Hi,
Well after some troubleshooting on the install I got the Rio Car installed..and working! This baby is mint! I got it working pretty good. The only thing is, when I turn it down, I do hear a lot of engine noise. Now, I do have good connections and I ran my RCA opposite my power (which can create noise). I truned my amp levels up to max which seemed to help, but I still have noise. Is there anything I can do fix this problem? I am not sure. Other than that all systems are a go!

did you ground the sled you could try that if you didn't do it already

Um the sled has a black ground wire which i wired into my cars ground wire..so it should be wired fine. I am going to ground the rear amp again i think it may not be grounded right. Also the other amp is grounded but i used small wire..could this be why? If i use a larege gage would that work? what gage? I am not sure how to tell.

On my roommates car we had to connect an additional wire from the sled to ground I'm not talking about the one in the connector. I am talking about connecting a wire from the metal part of the sled to ground.

I also had to do that on my clarion head unit

First off, check out the FAQ, it ansewers all these questions and more. (specificaly the section on ground loops)

It's important that your ground is just as big as your positive wire. (Electrons are actualy flowing from negative to postive, or something?) Make sure you're running a big ground to the actual frame of the car - The seatbelt bolt or a screw into the bottom of the trunk seem to be favorites.

Then make sure to set your gains properly and not just turn them all the way up. The faq has a section on this too, I suspect.

Matthew

I truned my amp levels up to max which seemed to help, but I still have noise.

That is the opposite of what you should be doing. The amp levels should be getting turned down and the empeg should be getting turned up.

You should be able to turn the empeg all the way up to maximum without going into overdrive (up to 0db), and the stereo should be at a very loud listening volume without distorting your speakers.

If you can only turn it up half way before it starts to distort, then your problem is that your amps are set too loud, and you need to back them off.

Please read the Car Installation section of the FAQ carefully and go through all of the troubleshooting steps in the documents I've linked there.

Hi
Ok I tried what you said but one problem..i turn off both amps so they are LOW..and tried to turn up empeg but it only goes to -like 25 and its so loud? i cant get it maxed....not sure why its so loud.... even with amp off? the best results i have gotten are when the amp is max and the empeg is lower..? why would i be getting such loud sounds on the empeg when the amp is set to min? Do i need a crossover? it has no switches or anything just min max knob..(voulme)

Thanks
JIM

Also i am only running the rio car no head unit.

If i run the amp at both maxs will this harm anything? its only a 75 X 4 amp

Are your gain settings labeled someway?

If they're labeled in volts you might actually be doing the opposite of what you think/we meant here...

If they're labeled like 0.25V - 8V (or something like that), that refers to input voltage needed to get full signal out. The higher setting (8V) here actually means you get less output for a given signal, and the "lower" setting (0.25V) means that you get much more output for the same given signal...

I'll try to keep the following neutral from up/down etc...

For a given volume setting on the empeg, say -30db, turn the gain knob so that you get minimal output from the amp (should be at one of the ends of the knobs range). Then turn up the volume on the empeg until you start to hear distortion or you're as loud as you ever want to be - but don't go past 0db into the + range!
If you're at 0db at not as loud as you want it and don't have distortion, turn the gain away from the end it was set to until you start to hear distortion or you're as loud as you ever want to be. If you stop due to distortion, turn the gain setting back a little bit (and consider upgrading your speakers :-)

(If you couldn't turn up the empeg all the way to 0db with the "lowest" gain setting, then your amp probably can't handle the 4V output from the empeg - but most newer amps should...)

The above should maximise the signal from the empeg compared to any external noise entering the amp. If you still have noise; follow the procedures in the resources linked in the FAQs trouble shooting part.

/Michael