I just installed my empeg player along with a Rockford Fosgate 200a4 amplifier in my 1999 Nissan Altima. I ran into 4 problems, of which I have fixed 3 and worked around 1 for now.

Problem #1: My Altima uses a "ISO mount" mounting bracket, and the empeg mounting cage has no screw holes for such a device, and little clearance to add them. I managed to drill and tap it and use 10-32 screws to hold the bracket in place. I then cut the screws to length with a dremmel tool, so they are flush with the inside of the docking sled. It would be nice it came with these holes so I didn't have to estimate the right position.

Problem 2: I get static, even with the engine off. It seems that even having a ground wire and being mounted to metal car wasn't good enough, I drilled and tapped another hole in the back of the sled and made a short ground cable, then screwed it to the car.

Problem 3: The amplifier "pops" when it gets turned off. I saw suggestions to use resistors, capacitors, etc. al. on the RCA jacks. What finally worked was to get a 4 amp automotive choke + capacitor from Radio Shack and install it on the ignition line. Wonder of wonders, for the first time in my life I met a competent and helpful RS employee.

Problem 4: I still have alternator noise when the engine is running. I have tried grounding just about everything to everything in search of a cure for this, as well as choking the 12V "memory" power. No dice. Then I discover that disconnecting either the front or the rear inputs from the amp makes the noise go away on the remaining speakers. I had a couple of theories about this, that all turned out to be insubstantiated: It isn't cross-talk between the front and rear channels, they run on opposite side of the car. It isn't straining the amplifier, since there is no noise when I wire front and back speakers in parallel to the same channel. It isn't straining the electrical system, since it is fine with the engine off. Tomorrow, I will go to the stereo store here and see if they have any ideas on how to get it working with all 4 channels.

Has anyone run into this problem before? It looks like an amplifier issue to me, but it is hard to tell without a scope. Currently, my best idea is to put a choke on the amplifier power line, but that doesn't explain the weird front-back interference.

I managed to drill and tap it and use 10-32 screws to hold the bracket in place. I then cut the screws to length with a dremmel tool, so they are flush with the inside of the docking sled.

Cool, this is similar to what I did. Although on mine, I put the heads of the screws on the inside of the sled and used nuts on the outside so that I didn't have to do any dremel work. Works nicely in my case.

The amplifier "pops" when it gets turned off.

This might be a known problem, where all you need is a diode in the right place. If that's what it is, Empeg will supply you with the correct part to solve the problem- write [email protected] for more information. Hey, Dionysus, if you're listening, could you round up the latest posts on that subject and FAQ that one?

Then I discover that disconnecting either the front or the rear inputs from the amp makes the noise go away on the remaining speakers.

Hmm, I have a similar situation on my car. I solved the problem by using a 20-amp Ratshack noise filter on the primary power cable leading to both the amps and the Empeg. But in your case, it might simply be a ground loop between the front and rear channels. In the FAQ section of the BBS is a "common installation problems" thread, in it you'll find links to some noise-troubleshooting documents, give those a shot.



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Tony Fabris

Then I discover that disconnecting either the front or the rear inputs from the amp makes the noise go away on the remaining speakers.

There may be some ground current in the shield of the RCA cable(s). Are the amp and empeg grounded at the same point? If not you could try an isolation transformer. They are available with male and female RCAs so you would easily be able to install one.

Rod.