I just got and installed the same in-dash DVD as bcastillo1289 in one of the threads below this one...

I originally had a bad alternator whine but I ran a 4GA grounding wire from the batt into a distributor block behind the dash... there's only about 2" of non 4GA wire between that and the new head unit...

It got a LITTLE better, but it's still THERE!!!!

So, what did I do wrong? Do I need to ground the factory amp to that same block with minimal resistance? Where is that little bugger at?

Or, am I completely insane and someone here has a better solution? I bet that's it...

What, if any, other equipment is installed?

Other equip? none...

I'm stumped. I thought the factory amp would have a reall good ground? Maybe no? Mabe ****ty headunit?

Did you have a whine before you installed anything electrical? Or did the wine occur after you added stuff?

the whine only occurred after I installed the new DVD head unit... It certainly decreased with my heavy grounding scheme, but it's still prevalent enough to bother me.

Factory HU = quiet
New HU = alternator whine
New HU with large ground to batt = less whine

At this point should I look at the alternator? Maybe the regulator? Or just the amp's ground, too? Where is the amp, by the way?

If it wasn't there before the aftermarket radio, it points to either a faulty install (I'm not accusing you of this...just an option) or a faulty radio. My guess would be the deck. I've installed a ton of Dual in-dash flip-outs (same quality as what you have) & they're quirky, to say the least. Hell, the Alpine DVD player in my wife's E has slight engine noise that I cannot get rid of & I am 99.9% sure it's something internal in the DVD player itself (it's not present in the deck, it's not the Ai-net aux. in. plug because I can connect the iPod directly to it instead of the iPod cable & there's no noise, it shares a ground with the deck & I've swapped out RCAs).
I'd try swapping the deck & see what happens. ;)

The factory amp is in the passenger-side kick panel, if you choose to go that route.

Try going to Radio Shack and look for a choke to put on the ground wire coming from your HU, they know what your looking for. It's used to get rid of alt. noise. Drew:)

Is the whine coming thru all of the speakers?
How are the factory inputs wired up...direct-wired from the speaker outputs of the HU to the harness or did you go from the RCA outputs to the harness?
Have you checked for any loose or nicked wires?

Missmatching the OEM amplifier's inputs might cause the same problem. A lot of car audio systems have chargeing system noise but it is so low that you donot hear it above the audio signal. Amplifier input cable ground loops can be a problem also.

maybe the whine you are hearing is from the transmission. If so then your new ground wire took care of the alternator whine and now your hearing the transmission whine. have you tried disconnecting all your speakers? if you still hear the whine its probably transmission. I didn't install anything on the car and it has a whine that sounds just like alternator whine. my mechanic told me its the transmission and he showed me a tsb about transmission whine that occurs in 2003 element as well as other honda cars.

to see if it is through every speaker and sub if you have it. Also I would disconnect the antenna as they can cause a ground loop at times especially when the antenna is amplified. Proper polarity on audio outs needs checking. Then you can always ground everything at the same point. When you find the amp see if it has a ground wire or if it is grounded by its chassis. If it is run the ground from the head unit back to the amp or vice versa. That said I never took a head unit out so I don't know if it grounds by mounting as well. Sorry to be slightly confusing. The antenna thing is easy to check.

ET