an alternator issue...basically in many cases you have an improper ground loop. This can be resolved by finding a better ground point. The other option is to hit the car stereo store and get a filter for the noise (had to do this in an old Honda back in the late '80s).