2013 Static in radio during usb - phone charging

[Manik]

In my 2013 Rav4 i noticed originally that if i was charging my phone and using the aux cable at the same time, that i would get a feedback hum. This was annoying...but it has Bluetooth, and USB connectivity, so whatever...i moved past it.
Flash forward a year or so and im now getting horrible radio reception. on and off static that is overwhelmingly annoying. It seems consistent over geographic location, and is spotty in the open but in the vicinity of any edifice, it becomes constant.

My phone is almost always charging while i drive, so until tonight i had not made a connection between the two occurrences. Get into my driveway today and back up to the garage where i usually park my car (Not inside)..... My cars radio becomes entirely static. Lacks HD quality...and the base is negligible as is usual when HD is gone.

Uncharacteristically i unplug my phone before turning off the car and BOOM. HD radio. Crystal clear....amazing base. *plugs phone back in*....Constant static.
Unplugs phone...this time at the 12V socket. Full HD radio.
Its clear that my phone charging is causing the problem...but i can remove my cell and leave the charger itself in location and that is enough to stop the static which makes me think that the cheap charger is not the culprit. Moving the charger to a different 12V outlet makes no difference, and my Garmin GPS plugged into either outlet does not have the same effect on the radio.

Anyone have any idea whats going on here?

Any help would be great.

[Philkinson]

iPhone? They all seem to do it... All cars they I've ridden in and charged my phone in.

[Manik]

Galaxy S3. Soon to be replaced...so if the phone is the problem id be happy.

[BMMCBR]

My iPhone and galaxy s4 did this in my car and currently do it in my truck. It's likely because the USB cigarette lighter adapter is cheaply made and not shielded. If you buy one that's properly shielded you should see the problem stop.

Alternately, try using a different 12V socket if your vehicle has one.

[Pigman]

mine feeds back also....

[Manik]

This morning... phone plugged in, No static. Has the radio recognized that I caught it acting up and stopped misbehaving?

This is obnoxious.
Could it be based on how much power my phone has?

[GingahNinjah]

my HTC DNA does this also its not an all the time thing but if I hold the cord in my hand the static goes away...

[stoinkythepig]

I suspect you have an intermittently poor ground either on the radio chassis, the radio antenna, or the 12 volt socket; or the antenna cable center conductor is flaky. If it's the center conductor, AM reception will likely suffer more than FM reception.

Out of curiosity, does the static vary in pitch with engine RPM? Cheap 12V to USB adapters probably won't have adequate filtering to get rid of alternator noise.

[2v2Ducati]

^^ agreee. The radio and plug your using probably share a ground point (1 runs into the other then to ground as opposed to both straight to ground), or the radio may not be properly grounded at all and the charger cord itself picking interference.

[ilikenapalm]

Try cheap stuff first, like using a different cord.

[snwbrdr435]

I have found that it is usually the charger that is causing the static.

[Manik]

Ground was my first thought, but wouldn't the GPS have the same effect if it were a matter of connectivity between the plug and radio?

[csmutty]

Mine does this too but it is only really noticeable between songs when there isn't anything playing.

[butcher bergs]

Could it be based on how much power my phone has?

This may have something to do with it since there what's known as a curve when batteries are being charged. The charger will taper off voltage output as battery power is replenished and if the charger isn't shielded and/or has low quality components, it's possible some noise is being produced.