Whine noise

[Sheriff Bart]

is there any way you can use double shield coax with that antenna ? 213, 214 LR400 or other double shield types or are you stuck with whats attached to the antenna you're using ?

73's

[dud muck]

I snapped a ferrite core around the bottom of the Wilson 5000
& that cut it by another 20% or so...but probably will cut my reception back a little too.

A ferrite on the antenna itself?

Ferrites absorb RF. If you put it on the antenna, it defeats the purpose of the antenna.
Put ferrites on places you don't want RF to be. Such as speaker wires, DC wires like that feeding your fuel pump.
They are great to put on your coax if you have trouble with RF riding on the shield of your coax.

I just today mounted a wilson 5000 on the roof of my car. The gain just blows me away.

You said you've had some work done that has reduced your noise problems.
If i havent mentioned it alread, you might need more chassis bonding with braid strap.
If your fuel pump was causing RFI, then strap your tailpipe to the chassis because usually its supported by rubber.

[Thisdude08]

Hi Sheriff Bart,

I suppose it could be done with the coax but I would have to solder
& put it all together & buy the coax.

Seeing that I have put many ferrite cores on the coax itself with
no change at all I don't know what would happen.

I am going to have the chance to try another Wilson 5000 but it probably won't be until
next week. I know I've tried the K30 & had the same results but
you never know...

Dud Muck...I realize that it's not a good idea to use the ferrite cores
on the antenna itself but wanted to see what would happen.
Believe it or not it helped with lowering the noise & hearing people a little
better but I couldn't get out hardly at all, as expected.

Even with the buzz/whine (it's more of a whine on AM & a buzz on SSB)
I talked 35 miles to work today...it wasn't easy especially after 20 miles...it would be sweet
if I could get that noise outta there.

73's & thanks guys for all the ideas...please keep them coming if you
think of anything.

[Thisdude08]

Dud Muck,

I will look into the grounding of the tailpipe.
Perhaps that might help...I am pretty sure it's the fuel pump
causing most of this.

73's !

[jessejamesdallas]

Sounds like your alternator is about wore-out....re-place the alternator.....

[Thisdude08]

I failed to mention this is a brand new truck. It did it on the older one also.

The noise is present for one second when the key is in the acc. position with the engine not running.

The alternator isn't running at this point so it couldn't be that.

I thought it was the alternator for the longest time too...

73's !

[Sheriff Bart]

well we are learning a lot here. the noise is present in more than one operators mobile just for the second the key is in the ACC position, leaning towards a fuel pump start up being the culprit. Has anyone tried using double shielded coax yet. I know with some antennas it will require soldering and it isn't as flexible as mini 8 but it may provide the extra shielding needed to cut down/off the RFI problem...just a thought


73's

[tonyhatchetman]

bump

[Thisdude08]

Yeah this is very stubborn. The dealer also unplugged the alternator
for a moment & it still had the noise.

I am sure it's not the radio...I've tried 3...2 of which are new

I would love to try double shielded coax but will have to order it
& probably solder it in as well. Question is if the RF was entering through the coax, wouldn't the ferrite cores
at least make a little change? I've had up to 15 of them on it at once
& no change at all. (Looked strange though lol)

Tried 2 antennas...the Wilson 5000 & an older K-30. Both had the noise.
Will be trying another (known working) Wilson next week.

The power wires are shielded but just to be sure I ordered another
wiring harness for the Cobra 200 GTL DX. Will try that too next week.

Also I will try to ground the tailpipe as suggested.

I tried a sniffer with the engine running & couldn't get any noise
to come through that way.

I really appreciate the help & advice.

73's !

Jim

[Thisdude08]

Time for an update.

I tried a brand new power harness for the Cobra & no change in the buzz/whine.
Also tried a known working Wilson 5000 & again, no change.
Gave the suggestion about grounding the tail pipe a try & still no luck.

I think it's the nature of the beast with a Ford truck since this is my second.
With the '04 it was borderline terrible at times...with the '07 it is tolerable *most* times
especially on SSB where the whine changes to a buzz however it's always there.

For now I guess I will just live with it as nothing seems to change it but am
always willing to try something if anyone has any other ideas.

[Keyboard]

I also have a 2004 F150. I'm running a General Lee with a Wilson 1000 Mag. You seem to be having the same noise that I'm getting. It's most definitely in the fuel pump. I tried all of the grounding and still get the same noise. I can tell it's not ignition because it's not static but a motor wine. Also have you noticed that when you first start to move from a parked position you may also hear the anti lock brakes pulse ? I think it's a fact of life for Ford.

[Seabee]

I have an '05 F150, had the same fuel pump noise, used a clamp on magnetic filter that I just looped the power wire through, and it fixed it. The anti-lock brake noise, you will never be able to get rid of.

[dellwas]

You beat me to it. I was thinking fuel pump myself. I have a '97 Ford PSD with duel tanks and don't get it, but have a friend with a F-150 with duels and he does on his second tank.

Here is the fix I sent to him, haven't heard back, but I know he was going to try it.

[Please login or register to view this link]

Hope you get it fixed!

Hi Bootymonstor,

I actually have tried several radios...the Cobra 200, a Superstar 158 (RCI) & an older Cobra 148.
The whine is there with all of them.

I also tried an older K-30 antenna & still heard the whine.

It is pointing to the fuel pump as the whine is present for one second
when the ignition is in the acc. position. (but not actually running)

Ford did issue a TSB for a fix for this but not for my 2004 F-150. I saw the dealer yesterday
& we are going to try this fix anyway seeing that I'm sure it's not the radio
& 99% sure it's not the antenna.

It won't happen on the bench because there is no whine to pick up in the house
& therefor can't duplicate the problem.

I am getting this work done next Wednesday. I can't think of anything else to try
before then. I'll let you know what does happen & if you can think
of anything else to try I'll be glad to...meanwhile I'm keeping my fingers
crossed that this fix will do the trick.

If it does not work then my wife will kill me for putting more $ into CB stuff so if I don't
post after Wednesday you'll know why...(Only kidding)

73's !

Jim in Western VT
"Vermont's 509"

[Please login or register to view this link]

[Thisdude08]

Well I still have the problem...my dealer followed the TSB &
there was very little change. I'm a radio man but not
a mechanic so I think next time I go to the dealer I'm
gonna look at the filters that were put on. I also had them
put 2 snap-on ferrite beads on the wire.

Sometimes the noise is on USB, sometimes on LSB & sometimes both. It
is there 90% of the time on AM. It is the fuel pump however you have to lower
the gas tank to get to it so there's not much I can do here at home but if anyone has
any other thoughts I'd be willing to try anything that I can.

Usually I pick a channel without the noise if I can find one & use that. Otherwise I end up turning it off &
cranking the tunes. That whine drives me crazy after a few minutes.

Thanks for the good luck wishes...I'm gonna need it !