# '06 Pathfinder LE annoying speaker whine sound



## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

Hello all, 

This is my first post here because I am a new Nissan owner, ok well the truck is used but its new to me. I want to know if anyone else has had any problems with their Bose speaker system or amp. When I accelerate I hear a high pitched whining sound coming from my front dash speaker and I can also hear it in my driver door speaker. Also, when I turn on the rear a/c control I hear a loud buzzing sound coming from those same speakers. Both of these sounds go away if I unplug the amp under the drivers seat. This problem is on top of having the stupid TPMS light on all the time because of a bad sensor and never knowing how much gas I have due to a problem with the fuel sending unit that I am going round and round with the dealer I bought it from to get fixed. All in all, I am went from an Acura to a Nissan and I am seriously regretting that decision. :wtf:


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## mitsuspyder (Feb 27, 2009)

the whining sound is caused by a bad grounding, prolly if the speakers arent the stock speakers, the speakers werent installed properly, so check bak the wires for the speakers at the back of the radio especially the grounds wire.


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi, yes I thought it could be the grounding cable but I still have the stock Bose system in it, I have not touched anything in it. So i went ahead and took the system out to make sure the cables on the head unit were tight and they are and I also made the the Bose amp cables were not messed up in any way. This sound is getting worse, and now I am hearing a popping sound when my blinker is on. Could this be something with my ECU or the speakers themselves?


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

So after doing alot of online searching I think that I have found a good definition of what I am dealing with. I have heard the whistling referred to as "alternator whine" and the sound from the speakers when the blinker is on is referred to as "accessory pop", this is what I am dealing with...the question now is "Does anyone know where to start looking for the problem?"


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## Faja (Aug 31, 2009)

amazindb8882 said:


> So after doing alot of online searching I think that I have found a good definition of what I am dealing with. I have heard the whistling referred to as "alternator whine" and the sound from the speakers when the blinker is on is referred to as "accessory pop", this is what I am dealing with...the question now is "Does anyone know where to start looking for the problem?"


Replace the car radio ground wire and screw it in to a new spot on the chassis. Also if your amp is hooked up with RCA type cables, try replacing those. Check that your battery is fully charged. If your audio wires and power wires are too close you could also get interference, reroute one of them to the other side of the car if possible.


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## mitsuspyder (Feb 27, 2009)

yes i would go and change the grounding wire location to a better area on the chassis, the speakers wouldnt really be the culprit, most likely its the wiring from the head unit, try moving the grounding wire from the current position.


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

Hey everyone, thanks for these suggestions. I finally had time last night to take the dash head unit out and try to look for the ground. In the past when I have installed new head units in my cars there was always a ground point that had a ground wire that needed to be grounded to some specific point on the car, but with this Bose system I am understanding that its grounded through the mount points on the chassis. Apparently this does not seem to work. Anyone have any idea on how to do an easy alternate ground without taking the entire truck apart. I now realize that all the sounds (popping, whining, buzzing) that are coming from my speakers stop when I unplug that main power from the radio....at least its good to know that this is the source of all the issues, now just how to fix it? suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## Faja (Aug 31, 2009)

Try attaching a wire to any metallic piece on the radio and ground the other end to the chassis of the car and see if that helps. Just a thought


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

*Thanks*

Yeah, unfortunately I tried that. I ran a ground wire from the back of the radio to another point on the chassis and that didn't seem to help at all. Maybe I attached it to the wrong point on the radio or the chassis. Oh well....


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update. I took the Pathie in and the fuel sender needed to be replaced as well as one of the TPMS sensors, but the dealer where I bought it could not figure out what the whining sounds was, so I am taking it to Nissan this weekend to see if they have a clue. This truck has been such a PIA since I got it. I am thinking that I wont have it for any more time than I have too.


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## Faja (Aug 31, 2009)

did they replace the fuel sending unit under warranty or recall?? IIRC, others have reported similar problem...


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

The Service Engine Soon light was on when I bought it used, and I was able to get the dealer that I bought it from to replace the sensor under the agreement that they would resolve whatever issue was causing that light to come on. I know there is not a recall on this issues, but Nissan has issued a TSB regarding the fix and the symptoms. I can tell you that not knowing how much fuel is in your tank should be a safety recall issue, but Nissan does not seem to think so.


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

Just go give an update. I dropped the Pathfinder off at a local Nissan dealership to get this problem resolved....just got a call and after switching out the radio with a new one, and re-wiring some connections to the tune of about $500, this noise is still there....so basically I feel like I am just handing out money on this thing. *sigh* I sure do miss my Acura right now....


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## Faja (Aug 31, 2009)

amazindb8882 said:


> Just go give an update. I dropped the Pathfinder off at a local Nissan dealership to get this problem resolved....just got a call and after switching out the radio with a new one, and re-wiring some connections to the tune of about $500, this noise is still there....so basically I feel like I am just handing out money on this thing. *sigh* I sure do miss my Acura right now....


Is the amp stock or aftermarket?


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## amazindb8882 (Sep 18, 2009)

No aftermart parts. It's the Bose 10 speaker premium system with the Bose amp under the seat. Anyone know anything about the grounding wiring on the chassis? I am at my wits end and I am going to take it apart tomorrow


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## Faja (Aug 31, 2009)

Don't know why they changed the radio, sounds to me like the issue is with the amp as you earlier stated that the whine is gone when you disconnect the amp?? If your speaker wires are too close to the power wires you will get some noise on the speakers so you could try to trace the wiring and shuffle them to different sides of the car and see if that makes a difference. 

Check the ground on the amp too. Also see if there is an extra ground at the back of the radio (this is just a black wire with a connector on it just hanging loose from the car - not the radio). If you do, this should go to the metal frame of the radio. My wife's subaru had one like this when I changed her radio even tho it had the normal black wire ground on the harness - it didn't seem to make any difference if I had it hooked up or not but she doesn't have an amplifier on her stereo.


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## All2sweet (12 mo ago)

Has anyone ever found a fix for this issue? My Nissan is making this irritating whining noise with the same factory system and I find it hard to believe that it has anything to do with the speaker system that has never been touched since buying the SUV. Help! please!


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

It's often a grounding issue, but sometimes it can also be caused by "bouncy" alternator brushes or other minor faults in the alternator's power path. The cheapest-easiest thing to try is putting an old-school condenser (as in "points-and-condenser") directly on the alternator output stud. Most parts stores stock Delco D204 types like this, simply attach the wire to the alternator output stud and ground the condenser body to the alternator body:









Make sure to disconnect the battery negative terminal while working with the alternator output. If you accidentally short it while working on it with the battery connected, you'll blow the alternator fuse in the battery card and make for a much more expensive repair.


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