Radio Static When Pressing the Throttle

greg45

New Member
I installed a AM/FM cd player in 2000 EZGO golf cart along with its own 12 volt battery and rubber antenna. The cd player works fine and the radio does to until you press the throttle pedal and you loose the station to static let off the gas you can hear the radio fine cd player never has any problems. I need help.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Welcome to the forum.

It's the RF from the controller causing the static. Try re-routing all your power wires and antenna cable as far from the controller as you can. Sometimes coiling up the extra antenna wire helps. Some radios just won't work right no matter what you do.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Its hard to say which radios will work well with golf carts. I've always had good luck with Pioneer radios.
 

StreetGlide

New Member
I agree with HRC! My additional :twocents: worth: I suggest you make sure that no wires, radio mounting hardware, metal speaker hardware or the antenna base are connected-to or touching the chassis. Is the antenna made for golf cart or marine use? Without using the chassis or metal ground plane as part of the antenna (as in a standard car install), you need one made for applications without ground plane or counterpoise. It should be mounted vertically as far away from the controller/motor as possible.
 

greg45

New Member
The antenna is for Marine use and it is mounted in the front by the drivers headlight, i will rewire everything this weekend
Thanks for the input if you can think of anything else let me know.
 
I never had any luck with those rubber antennas on my truck or golf cart and switched to a telescopic car antenna with better results. Where I live, pulling a decent signal on a good day is a challenge. Make sure the antenna is grounded as well as the radio, a spike suppressor might clean up the signal some, you can get them at automotive stores or maybe Radio Shack.
 

StreetGlide

New Member
Project objectives met. Very much please with results!

I decided to put all my stereo components, including the speakers, in the front of the cart for two reasons, 1st I wanted to keep all cabling of the system in the front of the cart, as far away as possible from the motor, the IQ system’s computer and motor controller. The 2nd reason is that we wanted stereo for our listening, not caring too much about the stereo effect or quality of the audio for those that may be seated in the rear or anyone outside the cart (bad attitude, I guess).

What actually started this project was to see if I could install a stereo with little to no RFI/EFI to the FM broadcast receiver while “underway”. As mentioned before, local cart shops do not recommend installing stereos into 48Vdc IQ Club Cars because of the interference. Since the project began, I have experienced the interference in a couple of carts. The only thing that “worked” while underway was the CD player! One of the two I rode in had a dash mount unit and the CD worked great. The other had an overhead console that worked fine on smooth streets but did “skip” a few times on a semi-bumpy road. (I did notice that the entire roof shook badly, not just the stereo, so?...)

Before going forward I will share one “lesson learned” (for me). NEVER-EVER, take on such a project without the proper “cart specific” wiring diagrams including the basic cart wiring, voltage reducer wiring, lights wiring, horn wiring, etc. This holds true especially, as was in my case, where someone had re-wired prior and spliced wires with different colors, then hiding the splices inside the plastic tubing/conduit. It makes it harder, and more time consuming, to trace wires when they enter the tubing as green and come-out as red! I have now attempted two of such projects… my first and my last! (Why have I now ordered the Maintenance Manual and the Photo Parts List Manual?)

The cart motor generates Amplitude Modulated noise which mostly effects AM Radio reception. Club Car’s IQ system’s computer and/or motor controller generate RF signals (when cart is underway) strong enough to “de-sensitize” or over-power the received FM Radio signals. The only wiring planned to go back of the dash is the +/- 12VDC to/from the 25A converter/reducer mounted next to the 6, 8VDC batteries. #10 twisted pair used for this 12VDC. The twist should help somewhat reduce the RF signals “riding” forward on the feeds through cancellation characteristics of the twists. I installed a #43 ferrite bead with 3 loops in each leg which helps reduce signals in the frequency range covering the 88 to 108 MHZ FM Broadcast band. I also installed a ½ wave vertically polarized marine antenna mounted on the front right cowling. The vertical polarization and the fact of not needing a ground plane (no connection to frame or body as in a car install), should reduce the amount of signal received from the IQ computer and motor controller.

As shown in attached photo, I used 4 speakers up front, forward and above the review mirror angled down toward ear level. Each has a 4” woofer/midrange driver and a separate 1” tweeter. The subwoofer was planned to be under the roof (again to keep wiring away from rear) but unfortunately the size would not allow doing so. It is now in the bag well, just below the rear seat, double “shock” mounted. The subs wires are #16 twisted pair, again hoping for some RF cancellation. I used # 43 ferrite beads in-line.

