Aftermarket amplifier turn-off pop/click/thump...The Answers

[Soundplus]

Just wondering.. what chimes are we speaking of?? I mean if we open the door what chime could we possibly be needing? I can't think of any chime I need to hear until my ass is in the seat and the car is running and I am about to move..

I have installed a Low volt trigger and that did not solve my problem. so I will be trying your GLI but it is great to have other paths to try if that does not work.

Thanks guys for the info.

[darkrider01]

Originally Posted by Soundplus

So in a nut shell

Buy the Metra Axxess Trigger.. install it. get power from the cig light in the center console. and problem solved??

I wouldn't suggest getting power from the cigarette lighter. Your amps won't turn on unless the ignition is on.

Originally Posted by Soundplus

Just wondering.. what chimes are we speaking of?? I mean if we open the door what chime could we possibly be needing? I can't think of any chime I need to hear until my ass is in the seat and the car is running and I am about to move..

I have installed a Low volt trigger and that did not solve my problem. so I will be trying your GLI but it is great to have other paths to try if that does not work.

Thanks guys for the info.

What problem are you experiencing? Do you have p/c/t or are your amps going into protect? Or is it something else entirely?

[Steve@Subthump]

Originally Posted by Soundplus

Just wondering.. what chimes are we speaking of?? I mean if we open the door what chime could we possibly be needing? I can't think of any chime I need to hear until my ass is in the seat and the car is running and I am about to move..

Thanks guys for the info.

If your key is in the ignition and you open the door, your will get a chime sound. I would imagine if you leave your lights turned to 'on' and exit the car, you would get a chime as well. So there are instances when the chimes are helpful.

[Agent WD-40]

Originally Posted by darkrider01

The Actual Solutions

Metra Axxess Trigger: A "guy at Metra" sent me a Metra Axxess Trigger to try. When he told me he was going to send it to me, I figured it would probably work because it was the one solution I originally passed on (I didn't know this person worked at Metra until after I PM'd him to ask him if he needed my first born or soul as payment). So, I looked it up online again, and they can be had in the $30-40 range now. In the description of the device, it says "GMLAN Aftermarket Amp Turn-On provides an amp turn on LAN vehicles for adding an aftermarket amp". Truth in advertising. It does just what it says, but there is a caveat. My relay, had it worked, probably would have done the same. When you first turn on the radio, or if you press the mute on your steering wheel controls, it turns off the amp. Therefore, there is a 2-3 second delay when turn on the radio or un-mute the radio. I can deal with it.......for now.

Let me make sure I got this right... If you are using the Metra Axxess Trigger and you hit the mute button on the steering wheel the amp turns off. That means if you hit mute and flip on your turn signals you won't be able to hear them? What if you are on mute and get a call over bluetooth, will you be able to hear the phone ring over the speakers? Or do these events un-mute the line?

[Agent WD-40]

Originally Posted by darkrider01

Possible Solutions

Ground Loop Isolator: I tried 3 different models. One Stinger, one AudioPipe, and generic. It seemed like it made the p/c/t less severe, but did not eliminate it. As a note, my original Alpine 3527S did not need ground Loop Isolators but my Alpine MRV-F357 goes into protect without them (when fed low-level radio output directly). My RF T1000 didn't need it either.

Did you find you needed to adjust your gains to be more sensitive after you added a Ground Loop Isolation? Did you add a GLI to both pairs of inputs if you are running your setup with 4 RCA inputs (FR, FL, RR, RL)?

[Soundplus]

I have an ORIGINAL SoundStream Continuum Amp. 1 of the 800 polished aluminum ones that were sold in the US. I to am getting the turn off crackle, pop, and thump at the 2 second mark after I turn the car off. I used a PAC model TR-4 low volt trigger .. (I was told how to hook this up by a stereo shop.) to which I connected the trigger wire into the factory harness coming from the radio. it worked great for the turn on side of things. but I was not having a problem with turn on thump. I still had the issue at turn off.

