Buzzing from headphone jack when car charging

[ripsting]

I've noticed I get a lot of electrical buzzing when I have my droid 2 plugged into an automotive USB 1-amp charger. I don't remember where I got the charger from, and it's unbranded.

I like to listen to Pandora when I'm driving, and my car has a line-in jack so it's perfect. The sound quality is great when I don't have the charging cable plugged in. When plugged in, the buzzing seems to be a constant volume, so turning up the media volume reduces the signal-to-noise ratio.

One thing to point out is that there is no buzzing if I have the phone charging from a computer port. Computer USB ports can only provide 500mA of power though. I have not tested it with the wall adapter.

So, is this due to a low-quality car charger, or is it because it's providing (up to) 1 amp of power to the phone? I suspect it's some shoddy buck-converter in my car adapter.

What is a good quality charger that I can get for my car that will eliminate this problem?

 

[Backnblack]

Sounds like a bad ground......

 

[gaggil]

I used to have the same problem.

I used a generic charger and would get a bunch of whining noise while the phone was charging.

I purchased a motorola charger from Amazon for around $6.00 and it sounds much better.

I still have a tiny bit of background noise but much less than with the generic car charger.

 

[Barristro]

Sadly, this could also be a problem with the car's wiring.

 

[RodgerRodger]

same issue, haven't found a fix yet

i got the car charger from verizon wireless with my phone and i get terrible buzzing, whining, and clipping when listening to music. could it really be the charger if i'm using what i'm guessing is a top-of-the-line one right from verizon themselves?

i listen to my ipod in the car with NO buzzing issues, but it is not plugged in to any charger. also when phone is not charging there is no buzzing. does that mean it still could be something wrong with the car, even though it plays perfectly when devices arent charging?

would love to find a fix for this. it is a terrible issue!

 

[VirtualCLD]

Sounds like a ground loop. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)
Pick up a ground loop isolator:
Ground Loop Isolator - RadioShack.com

Note: Product listed above as an example, not an endorsement. User takes full responsibility, not professional advice, yadda yadda....

 

[Polymira]

Sounds like a ground loop. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)
Pick up a ground loop isolator:
Ground Loop Isolator - RadioShack.com

Note: Product listed above as an example, not an endorsement. User takes full responsibility, not professional advice, yadda yadda....

You're right, however the isolators don't work well. Properly grounding your cig lighter adapter will do it.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

 

[brochaos]

yea it's most likely a car thing. my civic is fine but my mazda3 is buzzy as hell. using the same moto branded cig lighter in both.

 

[Gakuseinozen]

@ Polymira

How do you properly ground your cigarette lighter adaptor?

I have this same problem with my droid x paying music thru the aux port in my mazda3

Thanks

 

[Polymira]

@ Polymira

How do you properly ground your cigarette lighter adaptor?

I have this same problem with my droid x paying music thru the aux port in my mazda3

Thanks

Ground loop problems and how to get rid of them

Learn and fix ground loop noise - MP3Car.com