Hi Folks,
I have installed the CB in my TJ. The 120 cm antenna came with 4.5m wire with prewired connectors and base. I have put the antenna on the rear bumper on the left side. The antenna cable is going under the centre console to the middle and then under the carpet all the way back to the end. Antenna cable is not near the bundle of cables going back for the lights, etc. The power leads are direct to the battery. However, I have some noise issues.
1) With the engine off, it works fine. I was briefly talking to someone who is about 7 kms away and the sound was okay.2) When I turn the ignition key on, there are two noises. One noise is just a very low base kind of noise that goes away after a couple of seconds of turning the key off. Second noise is a whining noise in the radio at the turn of the key, which I am assuming is the fuel pump as it goes away in a couple of seconds while the key is on.
3) When I turn the ignition key on with the antenna cable disconnected from the radio, there is still a whining noise at the turn of the key, which I am assuming is yet again the fuel pump, but its not as loud as when the antenna is connected.4) With the antenna connected, once I start the engine there is a base noise which is independent of RPMs. There is also a whining noise that goes up in pitch with RPM, but this whining is not extremely loud. I am assuming this is the alternator noise. There is no ticking noise.
5) With the antenna disconnected, the whining from the alternator is greatly reduced but there still is some base noise which does not change with RPM.With my limited knowledge that I have acquired so far, I think I have a couple of issues. One is that the coax cable is providing some grounding, thus I have a ground loop problem. Second, I am picking up noise from the computer and alternator.
How do I deal with these issues. I know these kind of questions probably belong in a CB related newsgroup. But I was hoping that someone with a TJ had installed a CB radio in their rig and resolved these issues.
Thanks in advance for all the wonderful suggestions. TW