Car charger plus audio out equal signal noise

[surfacinglove]

This morning I used a car charger to micro usb cable to charge my phone while listening to a podcast using Doggcatcher and then some music on Slacker.

I noticed that whenever I had the audio out to the car speakers, then plugged in the charger, I'd get a bunch of signal noise (whining, high-pitched, ringing).

Has anyone else noticed this, not only with car chargers, but anytime charging while having audio out?

 

[04redgto]

I run the Verizon charger, and lineout for nav and music purposes, and have no noise! U either have a bad/cheap charger, or could be a ground loop in your car.

 

[RBasil]

Check to make sure your cigarette lighter and radio are not using the same ground. That is the main cause of signal noise.

 

[surfacinglove]

How do I check that, and can I change that? I drive a Toyota Prius '07.

I just bought an official Verizon charger and had the same issue. Basically when charging and having audio into the car, any electric signal can be heard as noise through the speakers (like putting the window down, pressing harder on the gas pedal, etc.).

Any car pros out there that can help me with this? I'd love to be able to check the grounding issue, but don't know where to look.

 

[surfacinglove]

Just found these, seems to be an issue with the Prius, and several other cars:

Noise from Auxiliary Port with External Device

 

[Qazme]

Signal noise is either caused by common ground, weak grounds, or unshielded equipment. All of which could be cheap chargers or something in your car. Seems you found out it was something in your car. Sucks.

 

[surfacinglove]

Yeah, I just wrote an email to my dealership, attaching the PDF of the service instructions linked to above. Hopefully they'll take care of it, since it is technically a design flaw on their end.

 

[pilotbob3]

Very common problem. Easiest solution is to use an audio ground isolator (basically just two isolation transformers). Found one at my local Fry's for $7 that had all the connectors I needed. Radio Shack carries one, but you have to buy additional adaptors to make the connection Ground Loop Isolator - RadioShack.com

 

[mcguirej]

I noticed this problem on a road trip this weekend. I have a Verizon charger and noticed a slight humming when I had the phone charging and was playing music through the auxiliary port on my stereo. Nothing a little increase in volume doesn't fix.

 

[silentbobdrummer]

Very common problem. Easiest solution is to use an audio ground isolator (basically just two isolation transformers). Found one at my local Fry's for $7 that had all the connectors I needed. Radio Shack carries one, but you have to buy additional adaptors to make the connection Ground Loop Isolator - RadioShack.com

I had this same issue when I first hooked up XM Radio in my car. It did the same thing when I had my iPod charging in my car and playing audio. The Ground Loop Idolater did that trick. I had to hook up a second cable to it to get it to work but it works great and didn't have any issues with it anymore.

 

[nickbike]

Just found these, seems to be an issue with the Prius, and several other cars:

Noise from Auxiliary Port with External Device

I called my local dealer to ask how much this part would be if I wanted to order it and install it myself since my vehicle is past the 36,000 mile warranty. They quoted me $212.48 for the part and $49.75 for labor to install it.

 

[drfundy]

I was getting this in a rav4 I rented when I was using an aux cable.

In my car I use bluetooth and it sounds great.

 

[Qazme]

I called my local dealer to ask how much this part would be if I wanted to order it and install it myself since my vehicle is past the 36,000 mile warranty. They quoted me $212.48 for the part and $49.75 for labor to install it.

Holy crap! What exactly has to be changed in the dash that would cause line noise that costs $270!! (The radio?) I would find out for sure then find the cheap way to do it.

 

[nickbike]

Holy crap! What exactly has to be changed in the dash that would cause line noise that costs $270!! (The radio?) I would find out for sure then find the cheap way to do it.

According to the TSB, its a pretty easy fix. It sounds like all they do is put an inline filter right behind the Aux jack. The part is a new aux jack, and a small piece of the harness. That new piece of harness has a filter in it.

 

[Qazme]

According to the TSB, its a pretty easy fix. It sounds like all they do is put an inline filter right behind the Aux jack. The part is a new aux jack, and a small piece of the harness. That new piece of harness has a filter in it.

Visit radio shack, get a noise filter, reground your aux jack and you should be ready? If thats the case you spend what, $20?

A little less elegant, but easier to deal with crutchfield has this: PAC SNI-1/3.5 Noise Filter Helps eliminate ground loop noise from your portable music player! (3.5mm plugs) at Crutchfield.com - $17.99

I think that's what I would do before shelling out $300 to a dealer, eck.

 

[Gomtu]

Oh yeah, I've been plagued with that too, and I have no idea how to deal with it. All I can do is unplug the charger and let my battery discharge, which is a problem for me because I drive all day for a living. I was sure I was not the only one having the problem. I see that someone says the Verizon charger doesn't do this, so I'm going to get a couple of them.

 

[thevictorchen]

I had a lot of problems with the buzzing too, but was able to solve with an adapter.