Chris wrote:
Hi I'm a newbie at wiring stereos so please bear
with me. On my boat I installed a new Kenwood receiver and a new Sony
CD changer. Connected to an older (6 yr.) Kenwood equalizer ans Sony
3040 that's the name amp. I've installed new speakers outside, checked
and upgraded all my speaker wires and connections but there is a buzz
in both sets and wasn't there in the old system. I've connected a
ground wire from the stereo power neg busway to a copper strip which
runs all thought out the boat. I've checked the resistance on the
copper by setting my meter to 20K touch both prongs together and get
0.03 rating. I then placed both prongs on the copper wire and the
resistance reads 0.03 but still the buzz. If I disconnect this #16
ground wire it of course gets louder. I've tried a heaver ground wire
#8 no change still the buzz.The power wires +/- to the amp are #8


Where next do I get better RCA cables than Radio Shack and if I need a
separate ground for the amp where do I attach it....to one of the
mounting screws holding the amp to the boats wood interior? The buzz
is making me crazy trying to get rid of it in both the radio or CD's.
I've also turned off at the panel board all other items, no motor and
still the buzz. Today I cleaned and tightened all battery connections
you guess it still there



You seem to have covered off most probable causes. It's possible the
radio is defective, but doubtful.

One thing not mentioned, you may have a ground loop.

Ground loop: When two devices are both grounded, but the grounds that
they both use are at 2 different potentials. When the 2 devices get
connected together (for example the amp and the receiver) the difference
in ground potential between the two devices gets connected via the audio
connections and voila...a ground loop.

As an experiment, try connecting a temporary wire between all devices
and see if it corrects the problem. If you discover a connection between
devices makes the buzz go away, you can correct the problem by
re-grounding the offending device to a different ground point.

M