Subwoofer might be a dud, not sure.
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=74209
Printed Date: April 27, 2024 at 10:29 AM
Topic: Subwoofer might be a dud, not sure.
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Subject: Subwoofer might be a dud, not sure.
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 7:28 PM
Recently purchased a 12" Kicker CompVR subwoofer. Hooked it up to a MTX Audio Thunder 421D amp. Now I'm not sure if the subwoofer is blown or was a dud to begin with because it's not working properly. I wired it up correctly, followed Rockford Fosagtes "Wiring Wizard" on how to wire it for a 2 ohm load (it's a DVC 4 ohm subwoofer) here's the problem. With the volume on my HU set at about 18 or 19 (It's a Panasonic HU) I slowly turned the gain on my amp up from 0, the subwoofer didn't really play at all, I could hear it a little but barely, with the gain nearly 3/4 of the way up, still basically nothing and the subwoofers cone wasn't even moving. Fooled around with some settings again today, and again... it plays, but it's very soft, and the woofers cone doesn't come forward or anything, just sits there barely even vibrating. Does this sound like a bad subwoofer? I know everyone here will crucify me if I tell where I bought it from.
Replies:
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 8:24 PM
First off: how far "up" is "18 or 19" on your head unit? Second, what signal is going to the sub amp? ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: arrow12
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 9:01 PM
You bought it from fleabay didn't you? If you did, then don't get down on yourself. You live and you learn. Must of us don't believe in crucifixion, so you are safe in that regard.  ------------- That's my opinion. Take it, leave it, or correct me.
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 9:17 PM
How far up is 19? As in what's my HU's max? 40 I think. I *usually* listen to my music in the 23-27 range on my HU. So to be easy on it I put it at about 19. With occasionally turning it up to 21, and 22. As far as what signal is going to the amp? Uh, I don't know what you mean by that. Like Pre-amp output voltage you mean? I know it's hooked up to my HU's subwoofer pre-amps. This is the HU I have - https://www.crutchfield.com/S-hJMFWclnsE7/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=133dfx302
I've had a system with this HU before and never had anything like this, last system worked great. I just think my sub is bad because the cone wont even move. And yes, I did buy it from eBay, I bought it from one of those eBay Stores under CarAudio... what makes eBay so bad but a place like Onlinecarstereo.com not so bad? I don't get it.
Posted By: geepherder
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 9:21 PM
If you disconnect one voice coil and it gets louder, you have one wired backwards. You can also try to test the voice coils of the woofer by "popping" it with a battery. Take a length of speaker wire and attach the ends to one of the voice coils. Touch the other ends to the battery's terminals. If the cone makes a sudden popping noise, then you at least know it's intact. You could also test the coils on the resistance setting of your multimeter. Watch the reading change as you push the cone in/out, making sure you don't get a reading of zero or infinity.
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My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.
Posted By: darthness
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 9:22 PM
double and triple check yoiur wiring... maybe you accidentally wired it for 8 ohms? check and make sure the positive and negative wires on the amp are correct too.
if you push (gently!) on your cone does it move at all?
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 9:26 PM
When I push the cone with the car off yes, the cone does move. I'm sure I wired it right but I'll look at it again. I don't have a voltage meter (had one, doesn't work anymore) I'm going to go check the wiring now but I'm pretty sure it was wired up right.
Posted By: arrow12
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 9:31 PM
I tried to post earlier, but then I lost my wireless Internet connection. What I was gonna say is that I think Onlinecarstereo.com is better in some people's minds because they at least offer their own 1 year warranty.
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That's my opinion. Take it, leave it, or correct me.
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 09, 2006 at 9:38 PM
Just did a quick check. Everything seems wired right. I followed this - https://rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/wiringwizard.asp?WoofQty=1+woofer&WoofImp=Dual+Voice+Coil+-+4+ohms+x+2
on wiring for a 2 ohm load. I took my time and I know I went posotive to posotive, negative to negative. Doesn't matter which VC the negative end going to the terminal cup on the box goes to right? Same for the posotive side? I'm just tryin to think of all posibilities.
