Pa15-Hon2 high pitched noise question

Hey all, so after 1/2 a day of using my pa15-hon2 I am noticing a high pitched noise when using my iphone 3g. the FM and XM2 stations are clear as they normally are but for some reason the 3g is getting some high pitched noise over the radio, its not always there and doesn't seem to matter if the phone is in airplane mode or not. Any ideas?

Ive seen this posted with USA specs, I have the pa11, it seems to be a great unit for me - but I see some problems here and there. Hum is usually due to an incomplete ground. I taped the piggy back of mine since I dont have XM and didnt want the leads just exposed.

My 3g cord has a massive magnet on it. Does yours? The magnets shield from electrical interference.

I know stereo shops sell a ground loop isolator but that goes in line by the RCA input. That would cure the hum.

Can you post how you i nstalled it, including location of the USA Spec unit and details on the cords. Bundled?

One thing you can also check is if any of the wires got pnched during the install. Saw one post about that.


One question I have for you is does yours stop charging for a split second when you FWD the song using the channel button on the steering wheel controls?

Hi there

So I just got off the phone with USASpec and it turns out its a known issue with the cables and they are sending me a better one for the 3G. I tested with an Ipod Nano and it worked fine with that, but the 3g produced the hum. The reason is the charging they said + interference from the cable.

The reason it stops charging when you fwd/rwd is to avoid interference when changing songs. I forget where I read this but I just read it tonight while searching for a solution to this issue.

UsaSpec was very helpful and had no issue sending me the updated cable to correct the noise issue. Once I receive it i'll test it out and post my results.

Regarding my install.

On the right side of the radio were 4 silver screws. In a pattern like


F X X
F
F X X

F = Front of Radio

I installed the unit on the two screws furthest away from the front of the radio and on the right side. It seemed to fit perfectly.

Regarding where I fed the ipod cable. On the back of my cubby was a circle w/ a dot in the middle. The absolute perfect spot to drill, so I grabbed a 1/2 inch drill and drilled a hole out then fed the cable in from the cubby.


The coards I electric taped up and put them on top of the cubby and under the radio. The ipod cable I taped up but left about 15 inches or so slack so I could pull it to driver or passenger seat enough to do things like Pandora etc..

I hope this helps! let me know if you need more info. All in all, it was a breeze to install.

I did have one metal clip fall off my radio or dashboard. I have on idea where it goes, I couldn't find any others like it. I'm not even sure what it was holding. Once I get the new usaspec cable i'll try again to find out where it went. If anyone has a clue let me know.

One question I have for you is when you plug in your phone 3g, does it ask to go into airplane mode? I wasn't sure if that indicated a poorly shielded unit hence not really 'made' for the 3g like some other devices are.

Glad it worked out, and that USA SPEC was ready to help. I chose their unit over the iSimple based on their readily available info despite some bad reviews on here.

I am glad I got mine with the updated cable. It would have driven me NUTS!

So far I am very happy. I mounted mune on the cubby hole under the stereo with velcro and bundled the two wires separately with a zip tie. I also taped off the piggyback to cover the leads.

Mine doesnt go into airport mode straight, it asks me if I want it to go into airport mode and I just select "no." I am told this is with any of the adapters since they aren't designed for the iphone.

That was in hybrid mode though, with the second jumper set to "2". From what I gather, the hybrid mode on the 11 doesnt work with any 3rg gen ipods, which I assume goes the same for the iphone. Basically on hybrid mode, the unit will not allow you to use the ipod controls, and locks up the screen so I cant see what is playing. Not sure if the 15 is the same.

I just put it on Direct mode tonight so I'lll report back tomorrow night if anything is different.

Mine doesn't go directly into airplane mode, I should have explained better. It just asks if I want to and I just hit no.

I am using Direct + folder mode, by far I'd say the most versatile.

My cable was a newer one but they said there is even a newer newer one to fix the 3g issue so i'm looking forward to getting that. I tried again w/ my Nano tonight for about 1 hour and that worked great so definately related to the 3g itself.

When you say you taped off the extra cable, Do you mean the blue one? The Pa11 may be different, the PA15 has an orange and blue cable for XM, orange goes to the PA15 box, blue seems to do nothing? unless I installed it wrong.

I put it into direct an played with it for a few minutes, it now lets me control from the iphone and stereo...so whats the point of hybrid???

