How to test a blown sub

maperez · 01-13-2006, 11:18 AM

I know there is a way to test a sub with a 9 volt battery. Can anyone explane
how?

neomagus00 · 01-13-2006, 02:04 PM

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...

aaharvel · 01-13-2006, 02:31 PM

play Techmaster's Bassgasm. You'll know for sure.

neomagus00 · 01-14-2006, 12:31 AM

of course, if the VC has shorted, that would be a BAD thing to do...

MacLeod · 01-14-2006, 11:39 AM

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.

ward91 · 02-03-2006, 04:06 PM

if u can play a cont sine wave of something around 40hz

neomagus00 · 02-03-2006, 05:42 PM

um... was there an actual answer in this response to a dead 7-week-old thread?

98thumpin · 02-07-2006, 11:39 AM

dont think so

HiPerf360 · 02-12-2006, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacLeod

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

neomagus00 · 02-13-2006, 12:29 AM

no, you have to have the complete circuit, mac was talking craziness

HiPerf360 · 02-13-2006, 01:13 AM

I figured so...

But you never know.... more people have Tesla coils than you think!

MacLeod · 02-13-2006, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiPerf360

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

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.

neomagus00 · 02-13-2006, 11:42 PM

perhaps, for whatever reason, the grounds were close to each other?? i didn't think this could happen, but i'm not positive...

ward91 · 02-14-2006, 04:23 PM

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.

MacLeod · 02-14-2006, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neomagus00

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.

neomagus00 · 02-14-2006, 05:26 PM

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...

exalted512 · 02-14-2006, 10:32 PM

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

MacLeod · 02-15-2006, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exalted512

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!

neomagus00 · 02-15-2006, 08:49 PM

duh, but you didn't say it was hooked up like that

Vr3MxStyler2k3 · 02-15-2006, 11:23 PM

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

MacLeod · 02-16-2006, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neomagus00

duh, but you didn't say it was hooked up like that

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacLeod

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

exalted512 · 02-16-2006, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacLeod

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 ass

-Cody

neomagus00 · 02-16-2006, 03:59 PM

perhaps i misinterpreted... this is the visual i got from mac's statement:

MacLeod · 02-16-2006, 07:39 PM

Right, because thats what I was talking about!!

PoweredByDodge · 02-16-2006, 09:05 PM

don't go sticking subs on batteries... jesus...

fuckin 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 bastard 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.

HiPerf360 · 02-16-2006, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exalted512

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.

HiPerf360 · 02-16-2006, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoweredByDodge

don't go sticking subs on batteries... jesus...

fuckin 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?

PoweredByDodge · 02-17-2006, 02:18 PM

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.

Stroker · 02-17-2006, 04:20 PM

a nice AC ripple makes subs dribble.. LOL . shoot it with 110 then you'll know it's bad..

PoweredByDodge · 02-17-2006, 05:41 PM

... 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.

01-13-2006, 11:18 AM	#1
maperez Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1	How to test a blown sub I know there is a way to test a sub with a 9 volt battery. Can anyone explane how?

01-13-2006, 02:04 PM	#2
neomagus00 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 4,000	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

01-14-2006, 11:39 AM	#5
MacLeod Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ringgold, GA Posts: 13,762	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 SIGNATURE REFERENCE MECA --- Sound Quality League Aaron Thomas Rookie of the Year -2006 State Champion - 2006, 2007, 2008 World Finals 2nd place - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 "Its like a concert only live-er"

02-03-2006, 04:06 PM	#6
ward91 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: leeds uk Posts: 334	if u can play a cont sine wave of something around 40hz __________________ ELECTRONICS cambridge audio 540r v2 cambridge audio 540d rotel rp-850 philips cd610II/Marantz vd 52mk2 xbox 360 crown xs500 NAD 3240pe linn av5105 SPEAKERS jbl control 1 pro tannoy f4 custom apollo stands http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...p?userid=67480

02-15-2006, 11:23 PM	#20
Vr3MxStyler2k3 Member Sales Rating: (25) Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: NC Posts: 16,084	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 __________________ Mains- Tyler Acoustics Super Towers Center- Def Tech SM450 (Modded Xover) Surrounds- Def Tech SM450 (Modded Xover) Main Subwoofers- Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Subs (Stereo) LFE Subwoofer- VMPS Larger (w/ Megawoofers) Main Amplifier- Odyssey Stratos/Kismet Extreme Mono Blocks LFE Amplifier- Crown XLS1000 2Ch Pre- Odyssey Candela HT Pre/Rec- Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH CD Player- Symphonic Line Klarheit II MIT Shotgun 2 Cabling Thru-out 2 Ch Rig

01-13-2006, 02:31 PM	#3
aaharvel Registered User Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 4,510	play Techmaster's Bassgasm. You'll know for sure.

01-14-2006, 12:31 AM	#4
neomagus00 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 4,000	of course, if the VC has shorted, that would be a BAD thing to do...

02-03-2006, 05:42 PM	#7
neomagus00 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 4,000	um... was there an actual answer in this response to a dead 7-week-old thread?

02-07-2006, 11:39 AM	#8
98thumpin Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: gate city virgina Posts: 661	dont think so

02-13-2006, 12:29 AM	#10
neomagus00 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 4,000	no, you have to have the complete circuit, mac was talking craziness

02-13-2006, 01:13 AM	#11
HiPerf360 Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 439	I figured so... But you never know.... more people have Tesla coils than you think!

02-13-2006, 11:42 PM	#13
neomagus00 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 4,000	perhaps, for whatever reason, the grounds were close to each other?? i didn't think this could happen, but i'm not positive...

02-14-2006, 04:23 PM	#14
ward91 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: leeds uk Posts: 334	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.

02-14-2006, 05:26 PM	#16
neomagus00 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 4,000	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...

02-15-2006, 08:49 PM	#19
neomagus00 Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 4,000	duh, but you didn't say it was hooked up like that

02-16-2006, 07:39 PM	#24
MacLeod Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ringgold, GA Posts: 13,762	Right, because thats what I was talking about!!

02-16-2006, 09:05 PM	#25
PoweredByDodge Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Far away from Craig Schmid. Posts: 4,225	don't go sticking subs on batteries... jesus... fuckin 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 bastard 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. __________________ "I know, ya know I'm sexy. But what ya do, would you sacrifice it all for me? I need an All American Cowboy." -Jada. Vince Spinelli -- "I'm right; you're wrong. Since 1981." Web -- www.SpinelliCreations.com Blog -- blog.SpinelliCreations.com Email -- Vince@SpinelliCreations.com

02-17-2006, 02:18 PM	#28
PoweredByDodge Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Far away from Craig Schmid. Posts: 4,225	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. Last edited by PoweredByDodge; 02-17-2006 at 02:21 PM..

02-17-2006, 04:20 PM	#29
Stroker Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Camden county S.Jersey Posts: 30	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 MMC6500 driven vy c300.2 MMC690 driven by c300.2 2-MM2104's driven by c500.1

02-17-2006, 05:41 PM	#30
PoweredByDodge Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Far away from Craig Schmid. Posts: 4,225	... 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.

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