I recently put a brand new Alpine CDA-9856 headunit in my 92' Mazda MX3 along with a set of Kicker KS5.2 Components in the doors. I disconnected the rear speakers as they are located in a shatty position. I ensured that neither wire from both sides of the rear speakers could possibly hit ground. Now the problem I am having is this: I installed the headunit about a week before the components arrived, so I have been using it ever since. The factory speakers worked perfectly fine. Components went in yesterday. Installed the tweeters & Xovers and wired them up. Then I went to put the components in. I went to mount the speaker in the door and as soon as the metal frame of the speaker hit the door, I saw a small spark and the music (which was playing since I installed the tweeters) cut out and starting making this strange noise. I double checked all my wiring and everything is as it should be. All wires are soldered & protected with heatshrink. I cannot figure out why this speaker is shorting to ground. Anyone have any insight?
Yes..either one of the tinsel leads are touching the frame of the speaker..or..it is internally shorted.....in other words a defective speaker...seen it before..not common..but it happens and the symptons are EXACTLY as you describe.
You could isolate the frame from metal but that is just a band-aid..replace it to be safe. But first see if it is a tinsel lead touching the frame..you can insulate that if it's the problem.
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Custom Audio
Lynbrook NY
ASE/MECP master certified
Crap! It is brand new!!! I suppose its possible to be internally shorted. Both of the tinsel's are plastic protected so i'm assuming thats the case. Thanks for your help!
xtac1080 wrote:
I saw a small spark and the music (which was playing since I installed the tweeters) cut out and starting making this strange noise
You problem started when you failed to disconnect power before you changed out speakers. You had battery connected and source playing and was disconnecting/connecting speakers at the same time.That's called asking for trouble. Instructions with those component speakers told you to disconnect power first, did it not?
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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Yes it sucks..but the longer you are in this business..the longer you will see stuff defective right out of the box..everything is crap today..sorry.
Although it might not be the best thing to connect/disconnect speakers while they are playing..I highly doubt this caused a brand new speaker to internally short.
In your situation..the speaker was playing fine ..you went to mount it.... the frame of the speaker (metal) touched metal of the car as it should since the vehicle is metal , you saw sparks and heard "strange" noises.....it's an internally shorted speaker..plain and simple.
Nothing you did wrong should have caused this ..it is a defect. I do not disconnect a car battery to install speakers..sorry, but thats going a bit to the extreme.
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Custom Audio
Lynbrook NY
ASE/MECP master certified
... and I'll add that it is unwise to work on a car stereo system with it turned on. It is just too easy to accidentally short speaker wires and destroy an amp... and NEVER work on power wires with the battery connected.
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