Engine Noise in Headsets

[Hotrod]

I have A 2007 Blue/Black RSV. Lately, I've been having some engine noise static in my headset.Not bad,just annoying.Doesn't do it all the time,intermittent,comes and goes.

I have a tach and was thinking that maybe the tach wire is too close to the headset

wire at the neck where they come close together.I was going to wrap the coil wire to

the tach in aluminum foil and then wrap with electrical tape and reposition the wires to

see if that helps.Any one else had this problem?Is there any thing else I should be looking

for?Any help or ideas would be much appreciated.Tach has been on about 8 months and

have had a problem for about the last 2 months on and off.I don't know if that is it,but

I can't think of what else it could be.Thanks.

[royalstarjac]

Do you use the mic-mutes? They change the mikes from being always on to PTT. It eliminates wind, engine, ambient noise in the headsets. I don't know if they would deal with your static problem though. You might check your plug wires to make sure they're seated completely on the plugs.-Jack

[Hotrod]

You can put a small balloon or finger cot that fits tight over the mics and it will eliminate the wind noise in the headset without having to spend a lot of money.This is static that

is constant and increases with engine speed.Doesn't get louder,just buzzes faster.

[Bob Myers]

Sounds spark related. Have your plugs been changed recently, to a non resistor type plug or the split fires? Those dual electrode plugs are notorious for that.

[Hotrod]

Plugs are factory.Bike has 7,400 miles and has original plugs.I've got it blamed on the

lead for the tach maybe being too close to the intercom wire.Just looking for ideas to

check so when I take things apart,I can get it the first time without having to remove

seat,tank,and possibly faring several times.

[Bvinson]

Split the front fairing and apply dielectric grease to the round black connectors located inside. Pull them apart grease the pins and put them back together. I even wrap mine at the connection with electrical tape. They tend to get pulled on when you move the handle bars from left to right.

 

If that doesn't stop it try removing the tank and re-route the wires. I think there is a write up here on the site about the procedure.

Edited November 3, 2008 by Bvinson

[V7Goose]

Just as an FYI - intermittent ignition noise in the 2nd Gen audio is not uncommon. Nobody has yet absolutely pinpointed the issue, but it sure seems like cable positioning under the tank. Most of us who have occasionally had the problem have found that just kinda shoving the cables around, wiggling them near the steering head, or even just turning the forks quickly to the steering stop on one side or the other would make it go away (at least for a while). My 05 has done it twice in 60,000 miles. The first time mine started it was right after I got it back from a service where they replaced the plugs. Moving the cables fixed it. I suspect that maybe the exact placement of the front plug wires may be critical. The second time I don't recall any specific thing that might have started it, but I noticed it would start after turns to the left (slow ones where the forks were turned a lot, and it would stop if I turned the forks all the way to the right. Permanently went away after mucking around with the cables under the tank.

 

There are better ways to shield the tach wire than the cobbled way you described, but I don't think you should waste your time on it - I'd bet good money that is not your problem. I'd first pay particular attention to making sure none of the plug wires are sticking up too close to the other wire bundles. If that doesn't solve it, take off the plastic cover on the left side of the steering head and generously tug and move the wire bundles around; try and find the cable running to the rear headset jack and move it to a different position around all the other bundles.

Goose

[KiteSquid]

You might have induced a ground loop when you added the tach.

 

you might try moving the ground lead from the tach to the same place the radio grounds at.

[Bummer]

Mine does it a lot and I basically agree with Goose. The wires, particularly the one to the passenger headset, run right past the coils in the neck. I messed around up under the tank, including installing a tach, and made it worse. Next time I have the tank off I'm going to play with the wires and see if I can get it to go away. I guess that'll be the good side of the coming cold season.

 

In the mean time, if you do not use the CB, turn down the intercom. That'll shut it up. I've also noticed that it's not as bad when the passenger headset is plugged in, even with the intercom turned up.

[az1103]

I had a noise as you described when I added a Bluetooth cable which ran parallel to it. I got rid of the noise by changing the wires to a shielded wire with a grounded shield the noise cleared totally.

[Eddie Fulmer]

This is another opinion. From experience I can tell you that one of the things that will make your headsets buzz with the engine is a loose connection on the ground post of your battery. It wasn't loose enough to cause me any other problems but it did cause that. I tightened it up and all was well. It has always been my experience that you should try the easiest things first and not over shoot the simple stuff. Has saved me a lot of headaches. It's good advice to follow the KISS principle. Keep It Simple Stupid.

[Hotrod]

I took the seat and tank off and moved the intercom wires around and that did not

help.Split the faring and pulled the connectors apart a couple times to make sure the

pins were clean and shiny and put more dielectric grease on them,and that seems to have

fixed the problem.Just wanted to let every one know what the outcome was.Thanks to

every one for their posts and help.