Posted By: pmh61
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 4:30 AM
just hook a battery up to it and see if it is any good. then go from there, maybe the amp..... making this a little hard
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 10:07 AM
You are setting your gain incorrectly. You need to turn your head unit volume up to the point where it clips which is usually somewhere between 60-90% of max volume. You will need to first determine this. Please do a search for setting gains there are many good tutorials on this forum. Also, the advice from geepherder is good and something you definitely need to double check. Buying from any on-line car audio dealer is a crap shoot, but especially eBay sellers. Some unauthorized re-sellers who say they offer a warranty means they will sometimes exchange the item for you if you send it back to them. This means you do not have a factory warranty, and it means you may be buying refurbished of factory second equipment without knowing it. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 11:25 AM
Well I wouldn't say ANY online retailer is a crapshoot. Crutchfield and Cardomain are just as good as going to a local audio shop and buying... possibly better. I know about those un-authorized places before, but I'd bought subs before from places like Audio-Warehouse.com and had no troubles at all, subs worked perfect. As for the gain, even if I was setting the gain incorrectly... that wouldn't cause the woofers cone to just not move at all reguardless of the volume. I thought I picked a good guy on eBay, he had an eBay store... 100% feedback rating and all. I E-mailed him and he said to ship it back to him as soon as I could and a tech would test it, if it's defective, he'd give me a refund or send me a replacement, whichever I preferred. So I'm going to send it back.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 11:56 AM
If you are trying to set the gain at too low an input level, the subwoofer amplifier will not get sufficient signal and the "cone will not move." Does it make any sound? If so you most likely are simply are not doing it correctly or, like was already suggested, you have one coil out of phase with the other. Thanks for pointing out my mistake: AUTHORIZED on-line retailers can be fine to purchase gear from. Using UNAUTHORIZED dealers, no matter their reputation, is a crap shoot. And if you had purchased your gear locally from a dealer in your area, you would not have to send it back and wait with your fingers crossed for them to agree with you by long distance. You could take it in to the shop and get help and on-the-spot (in most cases) satisfaction. Support your local retailers. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 9:24 PM
Well, without a multi-meter there is nothing more I can do, it's wired right. The store I bought it from on eBay said in reply to an E-mail I sent em to ship it back as soon as I can and they'll either refund my $ or ship me a replacement, whichever I prefer.
Posted By: Silvrefox
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 10:38 PM
Is there anywhere else you can hook the sub up? I work at Circuit City and know that I regularly check people's subs for free, if that's an option for you. We carry Kicker there, so I'm sure they wouldn't have an issue with testing out some of our own product....
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 10:49 PM
Circuit City would probably do a bench test. But I already boxed it and it's going to UPS tomorrow to be shipped back. Hopefully they'll ship me one that works.
Posted By: Steven Kephart
Date Posted: March 10, 2006 at 11:49 PM
What you describe sure sounds like your voice coils were out of phase. You really should have done as suggested and actually detatched one of the voice coils to test this. It is much more accurate than just doing a visual check. The only other possibility I see is maybe they sent you a subwoofer that wasn't magnetized. I guess we will see when you get the replacement driver. Good luck!
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 11, 2006 at 1:12 PM
I agree with Steven, my first diagnosis would be heart failure, then hearing damage followed closely however by wired out of phase. If you still have the sub, unpack it, take a small AA battery and connect some spare speaker wires to the + and - terminal on the battery. Either solder them on or black tape them on. Next touch the other ends of the wires briefly to the first set of input terminals on the sub, it should "pop" and move the cone either up or down. DO NOT hold the wires onto the terminals. Check each voice coil set to see if the cone moves. If it is moving, then it is sounding more like a wiring issue again. How did you wire the amp to the sub?
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 12, 2006 at 11:23 PM
My friend helped me wire it correctly, he has the same sub and a mono amp. It was wired the exact same way his is wired. It was wired properly because his works and mine didn't.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: March 13, 2006 at 12:04 PM
So what you are telling me is that you are refusing to check something really simple? If you have a dvc sub and it is wired out of phase, don't expect the sub to do anything. It is a simple oversight, one that I have done myself. Remove the darn sub from the box and check again. If you have a meter, find out if you have continuity through the coils or not. Just because something was "wired the same" does not mean that a mistake could have been made.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: bumpingpgt
Date Posted: March 13, 2006 at 2:49 PM
I don't have a volt meter to test it with. I pulled the sub out of the box too... THREE times, to check the wiring and make sure it was exactly how the Diagram on Fosgates site says to have it. I even tired switching the wires so that the posotive came off a different VC and whatnot, there is no way I screwed up the wiring, it's not rocket science going posotive to posotive, negative to negative. My buddy even looked at it and it's wired the exact same way his CompVR is wired for a 2 ohm load. But, I no longer have the sub, I shipped it back.
Posted By: Steven Kephart
Date Posted: March 13, 2006 at 3:17 PM
The point was that you were recommended to disconnect one of the voice coils which would eliminate any human error. As of right now we can't be as sure as you are that they weren't wired out of phase as most of us have made the same mistake in the past. And what you describe almost guarantees that this was the problem. The only other possibility I see is maybe the magnet wasn't magnetized. Although this is rather unlikely.
Posted By: downstarinc
Date Posted: March 13, 2006 at 4:27 PM
before u mailed it out...should have went to circuit city or best buy and got it checked on a multi meter to check the ohms...or at least popped it to see if it moves...
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jl audio..nuff said
Posted By: iraq_bound?
Date Posted: March 14, 2006 at 7:54 PM
hey downstarinc what's so confusing?
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"conspiracy in silence speaks louder than words" -John Lennon
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