How to test a blown sub

maperez
maperez Posts: 1
edited July 2008 in Car Subwoofer Talk
I know there is a way to test a sub with a 9 volt battery. Can anyone explane
how?
Post edited by maperez on
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited January 2006
    yep - you hold a lead from the each terminal of the sub to the appropriate terminal on the battery... basically hooking the sub up to the battery instead of the amp...

    you don't want to hold it on for too long, all you need to do is tap it, and if the sub is at least marginally functional, it'll 'pop'... you can also test it by gently pushing down on the center of the cone, if it makes a scratchy noise, that's bad...
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Registered User Posts: 4,490
    edited January 2006
    play Techmaster's Bassgasm. You'll know for sure.
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited January 2006
    of course, if the VC has shorted, that would be a BAD thing to do...
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited January 2006
    You dont have to use both wires. Simply touch the positive lead of the sub to the positive terminal of the 9v battery. If the cone moves out, its wired up correctly and working. If it moves in, its wired up out of phase. It if doesnt move, youve got problems.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • ward91
    ward91 Posts: 338
    edited February 2006
    if u can play a cont sine wave of something around 40hz
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited February 2006
    um... was there an actual answer in this response to a dead 7-week-old thread?
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • 98thumpin
    98thumpin Posts: 649
    edited February 2006
    dont think so
    John Tyler Birch

    home audio system:

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  • HiPerf360
    HiPerf360 Posts: 436
    edited February 2006
    MacLeod wrote:
    You dont have to use both wires. Simply touch the positive lead of the sub to the positive terminal of the 9v battery. If the cone moves out, its wired up correctly and working. If it moves in, its wired up out of phase. It if doesnt move, youve got problems.



    ?????????????????????


    Only use one wire?

    To only one side?

    Please explain
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited February 2006
    no, you have to have the complete circuit, mac was talking craziness
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • HiPerf360
    HiPerf360 Posts: 436
    edited February 2006
    I figured so...

    But you never know.... more people have Tesla coils than you think!
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2006
    HiPerf360 wrote:
    ?????????????????????


    Only use one wire?

    To only one side?

    Please explain

    Hell, I dunno, maybe Im wrong. I tried it once several years ago and Im 90% sure I left the negative speaker wire hooked up to the amp and just touched the positive speaker wire to the positive terminal of the 9V. I do remember there wasnt a "pop". The cone moved out and stayed out for as long as I held the wire to the 9V.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited February 2006
    perhaps, for whatever reason, the grounds were close to each other?? i didn't think this could happen, but i'm not positive...
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • ward91
    ward91 Posts: 338
    edited February 2006
    i just tried it with some speakers with both wires it went "cpop" then thats it .

    wont that doo.

    if its practical play a sine tone as its realy easy to detect anything thats wrong.
    i half blew the bass unit in my missions i hardley noticed it i first got suspicios playing some madonna. but it was verry hard to pick out untill you play a cont sine wave then it was verry obvious.
    ELECTRONICS
    arcam cd93
    linn wakonda
    MC2 MC450
    Teac ud h01 DAC


    SPEAKERS
    Tannoy DC6 t se .
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2006
    neomagus00 wrote:
    perhaps, for whatever reason, the grounds were close to each other?? i didn't think this could happen, but i'm not positive...


    Hmmmm, thats bugging me now. I know for a fact I did it but Im not sure anymore how I did it.

    :confused:
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
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    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited February 2006
    can you replicate it? i'd try it myself if i could access any of my wires without contorting my whole body into my trunk...
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited February 2006
    well if the negative was hooked up to the amp then it was grounded, there it would work
    you can also hook up a multimeter to it, if it doesnt read around 4 ohms if its a 4ohm coil, probably be a bad thing
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2006
    exalted512 wrote:
    well if the negative was hooked up to the amp then it was grounded, there it would work


    Ha! I knew I wasnt imagining things!
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited February 2006
    duh, but you didn't say it was hooked up like that :rolleyes: :p
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 24,413
    edited February 2006
    The way I tested my blown sub driver from my old M&K...

    I took it outside and stomped the living crap out of it and tore the VC out...god I was mad at that thing...

