Jeff Malueg

How do I connect a noise suppressor to standard Olds HEI ignition had a retro radio installed and now it make static noise when engine running, Pioneer radio that was in it worked fine,radio installer said I need to add a 8830 noise suppressor, any help would be appreciated

70sgeek

audio whine can be stubborn as a jackass to eliminate - I have a whole thread on this very problem from the past year somewhere in the electrical section on my trials chasing it down within my own aftermarket system.

I have the 8830 mounted on my firewall running to my MSD Blaster 3 coil and I have a Newmar 150-a noise filter mounted under the hood just forward of my left front wheel well and wired to my alternator. - even with this artillery, STILL a minor bit of whine can be heard if the stereo is cranked way up beyond listening comfort. Alternator is new as well - a Powermaster internally-regulated unit.

all my wiring is replaced - harnesses, battery cables, etc. so no old wiring causing an issue. Grounding points all solid, clean and free of paint. Have tried moving radio wires away from speaker wires, completely relocated my in-dash tach (Parts Place tic-toc-tac) wire across the far right side of the floor leading out to the coil as another means to eliminate possible EMI (electromagnetic interference) issues that have been suggested to be caused by tach wires..

I have windshield antenna as well though I don't use it - I have a Sirius tuner plugged into my head unit (Custom Autosound USA-740) - so I know it's not an antenna issue.

I'm just about convinced the remaining root of my issue is the radio itself and starting to look at replacement options.

oldcutlass

I moved your post to its own thread instead of resurrecting one for points distributors. I have found no diagrams to hook that up to anything but an MSD control box.
msd-8830-noise-capacitor-26-kufd-installation-page1.png (954×1235) (manualsdir.com)

Custom autosounds nonoise filter is a similar product and they recommend hooking it between the alternator output and ground.
install_hw2808.pdf (cjponyparts.com)

VC455

Radio noise is usually from coil secondary (spark-plug) wires.

There are two sources of possible noise from plug wires:
1. Be sure you have resistor or spiral-wound plug wires.
2. Check under-hood in absolute darkness with engine running. If you don't see a light-show anywhere you're OK on this.

The 8830 will eliminate radiated noise from the HEI 12 V supply wire (a rare noise source). Strip and loop the HEI supply wire around the 8830 positive post, as close as reasonable to the HEI.

Connect the 8830 negative post to a solid ground on the engine. Use black wire of equal gauge size to the red wire supplying the HEI.

cfair

On my ‘66 big cars, I have an enormous solid capacitor on the outbound heavy gauge wire from the alternator.

I can’t recall the brand, but the barrel is black in color. It has a 8 ga. wire on one end with a ring terminal that I connect directly to the alternator and a threaded post with nut on the other end to which I connect the alternator output wire. There’s one other wire which is a ground wire that I have connected to the engine block.

I’ve been using this to no-noise success for at least 25 years. The cap is a big thing though, to accommodate the 105 amp output of my (per 1966 standards) heavy duty alternator. Sorry I can’t be more specific about what to get or brands. Let me dig around and see if I can find a jpeg of something like what it looks like.

cfair

If you google up “alternator noise filter” you’ll see a bunch of capacitors. The ones I see that are most similar to mine are the Newmar 150 amp capacitors. I’d avoid the spiral wound cheaper stuff since you’ll probably be sticking your equipment in a hot engine bay.

To avoid cost, make sure the noise you’re hearing varies with engine speed. It may be that your HEI wires are not the noise-reducing kind or you may have a grounding point noise issue.

If the noise is coming from the ground, you can use one of those spiral thingies if you’re putting your equipment behind the dash or in the trunk where it won’t be tempted to melt.

Hope that helps. Noise drives me nuts

Chris

70sgeek

The Newmar 150-A is an excellent filter, but pricey - I paid about $125 for mine but it practically eliminated all residual noise that still existed even with the 8830 I have inline to my coil and a similar Custom Autosound filter inline between the radio power lead and harness plug to which connected under the dash.

cjsdad

Most audio noise can be cured without the need of a suppressor so make sure it is ignition static or alternator whine, or both. You will deal with them differently. Test for alternator whine by removing the alternator belt and start the engine. If the noise goes away, it's the alternator. Ignition static can be a beast to get rid of. Like mentioned above, look under the hood with the engine running in the dark. If you see any arcing you need to fix that first. Since you have HEI, you cant replace the points and condensor so you have to make sure everything else is in good shape. Clean all the carbon deposits off the distributor posts inside the cap or install a new one. Do the "in the dark" test and replace the wires and plugs if you see lightning. Unplug your antenna to find out if it is coming through that. A loose or poor ground on the antenna can be a major culprit for allowing RF into a radio. Make sure the coax isn't a two-piece, the mid-point connector on those is a notorious noise problem. Same with the connector that plugs into the radio. If it is corroded, clean it with steel wool or a scotchbright type pad. Your grounging path is just as important as the +12v source so make sure the installer connected the ground wire to the dash on clean metal, not just relying on the antenna for ground. Do you have an amplifier or just the dash unit? Ground loops between the dash unit and a trunk mounted amp can cause noise.
Knowing what you are dealing with can help diagnose the source and less expensive solutions.