After reading your posts.( Steve and Darkrider,, and a few others) I have come to realize it is the delayed signal that is causing this

I will be open to trying any and all of your suggested methods if it will fix the problem..

and about the chimes.. sorry I was under the impression you were talking about chimes when you got into the car.. So yeah.. if you are getting out of the car .. yes I would want to know I left my lights on or I left my keys in the ignition..

[darkrider01]

Originally Posted by Agent WD-40

Let me make sure I got this right... If you are using the Metra Axxess Trigger and you hit the mute button on the steering wheel the amp turns off. That means if you hit mute and flip on your turn signals you won't be able to hear them? What if you are on mute and get a call over bluetooth, will you be able to hear the phone ring over the speakers? Or do these events un-mute the line?

When using the Axxess Trigger - Basically, anything that uses the car speakers (chime, cell phone, etc) will have a 2-3 second turn-on delay if the radio was muted. Anything that causes a sound should break the mute and turn the amp back on. So you would still hear the phone ring, you just might miss the first ring if the radio was muted. Honestly, I will dig into this more - hopefully tomorrow after I get off work.

Originally Posted by Agent WD-40

Did you find you needed to adjust your gains to be more sensitive after you added a Ground Loop Isolation? Did you add a GLI to both pairs of inputs if you are running your setup with 4 RCA inputs (FR, FL, RR, RL)?

When I had the GLI's in place, I did need to adjust the gains slightly as the GLI's did knock the signal down. It didn't take much to get them back to what I consider normal. I basically judged the gain level needed by the chime volume.

I have the AudioControl LC6i in between my Head Unit and my Alpine right now so I have it's output levels adjusted to roughly 90%. It's a LOC, so they're not quite the same as gains, but similar. The gains on my amp are at 0% because I don't want to pop the factory BA speakers while waiting on my RF set to get here.

The best bet when adjusting gains is to put the keys in the ignition (with door open) and then adjust them to the maximum level you can stand your chime. Amp gain has a HUGE impact on chime volume. High gain = loud chime.

Originally Posted by Soundplus

I have an ORIGINAL SoundStream Continuum Amp. 1 of the 800 polished aluminum ones that were sold in the US. I to am getting the turn off crackle, pop, and thump at the 2 second mark after I turn the car off. I used a PAC model TR-4 low volt trigger .. (I was told how to hook this up by a stereo shop.) to which I connected the trigger wire into the factory harness coming from the radio. it worked great for the turn on side of things. but I was not having a problem with turn on thump. I still had the issue at turn off.

After reading your posts.( Steve and Darkrider,, and a few others) I have come to realize it is the delayed signal that is causing this

I will be open to trying any and all of your suggested methods if it will fix the problem..

and about the chimes.. sorry I was under the impression you were talking about chimes when you got into the car.. So yeah.. if you are getting out of the car .. yes I would want to know I left my lights on or I left my keys in the ignition..

Man, I bet that TR-4 would have worked perfectly with my relay.....

When using the Axxess Trigger, you will still have your chimes, they will just have a slight delay. I'm old and fat, so it takes me more than 3 seconds to get my big butt out of the car - especially when getting my 3 year old out of the back.. Honestly, when I say 2-3 seconds, I may be exaggerating a bit, but different amps take different amounts of time to turn on and produce audio.

I'll tell ya what: You send me that SoundStream Continuum and your PAC TR-4 and I'll send you my Alpine MRV-F357 and Axxess Trigger

I was very close to going all SoundStream when I started planning my system - would have saved me some cash for sure. SoundStream made some awesome stuff back in the day (they still make some good stuff now, too). My first 15's were SoundStream SPL-15's. They were brutal.

[Soundplus]

me.. send you my Continuum.. are you smokin dope)) I had this thing pushing 2 reference 10s , and I was gettinng 2 1/4 inches of woofer movement peak to valley. a pair of 5-11s and (4) 4.0s in an 89 Camaro.. OMFG did it ROCK.. and you are correct the old SS stuff kicked ass. the new stuff.. it is just ok..

yeah I have been beating my head against the door frame trying to figure this out. glad I have people like you for more ideas..

