2009 Suburban LT - Whining Noise with Radio

[Darbii Rue]

Hey all. New to the world of Chevy & my Suburban (I've had it for about a week now). I noticed, after I bought it (of course) that it's making a whining sound when I play the radio. If I turn the back unit to "headphone-mode" the whining stops.

 

I've done some research on this, and I have a few ideas but primarily, I'm wondering if it could be that one of the cables in the head unit, is maybe hitting a piece of metal inside/grounding or something? I've seen people recommend tightening the positive/negative hookups on the battery, which I tried but they're already super tight and I can't turn them anymore. Another suggested the alternator, but I'd assume I'd see other issues if that were the case. The primary has been something hitting a "ground."

 

I bought some pry tools to remove the head unit panel, but I haven't done anything with that yet, waiting on a 7mm socket to arrive. I need to pull that off to change out the outlet covers anyway, so I'd be in that neck of the woods, but I'm not 100% sure what exactly I'm looking for.

 

Wondering if any of you have any suggestions/examples/experience with this particular issue. Any responses are extremely appreciated. Thanks!

[Jsdirt]

IF the whining changes with engine RPM, that's called "alternate whine" - do a Google search on that. Usually more, or better grounds fix that issue.

[Darbii Rue]

13 minutes ago, Jsdirt said:

IF the whining changes with engine RPM, that's called "alternate whine" - do a Google search on that. Usually more, or better grounds fix that issue.

Wow, awesome! Thank you for the info. Sure enough, it does indeed change with the RPM and gets much worse the higher the RPM's go. I'll take a look at that and find out more about these "grounds." Need to figure out how those work and how to fix/add better ones.

[Doug_Scott]

RFI noise on the radio is usually a bad ground somewhere.  When its only on FM radio, it can be a missing ground strap between fender and engine or even hood to body.  If it is a whine that increases in in pitch that follows the engine speed, it can be the alternator having a bad component.  First thing to do is look over the fuse panels if you just bought a used vehicle.  Look for any add on wiring, and check all the fuses with a test light probe to each of the exposed metal contacts on the top of each side of the fuse.  

The noise stopping when you switch to rear headphone mode will stop the noise in the rear speakers simply because the noise is likely in the connected headphones now.  What happens when you play a CD or MP3 USB stick?  If the noise is only when on the radio, check AM as well.  Radio RFI noise can be caused by a cut or frayed antenna cable, unplugging the antenna from the radio may correct the noise, it will also stop reception, but if the noise is gone as well, look at the cable or grounds from antenna base to battery through the body connections.

[Doug_Scott]

18 minutes ago, Jsdirt said:

IF the whining changes with engine RPM, that's called "alternate whine" - do a Google search on that. Usually more, or better grounds fix that issue.

typing one sentence is cheating.

[Jsdirt]

I'd have typed more, but I've forgotten all the remedies for alternate whine ... 

[Darbii Rue]

14 minutes ago, Doug_Scott said:

RFI noise on the radio is usually a bad ground somewhere.  When its only on FM radio, it can be a missing ground strap between fender and engine or even hood to body.  If it is a whine that increases in in pitch that follows the engine speed, it can be the alternator having a bad component.  First thing to do is look over the fuse panels if you just bought a used vehicle.  Look for any add on wiring, and check all the fuses with a test light probe to each of the exposed metal contacts on the top of each side of the fuse.  

The noise stopping when you switch to rear headphone mode will stop the noise in the rear speakers simply because the noise is likely in the connected headphones now.  What happens when you play a CD or MP3 USB stick?  If the noise is only when on the radio, check AM as well.  Radio RFI noise can be caused by a cut or frayed antenna cable, unplugging the antenna from the radio may correct the noise, it will also stop reception, but if the noise is gone as well, look at the cable or grounds from antenna base to battery through the body connections.

Fantastic, thank you so much for the thorough write-up. My husband and I will have some work to do this coming weekend then. It has a "base-level" system, so sadly no USB or anything. I want to change out the entire unit, maybe to something more like this, though I'm open to suggestions on that. Do you think changing it out entirely would perhaps fix this issue altogether? If so, I'll hold off on it until I can pick up one of these.

[Doug_Scott]

31 minutes ago, Darbii Rue said:

Fantastic, thank you so much for the thorough write-up. My husband and I will have some work to do this coming weekend then. It has a "base-level" system, so sadly no USB or anything. I want to change out the entire unit, maybe to something more like this, though I'm open to suggestions on that. Do you think changing it out entirely would perhaps fix this issue altogether? If so, I'll hold off on it until I can pick up one of these.

Its not likely going to be the head unit, but it is possible.  Is the sound system completely stock?  You mention rear headphones, did it come with rear headphones?  If you are going with an aftermarket system pay attention to how it interfaces with the original system in the truck.  Things like steering wheel controls, connecting to the CANBUS, accepting the factory wiring connectors without using universal adaptors etc.  If you are going to go aftermarket, get an android system, and make sure it is at least current o/s, being ready to accept update to next android is good to have as well.  10 years ago there was not a whole lot of options for upgrading stock head unit.  I got the OGM1 unit that looks very similar to the 2010 factory NAV unit.  It was a complete plug in, even connected to factory backup camera.  But, the head unit is only the start, you will want to change speakers, then amplifiers and subwoofer box, it will take on a life of its own.   Stick with something you are able to get warranty on a well.  Electronics generally fail early if they are going to fail, but if you purchased it from China, sending it back will cost more than buying another one.