speaker repair?

My dual voice coil infinity sub stopped working today and I took it apart. Theres nothing visually wrong with it but if I push the cone down it starts working while there is pressure on it. I find that the positive wire that connect to the cone makes it work if I move it a certain way. What is this wire called? And solder seems to not stick to it but I will try some more.

It's called a tinsel lead. It looks to be burnt and frayed at the cone. Fixing it would require it to be re-leaded which would require being sent to Infinity. Go to the shop you purchased the sub from and they should be able to help you get it fixed. And when you get it back, turn down the gains on the amplifier and be more careful with the volume control to prevent it from happening again.

What if the sub was given to me? Does infinity still do repairs or is this something a local shop can do?

It appears to me that some Idiot in assembly goofed his job.  Had the tensile lead been inserted properly into the terminal end,the lead would have been long enough and would not have stressed itself from being too short.  But as already stated, it being broken at the cone, there is not much that can be done with it other than talking to infinity.

I doubt the cause was from the lead being too short from the factory. The more likely cause was misuse.

If that were the case, why is there only visible damage at the 2 ends of the lead. 

Also, the leads do not directly attach to the cone, it is attached to terminals on both the input side and into the part that goes into the cone, would this help in fixing it? I don't think abuse was the problem because my gains are set properly and there was no distortion at all at the max level i use which is 23/30 on the volume.

I learned to control my right hand as I Am An Idiot noted when I blue my other sub out in the summer

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=115971&KW=micrors4racer

i am an idiot wrote:

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If that were the case, why is there only visible damage at the 2 ends of the lead. 

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Because that point would be under the most stress when pushed beyond it's designed limits.

micrors4racer wrote:

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Also, the leads do not directly attach to the cone, it is attached to terminals on both the input side and into the part that goes into the cone, would this help in fixing it?

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The leads run through the cone under the dust cap where they are attached to the voice coil of the sub. To fix it the dust cap would have to be removed, the lead disconnected from the voice coil then pulled through the cone and detached from the speaker terminal post. Then a new one would have to be attached and dressed properly, then a new dust cap would have to be put back on the sub. This would have to be done by Infinity as they will have the original parts needed for the repair.

micrors4racer wrote:

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I don't think abuse was the problem because my gains are set properly and there was no distortion at all at the max level i use which is 23/30 on the volume.

I learned to control my right hand as I Am An Idiot noted when I blue my other sub out in the summer

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=115971&KW=micrors4racer

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Just because the gains are set correctly doesn't mean the damage wasn't caused by abuse. It looks like you pushed it past it's mechanical limits, not it's thermal limits. Running even rated power with a larger enclosure, or a ported enclosure below tuning can each cause over excursion issues like this.

I used to head up the warranty department at Adire Audio and have repaired quite a few tinsel leads with that problem.

So the fact that the tinsile lead goes from the cone to the other side of the terminal and then bends back into the hole in the terminal, making it a half an inch shorter than it really should be has nothing to do with the lead being overextended?

I don't think you understand the process on attaching leads on a sub. You take the lead material, which is longer than required, and solder it onto the voice coil wire. You then run it through the cone and pull it through the terminal hole, dress it properly, then solder them together. You are left with excess lead material through the hole which you cut off. Just because the person who made the sub didn't cut as much off one terminal than the other doesn't mean it is too short. The tinsel lead will be able to handle the full Xmech of the sub. That sub was obviously operating at that point for extended periods of time.

How much did you guys generally charged for a repair like that?

I can't remember. The best thing you can do is contact Infinity and ask them how much it will be.