Radio problem - LOUD buzzing

[jmpolyak]

my 1999 Range Rover 4.0 S radio making a very loud buzz/humming noise when I start the engine. The sound comes through the speakers. If I turn the radio off it stops; but turn it on again and LOUD buzz/humming. Any help. Thanks.

[Jonesy]

The ground has come loose. You can do two things:

1 - take radio out trace the ground wire to the loose connection and reattach - securely!
2 - take the radio out attach a new wire to the ground wire and attach it to a chassis point - it should be on a bolt that is attached/grounded directly to the chassis - ie no paint!

2 is easiest fix cause it takes a while to trace the ground, unless someone knows exactly where it is.
GOOD LUCK

[jmpolyak]

Many thanks Jonesy. It hasn't done it for two days, so it probably is a loose wire. Thanks again.

[Disco Mike]

It may also be a bad spark plug wire grounding on the engine. Go out one evening, when it is dark, start the truck, open the hood and see if you see and electrical arching from any of the plug wires.
Mike J.

[Jonesy]

hey disco what other issues would this cause - i have never heard of that?? cheers mate

[130CC]

The other thing that could cause this problem is there is a small supressor that is on the back of you alternator that has either come loose or has died. Very easy to replace and also very cheap. If you have an UHF or AM radio in the car then you will most likely have the same noise in that. The other option is that the sheild that is around any RCA cabeling and amps could be damaged and noise could enter through there. The electrics on carsalternator, distributer are great big noise generators. sheilding on cabeling between head unit and amp (ground) is the only thing that is protecting this.
Adam

[dbrisotti]

Could this also cause an intermittent thumping in the right front speaker? I haven't pulled the radio yet but this doesn't sound like a ground issue to me... no humming. And the thumping isn't related to any other function of the car... like hazards or blinkers. It just happens some times and doesn't happen others. God I love Range Rovers....

[130CC]

I am guessing not hearing the problem but if the thumping is only in one speaker and ocasionaly then it could be a loose connection to that speaker. The thump being caused when the speaker goes from a working state to an non working state and back to a working state quickly.
Adam

[TerryS]

Originally Posted by jmpolyak

my 1999 Range Rover 4.0 S radio making a very loud buzz/humming noise when I start the engine. .

Something you said in your original post which may have been overlooked, at least by me: That the loud buzz/huuming noise begins when you atart your engine.
So here's my question; If you turn on your Ign, but not start the engine yet, does the radio sound OK, and the noise only appears once the engine is started?

If that's the case, it may lead one to look to an interference issue, rather than an audio system issue.The Bad Ground idea has some merit too, as it can be the link to an audio/engine interference problem.

The loud buzzing is a symptom that manifested itself in my son's '93 RRC, but primarily from only the RF door speaker. The car had the ADS audio system, and behind the speaker , inside the door panel, was some sort of network, which was supposed to be held in place with tape, or double sided sticky material (That is SO early Land Rover) The circuit board came loose and was ARCing on a piece of the door frame, sparks big time like it was a powered network. Anchored it back down and never heard from it again.

The flip side is the noise present even before starting the engine, then it's audio related only. If there is an open in a shielded cable from the CD deck (Do you have one) then that could do it, or any other AUX input.