Radio static every time light bar turned on
 

1996 jimmy.....Recently installed two front fogs, two rear fogs and a light bar. All led. Since then if i turn on either the light bar or the rear fogs the radio gets alot of static. Since i drive this truck 3 hours a day it really sucks. Any ideas to help? Thanks

Factory radio or aftermarket install?
Who did the wiring of the radio?

Who did the wiring of the lights?

Do you have the static on every radio station?

Do you have that static also on the AUX (i.e. phone connected)?

Do you have that static on CD or Radio internal other player?

I would start by searching a station where you have that static all the time, then unplug the lights one-by-one.

Simplest solution is drive it with the additional lights off.

Aftermarket radio i installed over a year ago. Have had no issues. Wired in front fogs 3 weeks ago and led headlamps. No issues. Wired in upper light bar and rear fogs and when turned on all stations go fuzzy. I have done all of my wiring as i am a tech by trade and have never had these issues before. All lights are individually switch and both the upper light bar and the rear fogs affect it.

Is it just static random noise or does it have a rhythm to it?

If it has pulses are they rpm dependent or speed dependent? (Thinking ignition related vs. VSS related signals getting into the system.)

In my parking garage depending on the tuned radio station i have the VSS signal in the background on my Blazer.

Just some thoughts.

No pulse just heavy static. Have seen others putting filters on the led wiring for noise. May try that.

Another thought...

...check on the antenna connection to the radio. If the shielding is interrrupted (plug half way out) it will pick up any static it encounters because the radio station signal ist no longer strong enough.

Still I'd go and unhook one by one of the aftermarket lights to find the single source.

It sounds like the rear fogs and/or the light bar has a bad ground. Check the grounds and make sure the surface is clean and tight.

LED lights use electronic ballasts with high switching frequencies that can radiate radio frequency noise. One way they do this is by turning the input or output power wires into transmission antennas and the solutions are using ferrite core suppressors/filters, moving the wiring/ballast around, using a different brand of LED set up that has better emi suppression. As recommended earlier checking your power and grounds is always a good idea but you most likely have noise transmission problem. Is there a difference in brand between the quiet and noisy LED’s?


George