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RF / Polk Troubleshooting

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Old Apr 5, 2013 | 06:17 PM
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Default RF / Polk Troubleshooting

Hello all. Hopefully you can help me out (again...)

Finished up my 300x2 / Polk install and took the bike for a test ride. I wasn't overly impressed with the sound quality / clarity and then about 5 minutes into the ride i started getting a very loud scratching feedback type noise. It did not change with speed or volume. So I pulled over and took the amp fuse out and went home.

When i got back to my house I put the fuse in and turned the ignition switch on. Music played and now no feedback. Then I started the bike and same thing - n feedback. Anybody have any ideas what I did wrong? This is my first time doing an install but I thought I followed directions pretty diligently.

Would love to get this straightened out before Sunday if possible. Thanks!
 
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Old Apr 5, 2013 | 07:20 PM
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I would check your ground wire going to the amp. I did an install over the winter sounded good in the garage but when the guy fired it up to take it for spin this spring he had motor noise. Found the ground wire had come lose from the amp.
 
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Old Apr 5, 2013 | 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by OLD MXR
I would check your ground wire going to the amp. I did an install over the winter sounded good in the garage but when the guy fired it up to take it for spin this spring he had motor noise. Found the ground wire had come lose from the amp.
Thanks I will check it. It is like a very loud popping noise. Most engine noise that I have experiences was a whining noise that increased with speed. Never heard anything like this before. And the fact that it isn't constant is strange to me also.
 
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Old Apr 5, 2013 | 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by jpit11
Thanks I will check it. It is like a very loud popping noise. Most engine noise that I have experiences was a whining noise that increased with speed. Never heard anything like this before. And the fact that it isn't constant is strange to me also.
The "popping" noise sounds like you have a loose connection. Be sure that every connection is good and tight.

Did you attach the ground wire from the amp to a fairing bracket or the top of the steering head? If so, you want to remove some paint from the attachment point so that you have a "metal on metal" ground.

You also mentioned that the sound clarity wasn't good. Did you adjust the gains on the amp? Are you sure that you have the polarity (positive & negative) correct on wires from the speakers to the amp? If one of them is crossed-up, it can cause problems.
 
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Old Apr 5, 2013 | 10:22 PM
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Originally Posted by WestTexasRanger
The "popping" noise sounds like you have a loose connection. Be sure that every connection is good and tight.

Did you attach the ground wire from the amp to a fairing bracket or the top of the steering head? If so, you want to remove some paint from the attachment point so that you have a "metal on metal" ground.

You also mentioned that the sound clarity wasn't good. Did you adjust the gains on the amp? Are you sure that you have the polarity (positive & negative) correct on wires from the speakers to the amp? If one of them is crossed-up, it can cause problems.
WTR thanks for the reply. I will check the connections and polarity. Hopefully that's what it is. I grounded to the existing triple tree ground.
 
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Old Apr 6, 2013 | 07:23 PM
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Yup. It's amazing how good everything sounds when everything is connected properly...

Thanks for all of the help!!!
 
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Old Apr 6, 2013 | 08:57 PM
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Originally Posted by jpit11
Yup. It's amazing how good everything sounds when everything is connected properly...

Thanks for all of the help!!!
For future reference by other forum users, what was the connection problem?
 
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Old Apr 7, 2013 | 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by WestTexasRanger
For future reference by other forum users, what was the connection problem?
Sorry - should have posted that. There were 2 problems. The polarity was reversed on one of the speakers and a connection on the input side also came loose. Both rookie mistakes I guess.

Took a nice ride today and everything worked perfectly. Thanks again for all of the help.
 

Last edited by jpit11; Apr 7, 2013 at 09:56 PM.
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