    UGH
    - Not Tom

    "No, that's silly talk. Dude, you can't possibly be this audio dumb so quit the act." - Doro
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2006
    neomagus00 wrote:
    duh, but you didn't say it was hooked up like that :rolleyes: :p

    MacLeod wrote:
    I tried it once several years ago and Im 90% sure I left the negative speaker wire hooked up to the amp

    angry-smiley-047.gif
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited February 2006
    MacLeod wrote:
    You dont have to use both wires. Simply touch the positive lead of the sub to the positive terminal of the 9v battery. If the cone moves out, its wired up correctly and working. If it moves in, its wired up out of phase. It if doesnt move, youve got problems.
    thats all you said the first time jack **** :D
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited February 2006
    perhaps i misinterpreted... this is the visual i got from mac's statement:
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2006
    Right, because thats what I was talking about!! ;)
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • PoweredByDodge
    PoweredByDodge Posts: 4,183
    edited February 2006
    don't go sticking subs on batteries... jesus...

    **** christ....

    get an ohm-meter (little 10 dollar voltmeter thing from rat-shack - has an "ohms" setting)... put it across each voice coil of the sub... if its 8 ohm voice coil it should read somewhere between 7 and 9... if its a 4 ohm coil.. then 3 to 5... that's DC resistance, but it'll tell you if the coil is fried or not.

    then... as long as you get resistance... (now you know it wont destroy an amp)... throw it in an appropriate sized box -- or something close -- and hook the **** up... listen to it... hear scratching, it's busted... former's screwed up... sounds good, then it's probably fine.

    that's the extent of testing i'd do.

    i still do push on cones sometimes, but when you get to more expensive subs with more precise builds... then pressing on a cone (because we're human and never press perfectly straight down) can scrap a sub on ya. and ya i've done it before.
    "With your own attitude it is hard to survive here... But who gives a damn, we are here to change the world, and we dont need a password for that."
    - Anurag
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  • HiPerf360
    HiPerf360 Posts: 436
    edited February 2006
    exalted512 wrote:
    well if the negative was hooked up to the amp then it was grounded, there it would work
    you can also hook up a multimeter to it, if it doesnt read around 4 ohms if its a 4ohm coil, probably be a bad thing
    -Cody


    The amp is connected to the - of the car battery, not the - of the 9v

    Now if you connected the - of the 9v battery to the chassis them yes it might work but if you just take a wire from + of the 9v battery and connect it to the speaker you will get nothing as you have not completed a circuit for the 9v battery.
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  • HiPerf360
    HiPerf360 Posts: 436
    edited February 2006
    PoweredByDodge wrote:
    don't go sticking subs on batteries... jesus...

    **** christ....

    get an ohm-meter (little 10 dollar voltmeter thing from rat-shack - has an "ohms" setting)... put it across each voice coil of the sub... if its 8 ohm voice coil it should read somewhere between 7 and 9... if its a 4 ohm coil.. then 3 to 5... that's DC resistance, but it'll tell you if the coil is fried or not.


    How do you think the VOM measures resistance?
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  • PoweredByDodge
    PoweredByDodge Posts: 4,183
    edited February 2006
    volt/ohm meters measure resistance by placing a voltage across the two leads (red and black... test and common) it then monitors current output through the line and does the simple math.

    ... a 9 volt is fine. but a 9 volt "home battery" for lack fo a bettery term, isn't going to hurt anything... its maximum current output is pitifully low. go sticking a sub on 12 V car starting battery and you could start problems.

    however thats just one half of the reason not to sue a battery.

    the other half is that 9 VDC is often not enough power to make some subs move. low impedance coils coupled with heavy structured woofers and you'll never get enough current out of the battery to make it go anywhere.
    "With your own attitude it is hard to survive here... But who gives a damn, we are here to change the world, and we dont need a password for that."
    - Anurag
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  • Stroker
    Stroker Posts: 30
    edited February 2006
    a nice AC ripple makes subs dribble.. LOL . shoot it with 110 then you'll know it's bad..
    88 Wrangler 383 stroker 525hp 10 inch's of lift 38.5's
    Premier 860mp 140 & 200 amp altenator
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  • PoweredByDodge
    PoweredByDodge Posts: 4,183
    edited February 2006
    ... 110V AC wall output juice is what is used to break in some subwoofers. the IDmax dual 4's are broken in by stringing the voice coils of 2 subs together in series and plugging them into the wall. smaller subs... string enough of htem together and u can dothe same... wall power isn't bad at all.
    "With your own attitude it is hard to survive here... But who gives a damn, we are here to change the world, and we dont need a password for that."
    - Anurag
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2006
    The thing I used the 9 volt test for was to check polarity.

    When I first installed my front and rear speakers in my Ram and wasnt 100% sure Id done em in phase and so rather than pull everything out I stuck the + speaker wire to the + of the 9V and was able to tell without having to pull the door panels off and speakers out and all that crap.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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