The dual cone sub cross-over is set at 200Hz. It is fed by a 100w (total) amplifier. Volume is adjusted with the line-level output control of the stereo. I have added cross-over networks to the speakers. The outer most front right speaker (right channel) and the outer most front left speaker (left channel) are set for frequencies up to 800hz. The inner most right and left are set for up to 2,000 Hz where they cross-over to the tweeters. This allows both of the right and both of the left front speakers to work together at the lowest frequencies for maximum low-end extension, while only the inner most work at higher frequencies for maximum dispersion. With this configuration, the impedance of each speaker did not significantly change since I am using the “rear” channels of the stereo for the outer most speakers and the “front” channels for the inner most. This also allows for individual volume adjustment with use of the stereo’s Balance and Fade controls. The phase of the sub and the tweeters can be reversed but no noticeable interaction is occurring. May play with it a little more later. We are both 100% satisfied with the sound of the system.

As stated above, objectives met. All accessory wiring operates from the new 48VDC to 12VDC (25A) converter through the new power distribution panel.

We have no noticeable RFI affecting the FM reception even when underway! All favorite stations, including the station 70+ miles away in Florence that carries the NASCAR races are received “loud and clear”!

After I clean up the cart I’ll take some more pics and post.
 

greg45

New Member
I rewired everything and i still have noise in the radio when i press the acclerator but not as bad but still there any ideas?
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Some radios won't work right no matter what. The only other thing I can think of is try a different antenna or radio.
 

StreetGlide

New Member
HRC probably right!

Just a couple of things though, did you check for continuity between the chassis of the cart and all the wiring of the radio?

Does the problem exist on all stations? If there is a high power station that is not interfered-with (or very little), but others are? If so I would replace the antenna with a half wave vertical such as a Metz SS-8 stainless, Fanfare FM2G stainless or a Shakespere 3', 4' or 5' marine broadcast band one. They are much more efficient than a "rubber duckie". The stronger broadcast signal to the radio input, the stronger the interference would have to be to effect it......
 

DWscott

New Member
Great info LOW and SlOW I have fought the same problem for years and finally ended up with extra seperate battery, wiring, and a marine antenna. I felt that part of my problems was because of using the battery pack as a power source through a reducer?
You should post that info for all to refer to.
 

tharkey

New Member
Lots of good info, Cartahollic. You obviously know a lot about automotive/marine stereos.

I recently installed a Pyle Audo marine stereo, with speaker pairs front and rear wired through the roof support tubes. AM/FM/CD Stereo is neatly hidden in the driver-side glove box. Power comes from Club Car 6x8V battery array through an Elreg 25 amp voltage reducer. For an antenna I simply wrapped the 6' cable back and forth across the front bulkhead, under the cowl.

I immediately noticed a lot of static and then blew a fuse in the stereo. Saw sparking and quickly realized that the stereo can not be grounded to the chassis. Thank goodness all I lost was a fuse!

Fixed that problem and system worked fine. Very good reception. There is still a little static, but after reading your post above, I know why. But it doesn't sound nearly as bad as what you experienced, so I don't know if I will bother with re-wiring anything.

Here is the problem I now have: For brief periods, 5-6 seconds when accelerating from a standstill or climbing a hill, the voltage drops to the extent that the stereo has insufficient power to operate. I think I need some sort of voltage regulator. Any suggestions?

Also, is there a filter you can recommend that might reduce or eliminate what little static I still have?

Thanks.
 

StreetGlide

New Member
Many things can be causing your problems.

Voltage should not be dropping enough to cause the radio to drop-out using a 48V to 12V, 25 Ampere converter with standard configuration. A few causes could be due to things like:
What's the Serial # of your cart?
Batteries holding the charge?
Are you using stock motor/controller? (wire size)
Raised cart? (tire size?)
Other electrical accessories "on"?
Standard stereo would be drawing less than 10 amperes. Other type? Current draw? + & - wire size and length?

Noise filters like Ferrite Beads (discussed in my other posts) could help with noise, as well as a vertical antenna made for non-chassis ground systems. Your loops are mostly horizontal polarized (horizontal circular) and is more susceptible to noise pick-up than vertical)

A SEPARATE BATTERY for the stereo would probably resolve both issues/symptoms but would not solve the actual problems causing them. I'd definitely want to know the causes in-case other issues/symptoms may be caused by them.

If you wish, supply info ref top of post items and we can try to determine actual causes and true fixes.
 

gornoman

Well-Known Member
Just a related note:

At this year's Buggy Bonnanza I participated in the Hill Climb event. I had the CD player running as I started up the incline (Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers - Drive to Survive) and as I climbed and it got steeper the stereo cut out as the pack voltage dropped from the full draw of the 400a Alltrax. My cart is 48v using 8-6 volt batteries to the 36v motor. My 12v comes from a pair of 6v batteries within the pack, no convertor. As soon as I made the top and got off the gas, the stereo came right back on. Voltage drop happens.
 
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