Radio feedback when phone plugged into AUX

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603photog

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Howdy, y'all! Brand new Ram owner and this is my very first post. Not new to either cars/trucks or internet forums, though, so I'll dive right in....

I just purchased a 2012 Ram Big Horn Quad Cab. The rig is gorgeous, with just 50,000 miles and I bought it Certified Used at my local Dodge dealership. I'm in love with the truck - no question - but here's my first nit: When I plug my cell phone into the AUX jack and simultaneously have the charging cord plugged in, I get an obnoxious buzzing feedback kind of noise through the radio. It gets louder if the headlights are turned on and louder still if I switch the headlights to high beam. If the USB charging cord is unplugged from the phone, the feedback completely goes away but that's not always possible for me as I often need to make hands-free calls while on the road. As a side note, it doesn't matter if the USB cord is plugged into the console power port or the direct-to-battery port under the center arm rest.

I have the basic 130 radio with satellite but NOT UConnect. I've used this same setup with this same phone in two other cars and never had this problem before. I'm assuming it's some kind of a bad ground somewhere, but I'm not an electrician so I'm not sure. Any thoughts before I take it in to the dealer? Thanks a bunch!
 

roadshow

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Howdy, y'all! Brand new Ram owner and this is my very first post. Not new to either cars/trucks or internet forums, though, so I'll dive right in....

I just purchased a 2012 Ram Big Horn Quad Cab. The rig is gorgeous, with just 50,000 miles and I bought it Certified Used at my local Dodge dealership. I'm in love with the truck - no question - but here's my first nit: When I plug my cell phone into the AUX jack and simultaneously have the charging cord plugged in, I get an obnoxious buzzing feedback kind of noise through the radio. It gets louder if the headlights are turned on and louder still if I switch the headlights to high beam. If the USB charging cord is unplugged from the phone, the feedback completely goes away but that's not always possible for me as I often need to make hands-free calls while on the road. As a side note, it doesn't matter if the USB cord is plugged into the console power port or the direct-to-battery port under the center arm rest.

I have the basic 130 radio with satellite but NOT UConnect. I've used this same setup with this same phone in two other cars and never had this problem before. I'm assuming it's some kind of a bad ground somewhere, but I'm not an electrician so I'm not sure. Any thoughts before I take it in to the dealer? Thanks a bunch!

I've actually had this in 3 different brand vehicles and numerous different phones/chargers over the last 8 years. It's only when the aux cable and charger are plugged in at the same time. For what it's worth, I highly doubt you're going to get a working warranty fix but feel free to try. I never bothered trying. I only have mine on charge on long drives. I'm not an electronics expert either but what I DO think the problem is, is simply compatibility issues between different brands of vehicles, charge adapters, and phones. They still function, but some will give you that feedback.

If the USB charging cord is unplugged from the phone, the feedback completely goes away but that's not always possible for me as I often need to make hands-free calls while on the road.

Do you mean you need it plugged in because if the charger isn't plugged in, you can't stop your screen from timing out? If that's the case, I highly recommend installing one of those apps that change your screen's UI to a "driving" mode. They're amazing, but the best feature for you is that all the good ones have a setting that keeps your phone screen from timing out while the app is in use. Both iPhone and Android phones have them in their app stores. I use Automate, and previously Car Dashdroid for Android phones. Having my screen always on only drains me about 5-10% phone battery over 30 minutes and that's with streaming radio running.

I prefer this way over using a Bluetooth+uConnect combination because uConnect doesn't let me switch streaming radio stations without having to do it on my phone itself anyway (and SiriusXM sucks) and I don't have to keep bluetooth turned on my phone.
 
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ExpressRules

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He may be a one shot wonder since the last time he logged in was 3:30 AM yesterday.
 

roadshow

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That's ok, it was morning coffee and web surfing time for me anyway lol
 

Treburkulosis

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I haven't plugged into mine yet. I can't stand the local radio in dfw so I just pay for Sirius. I'll try mine this week and report back.
 
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603photog

603photog

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I've actually had this in 3 different brand vehicles and numerous different phones/chargers over the last 8 years. It's only when the aux cable and charger are plugged in at the same time. For what it's worth, I highly doubt you're going to get a working warranty fix but feel free to try. I never bothered trying. I only have mine on charge on long drives. I'm not an electronics expert either but what I DO think the problem is, is simply compatibility issues between different brands of vehicles, charge adapters, and phones. They still function, but some will give you that feedback.

Thanks for the reply, @Roadshow! I'm actually headed down to the mall later today to upgrade to the new Galaxy S7 so I'll see if I experience the same issue with the new phone. I didn't think I was already eligible for an upgrade, but it turns out I am so...yay me!

For the comment about needing to keep the USB charger plugged in as much as possible, what I meant is that my phone's battery is pretty weak (I've had it for quite a while) so it drains fast. I'm an active Wazer (google Waze for folks who aren't familiar - it's awesome) so, between that and my need to make business calls from the road, I pretty much always need the phone on the charger.


He may be a one shot wonder since the last time he logged in was 3:30 AM yesterday.

Or, alternatively, he may just be a single dad, full-time manufacturing manager, full-time college student, and small business owner, and may just not have the time to devote to internet forums that he had in his youth. ;)

Thanks for the input, guys! :)
 
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603photog

603photog

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In case someone else happens on this thread in the future - It is probably a ground loop. A ground loop isolator could help. It is fairly cheap to try. https://www.amazon.com/PAC-SNI-1-3-5-3-5-mm-Isolator/dp/B001EAQTRI
I have one from my MINI days and it helped.

Thanks, Clifford! I had mentioned in my original post that I thought it might be a ground issue - now you have me curious. I'm buying a new phone today and, if the problem still exists with the new phone, I'll give this unit a try just to see.

:favorites13:
 
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603photog

603photog

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UPDATE: Picked up the new Galaxy S7 as I mentioned I would be doing. Problem still exists. I was going to try the ground loop isolator linked by Clifford but I decided to just upgrade to the full-on nav head unit with Bluetooth, instead, and eliminate the AUX cable completely.

Thanks, again!
 
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