Weird Buzz on AUX port

[CopyChief]

I have an SL hatch, so my car has the AUX port for an iPod. I was listening to it this morning, driving toward a river where it was foggy. When I switched on my headlights, I heard a buzzing noise. I have about 3000 miles on the car and have listened to devices hooked up to AUX before, with the lights on, and have not heard this noise.

When I turn the lights off, the noise stops.

Any thoughts? I'll be taking it in for the first service (oil change/etc) soon so I'll probably just mention it, but I wanted to get another take on the problem...

[rwanttaja]

I have an SL hatch, so my car has the AUX port for an iPod. I was listening to it this morning, driving toward a river where it was foggy. When I switched on my headlights, I heard a buzzing noise. I have about 3000 miles on the car and have listened to devices hooked up to AUX before, with the lights on, and have not heard this noise.

When I turn the lights off, the noise stops.

Any thoughts? I'll be taking it in for the first service (oil change/etc) soon so I'll probably just mention it, but I wanted to get another take on the problem...

The cable that connects your device to the AUX port might be the prime suspect. The cables aren't all that durable to start with, and unliked fixed wiring they see a bit of flexing. If there's a break in the shielding, it might be letting noise in.

Try a different cable and see if the problem remains. Plus, try a different cable with another device just to eliminate any of the non-fixed components.

Ron

[Jemdawg]

I also had this problem before I got my new headunit. It happens to be from the dash dimming knob: make sure it is either clicked all the way on or all the way off, to your preference. It sounds almost like a keyboard, right?

[CopyChief]

Jemdawg- A quick check, and it looks like your fix did the trick. I must have bumped the dial when I was cleaning/dusting the dash last night and didn't notice it wasn't quite as bright as normal this morning.

Interesting.

Thanks for the tip.