Mine works on my 3g, no hum in hybrid, havent driven yet with direct mode. Cant imagine flicking that switch changes the circuit but I dont know how these units are wired.

I have the stock stereo without XM. The USA spec plugs in line between the XM and stereo. Since I dont have XM, the one end of the USA spec plugs into the stereo, but the back end of the USA spec connector is exposed. It is a plastic molex connector, but there are still exposed (live) spades recessed into the molex connector. So I just took some tape and made a little cover over the connector. I didnt want to risk shorting the unit on the live ground of the stereo housing.

I only have one connector and it is white. and fits in the xm connector on my radio. I'm sure you connected yours right, most of those connectors are both directional and unique so no other connectors nearby will fit. I did see a blue one wrapped in a foam sheath by the factory; perhaps with the added text functionality they had to tap into other connectors?

No hum at all on the commute today. I only wish my iphone didnt stop charging every time I go forward. It cant be good for battery life.

Regarding the charging issue, USASpec can reflash it to not stop charging every song change. I read that on one of the Acura forums.

Regarding my high pitched hum issue. Turns out if I put it in AUX mode and turn the volume up, even with no Ipod attached I can hear the hum. It seems to match when i press the gas pedal too while driving.

So I am having two issues. 1 relating to the cable for the IPhone 3G which usaspec is sending me a new cable

Issue #2 USASpec suggested installing a noise filter. So I purchased one from crutchfield today

American International S15A 15-amp/250-watt Noise Filter

I will be installing it on the power line (red wire) on the USASpec black cable that goes from the radio to the ipod controller. From everything I read this SHOULD solve the issue of getting interference while driving.

Any comments on that? Anyone else try this solution or have a similar story?

Regarding my high pitched hum issue. Turns out if I put it in AUX mode and turn the volume up, even with no Ipod attached I can hear the hum. It seems to match when i press the gas pedal too while driving.

Issue #2 USASpec suggested installing a noise filter. So I purchased one from crutchfield today

American International S15A 15-amp/250-watt Noise Filter

I will be installing it on the power line (red wire) on the USASpec black cable that goes from the radio to the ipod controller. From everything I read this SHOULD solve the issue of getting interference while driving.

Any comments on that? Anyone else try this solution or have a similar story?

Please Let us know how this works?:confused:;)

Parts will be in tomorrow so I will give it a go then.

Unfortunately the new cable didn't help the 3g issue. USASpec is being great though they are going to test a full setup there to see if they can duplicate the issue.

On another note, I installed my crutchfield noise filter today and tested it with the Ipod Nano I've been using until the 3g issue is resolved. That seemed to help somewhat the interference. I need to double check that I installed it right. The gauge of the cables are very different as the device is meant to go between the car power and the radio, however I put it between the radio (power wire) and the pa15-hon2 itself per usaspecs suggestion. I need to run it for a week or so to see the true results, if I don't notice anything at all, I may bring it to best buy and install it between the power and radio itself. I'd like to get some of the pioneer ends so I can make it plug and play. Apparently the honda radio in the ridgeline is from pioneer.

Just an update on this. It appears there was a bad batch of 3g cables and I have received two of them. USASpec personally tested one on a Ipod Touch 2nd generation and out of 5 cables tested, found 3 good ones. They are sending me directly one of the good ones. They have been absolutely GREAT to work with and I will post an update once I get the new cable in. On each of the cables is a # near the connector that plugs into the USASpec white box.

Here are the #'s that have failed for me:
Original Cable:
CB-PA105
90420H1

Replacement Cable 1:
CB-PA105
90428H1

Replacement Cable 2:
CB-PA105
90428H1


Replacement Cable 3 (Awaiting Arrival)
?????
90525H2

Once I get #3 I will post an update. I hope this post helps anyone else having similar issues.

For such an expensive device, you'd think there quality control would be a little better than 60%.

I agree with you. If their support staff wasn't as good as they are I'd have given up by now and moved on to the iSimple.

Just an update, the last cable I received fixed the issue (YAY!!) So if you have this issue, I hope that # provided above helps.

Just an update, the last cable I received fixed the issue (YAY!!) So if you have this issue, I hope that # provided above helps.

Thanks for the info sberube. I had my adapter installed last week at CarToys (unfortunately) and noticed the same sound immediately. I took it back today for them to investigate, and they replaced it with another unit with similar results. I must have gotten 2 bad units as well, I will give USASpec a call tomorrow and hopefully get a good replacement quick. :)

Hello,

after looking at this post, i sent an email to usaspec about my Pa15-Hon2 making hum sound, charging on/off everytime when i change songs, and notification of yes/no for airflight mode when connected everytime - it has been two days i havent received any response from them.

