pulsating static - need quick assistance

do you have a nextel phone? I have nextel and have sirrus and that happens to me while the phone is looking for a signal. I don't know if it does that to cb's just trowing that out as possible cause.

 

you might try wiring it directly to a fuse box or go directly to the battery. Cigarette lighter connection a known for creating a lot of static.

 

Yeppers, what Peterbuilt said. The battery is best, as it works as an enormous capacitor to filter out line noise from the DC lines in your vehicle. Every extra connection in line between the battery and your radio has some resistance, even if it is small. But consider the two fuse contacts, then the push-on connector on the back of the cigarette lighter, and the spring-loaded connections that the lighter plug uses to make contact. No matter how much Caig D5 you put on the connections, and how much you snug the springs, there's always a slight resistance, and those resistance points both drop the voltage (a little) and keep some of the noise pulses from getting back to the battery to get filtered out.
I'm assuming the engine you're putting this on is not a diesel, or the interference you're hearing wouldn't be from the ignition, but things like fuel pumps and wiper motors all cause their own noises.
Take off the antenna and see if all the noise disappears. If it does, then what you're hearing is being "transmitted" through the air between the noise sources and your antenna, and fixes for that could fill two pages. If the noise *does* change with the engine speed, regardless of whether the antenna is on or not, then wire straight to the battery (with a fuse right next to the battery terminal). Nothing ruins a day as quickly as a fire on the lead between the battery and the fuse next to the radio.
If your radio has a Noise Blanker, that may go a long way to killing impulse noise. If it has an Automatic Noise Limiter instead (or also), that should fix a lot of small-motor noises.
Your local Radio Shack ("You've got questions, we've got blank stares!") should also sell a DC line filter that wires into the power lead for the radio (and make it close to the radio) that will cure a lot of pulse noises on the power line.
But start with running the power straight to the battery -- it's essentially free, and fast.
-- Handlebar --
diddly dahdidah

 

the only thing a cigarette lighter plug is good for is ground noise.Now if its a quick connect you need then they are great but you have the noise to contend with.