[darkrider01]

Originally Posted by Soundplus

me.. send you my Continuum.. are you smokin dope)) I had this thing pushing 2 reference 10s , and I was gettinng 2 1/4 inches of woofer movement peak to valley. a pair of 5-11s and (4) 4.0s in an 89 Camaro.. OMFG did it ROCK.. and you are correct the old SS stuff kicked ass. the new stuff.. it is just ok..

yeah I have been beating my head against the door frame trying to figure this out. glad I have people like you for more ideas..

I knew it was a long shot.....

I think you should give the Metra Axxess Trigger a chance. I can help you with the wiring of it if you need. You have to connect 5 wires - it's something like 2 grounds, a +12V constant, the white remote, and the orange amp control.

I'll help out any way I can.

[Agent WD-40]

Originally Posted by darkrider01

When using the Axxess Trigger - Basically, anything that uses the car speakers (chime, cell phone, etc) will have a 2-3 second turn-on delay if the radio was muted. Anything that causes a sound should break the mute and turn the amp back on. So you would still hear the phone ring, you just might miss the first ring if the radio was muted. Honestly, I will dig into this more - hopefully tomorrow after I get off work.

Yeah, let me know what you find. I may end up getting the Axxess Trigger but I want to understand fully how it works. A delay may annoy me more than having the p/c/t when I turn the car off.

Another question related to this: If you have the radio off and use the turn signal is there a delay before you hear it or does it leave the amp on so you can hear the turn signal right away?

[darkrider01]

Originally Posted by Agent WD-40

Yeah, let me know what you find. I may end up getting the Axxess Trigger but I want to understand fully how it works. A delay may annoy me more than having the p/c/t when I turn the car off.

Another question related to this: If you have the radio off and use the turn signal is there a delay before you hear it or does it leave the amp on so you can hear the turn signal right away?

Sorry I didn't get to do this yesterday. I'll tray and check it out today when I get home from work. Weather and work have been rough the past few days.

[darkrider01]

Originally Posted by Agent WD-40

Yeah, let me know what you find. I may end up getting the Axxess Trigger but I want to understand fully how it works. A delay may annoy me more than having the p/c/t when I turn the car off.

Another question related to this: If you have the radio off and use the turn signal is there a delay before you hear it or does it leave the amp on so you can hear the turn signal right away?

Ok - I was able to test a good deal of this tonight with my wife.

When Muted:
Turn Signal takes about 6 seconds before I hear clicking.
Phone does not ring through speakers until 1/2 way through 3rd ring (on callers end).

The mute does break, but it's the same as if you un-muted the radio.

It looks like the delay is longer than I thought. I will say that my Alpine may be partly to fault (possibly a long output delay), and I have another older Alpine that I can try and I'll have a brand new RF T400-4 here on Monday that I can try. I'll try and get the 3527S tested tomorrow.

I'll keep testing and let you know. IMO, the delay could be 10 seconds as long as I don't have that p/c/t, but that's just me.

[Agent WD-40]

Originally Posted by darkrider01

Ok - I was able to test a good deal of this tonight with my wife.

When Muted:
Turn Signal takes about 6 seconds before I hear clicking.
Phone does not ring through speakers until 1/2 way through 3rd ring (on callers end).

The mute does break, but it's the same as if you un-muted the radio.

It looks like the delay is longer than I thought. I will say that my Alpine may be partly to fault (possibly a long output delay), and I have another older Alpine that I can try and I'll have a brand new RF T400-4 here on Monday that I can try. I'll try and get the 3527S tested tomorrow.

I'll keep testing and let you know. IMO, the delay could be 10 seconds as long as I don't have that p/c/t, but that's just me.

Thanks a ton! That is interesting. I guess I don't use the mute that often so it probably wouldn't be a big deal.

I assume there isn't a delay if you just have the radio turned off? I would guess that the amp stays on and you would hear the turn signal or Bluetooth ring right away?

[darkrider01]

Originally Posted by Agent WD-40

I assume there isn't a delay if you just have the radio turned off? I would guess that the amp stays on and you would hear the turn signal or Bluetooth ring right away?

LOL! Man, you'd think I would have tested that! I'll check this afternoon when I get home. I'll also be trying the older Alpine I have to see if it has a different response speed than the newer Alpine.