The AM band, especially on weak stations, has a lot of engine electrical noise. Took it to the dealer, 1st mistake, was told that's part of the beast. Has anyone got a fix with a filter, wiring, etc.?
That's AM. There are just too many things that interfere with it in this day, and with few people really listening to AM, nobody really addresses the issues anymore. You'll be hard pressed to find anything on the market that will suppress the noise. If you're good with electronics, you might be able to find a schematic for some noise suppressors on the internet.
I suppose it depends on the stations signal strength, but I too think there is not much you can do. I've tried to listen to traffic updates on an AM station, and it's quite painful to say the least.
I got a noise suppressor from Crutchfield last year for my son's car. Turns out, I didn't need it as it didn't help. After changing the plug wires, the interference was gone. I couldn't send it back after having installed it, so I just tossed it. Sorry about that, but like Brad said, I don't think it would help much anyway.
Thanks all...the noise sound like alternator whine...I was hoping a resistor might be available, like on the old generators, remember them? They didn't work very well either (smile). Or, someone had a miracle fix... I guess I'll just have to stick to Sirius, but no local stuff though. AM is going away like the telegraph.
Did you always have this whine on the am radio? I do listen to am sometimes and I do not have any whine. Perhaps my car is newer than yours?
As the electrical components start to get older, they generate more RFI. You may have old plugs, wires, ignition coil or alternator. You could have them tested and replaced if they are nearing the end of their life anyway.
Radio Shack used to carry filters. I had a car that made a lot of whine that varied with engine speed over the radio. The filter went inline between the radio and antennae, and took care of the problem. I haven't looked up anything like that in years though.
Pretty much anything you try will at best be marginal or ineffective.
To learn why this is look up Amplitude Modulation , and to learn why FM does not have serious noise problems look up Frequency Modulation. (Wikipedia or the like)
You will see that the way the sound is put onto the radio waves is the culprit on AM and why electrical noise has minimal effect on FM.
Yes an inductor would tend to block some of the high frequency noise coming in through the power feed.
The real problem is an AM radio system tend to interpret electrical noise as sound and sends it on to the speakers.
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