Is there a direct number to contact usaspec people. by the was i bought my device (Pa15-Hon2) from ipodcarpros.com and not directly from usaspec.com/usaspec.net.

Please advise.

Thank you,

:)

Just got my unit and installed it tonight. Have exactly the same issues straight off the bat with my iphone 3G (My ipod plays beautifully, however). My cable number is
CB-PA105
90508H1

Just emailed usaspec and hopefully they will help me even though I'm located all the way in Australia. I specifically ordered and had it shipped to me from enfig car stereo in case anything went wrong and needed support.

Replaced the cable last week, and the high-pitched noise went away. HOWEVER, I am still having annoying background noise that is noticeable when music is paused, and it makes a lot of noise when you first connect the iphone. Overall I am very disappointed with the purchase. I am by no means an audiophile, but the background noise is unacceptable. I am going to call USA Spec again this morning and see about getting a refund, or see if they can fix all this background noise.

By the way, with my iPod I have a LITTLE static, but overall I could live with it as the music drowns it out for the most part, but with my iPhone 3G it is a whole different story :P

Tech support number is 626 336 3836 apparently

Just noticed something else with the iphone 3g with the pa15-hon2. When the screen is switched off, the whine is significantly less (and sometimes seems to disappear completely). I know this is far from acceptable still, but any reason why the screen being on (the way i prefer it to be while i drive) would increase the whine?

Edit: Looks like it wasn't just because the screen was switched off. It now appears that the noise almost disappears (most of the time) when the battery of the iphone is fully charged.

When i plug in my iphone before i switch on the car in the morning, there's also a high pitch whine coming from the PA15-hon2 unit itself. Also, i thought the unit was supposed to switch off or cut power to the ipod outlet after half an hour? Does the 30 minute cut off only occur if the thing is actually charging an ipod/iphone after the ignition is turned off, or is it supposed to cut off regardless?

Still no response from USAspec. Might have to just return it to Enfig and look at something else :(

Hi there;
Followup on this.

as of 7/5/09 it is no longer charging any ipods or iphones. I called crutchfield for a refund and they easily setup an RMA. I am returning this unit. I am not sure what went wrong, but I am giving up and switching to an isimple.
If anyone has a good link where to by the bundle pack for the isimple please PM me. I have a 2006 ridgeline and need the 3g cable, unit and harness.
Thanks!

I ended up purchasing the package from autotoys. Will arrive today! looking forward to it!!

So glad I swapped. The sound on the isimple is CRYSTAL CLEAR. updated firmware, easy to install and I find it has more features. Also paid 30$ less overall than the usaspec. Highly recommend this unit.

Hi people. I just wanted to join and post about my experience with the USA Spec iPod adapter, in case it can help someone.

I bought a USA Spec PA12-TOY that had the "old" model cable that didn't charge the 3g iPhones. After ordering a new cable on the internet (with the USB charging and all for new iPods/iPhones), I hooked my iPhone up to it and it did indeed charge, but it had the very high-pitched sound described in this thread when it was hooked up with the iPod connection.

Determined to find a solution after spending lots of money on the setup, the first thing I thought of was the ferrite choke (or what I assume the plastic cylinder bulge on the cord to be) because I know they somehow use magnetism to keep interference controlled. So just out of curiosity I held a magnet close to the bulge and the high-pitched sound instantly went away. So I just taped the magnet to it and all is well!

I have no idea if it will work for you or is even a safe approach, but it works for me. Use at your own risk and all that, but if you were as fed up as I was, it may be worth a shot!

It's funny that you posted when you did. Just before your post, we had tried a ferrite clamp on the cable. The clamp was wide enough that we could loop the cable into it twice. It didn't seem to help my situation. After i saw your post, I tried a magnet instead. I ripped out a rare-earth magnet from a broken hard drive in the office and gave that a go. Still no good :(

Enfigcarstereo have gotten back to me and they insist that an updated cable from USASpec will solve the issue. The cable is on backorder at the moment and i need to call them to order it through. Looks like i'm going to have to do that!

I wonder if i switch to RCA mode whether or not the iphone will receive a charge and if the car radio will still pick up the high-pitch noise. I'm still convinced that it's a power-related issue.