HID ballasts emitting interference on my iPod FM transmitter

[Souls]

Hi All,

I happened to notice the other day when I turned off my HIDs, my reception was drastically better! turn them back on... there's a hum that's there, Grrrrr

has anyone had this issue by chance? I don't think I can cough up $140 for the XCarLink USB/SD card device (yet) :hawt I'm guessing it's ground related, but I have my harness grounded solid

[kckev99]

Hi All,

I happened to notice the other day when I turned off my HIDs, my reception was drastically better! turn them back on... there's a hum that's there, Grrrrr

has anyone had this issue by chance? I don't think I can cough up $140 for the XCarLink USB/SD card device (yet) :hawt I'm guessing it's ground related, but I have my harness grounded solid

It's possible you need to get some sort of EMF filter. My belief is that your HID ballasts are humming at a similar frequency as your FM modulator hence you get the interference

[dj_adamix]

First you need to figure out where your problem is comming from.
If the noise os getting picked up from the air, or from your DC power path.

try running FM transmitter on a different battery than car battery with HIDs on and see if it still does the same thing. If it does then its comming through the air.
If not then all u need is a caupling cap between your fm transmitter DC+ and -.
If the problem is comming from the ballast through the air and getts picked up on your FM modulator, then it might be more tricky to solve that one, you can try using ferrite core choke, or iron, depending on the freq of your noise. another option could be just checking if your ballast is grounded to your car body. sometimes ppl use straps and dont ground the case of ballast. By grounding it you will create a shield for noise. so noise would get picked up (as long your case is Condictive) by your ballast shield and eliminated by the ground. (co-axial cables work the same way- just for illurstration lol). So try that and see if it works,

If this fails, try adding extra shield over your ballast, and ground it.

[gotak]

First you need to figure out where your problem is comming from.
If the noise os getting picked up from the air, or from your DC power path.

try running FM transmitter on a different battery than car battery with HIDs on and see if it still does the same thing. If it does then its comming through the air.
If not then all u need is a caupling cap between your fm transmitter DC+ and -.
If the problem is comming from the ballast through the air and getts picked up on your FM modulator, then it might be more tricky to solve that one, you can try using ferrite core choke, or iron, depending on the freq of your noise. another option could be just checking if your ballast is grounded to your car body. sometimes ppl use straps and dont ground the case of ballast. By grounding it you will create a shield for noise. so noise would get picked up (as long your case is Condictive) by your ballast shield and eliminated by the ground. (co-axial cables work the same way- just for illurstration lol). So try that and see if it works,

If this fails, try adding extra shield over your ballast, and ground it.

Less likely to be RF interference considering the ballast is inside the metal engine compartment.

You should put the decoupling capacitor at the point where your ballast is connected. The electronic ballast tend to run about 10k to 20k hertz and if it's not properly isolated will inject noise or bounce back into it's power supply.

[dj_adamix]

good point.

Try the cap and see if it works!!
If you still gettin it, then look for some extra shielding.

[Souls]

First you need to figure out where your problem is comming from.
If the noise os getting picked up from the air, or from your DC power path.

try running FM transmitter on a different battery than car battery with HIDs on and see if it still does the same thing. If it does then its comming through the air.


LOL!! Well D'uh!! heh heh heh... <headslap> I shoulda tried my iTrip FM instead of the Belkin ciggy plug one.! Gonna hit it tonight... can't believe I didn't try that before posting... :chuckle total brain fart

I do have my ballasts powered & grounded directly connected to the battery via the adapter (and its fuses of course).

btw thanks for replying Guys... took a while to log back in here

[dj_adamix]

LOL!! Well D'uh!! heh heh heh... <headslap> I shoulda tried my iTrip FM instead of the Belkin ciggy plug one.! Gonna hit it tonight... can't believe I didn't try that before posting... :chuckle total brain fart

I do have my ballasts powered & grounded directly connected to the battery via the adapter (and its fuses of course).

btw thanks for replying Guys... took a while to log back in here


Yeah but to get good testing results you have to use same unit buy hooked up to a different 12V DC source.
Some fm transmitters are more prone to EMI than others, so if you still looking for a cause you should be hooking up the same fm transmitter to a different source. tra a 12V battery maybe Like a lantern battery i think they 12V. or make a battery out of smaller batteries connected in series. if the issue stops then its your power source, your ballast is oscilating onto your dc power source in your car, this could be dangerous if you run some sensitive electronics in your car they could get damaged in theory. So yeah in this case you would need a decoupling capacitor between + and - before your ballast, or just before you cig lighter to protect what ever you hook up to it.
Cap acts like a simple filter, and it filters all those noise frequencies. of course you wont get 100% filtration but it will get better. You might try different capacities and cap kinds to minimize noise. Google how they work and im sure youll find one that would fit best.

[Souls]

Thanks for your response! I did try my nano in a different device... still getting some static interference when I hit my HIDs, but I understand what you're saying about using the same device in a different DC source.... I'm gonna tough it out till I can get my girls to but me the Audiolink (or whatever they're called now) for $140 for my upcoming b-day... the one with SD card and USB inputs ;)