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How did my 12 blow?

Old Mar 12, 2004 | 11:28 AM
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How did my 12 blow?

Two weeks ago I put in a new 12" 1000 watt woofer and 1800 watt amp. I bridged the woofer and did everything by the book as best to my knowledge. The only sign of a problem was a crackling ticking noise when the bass hit. So I padded the inside of the box thinking it was the wiring bouncing. Problem fixed. Last night I heard a popping noise then nothing. My woofer died. Today I checked the power on the amp and its good so I took the 12 out to check the wiring. It was in tact and I turned the HU on. Very little bass coming out and then crackling. I am sure its blown but why. I have always had the amp turned way down. Blue
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 12:30 PM
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I honestly don't know.

But, I do have a box with 2 Rockford Fosgate Punch XLCs, $130 shipped UPS ground.

Shameless,
Lamm
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 01:25 PM
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that happened to me also a while ago.... i figured it had to do with the fact that i used two different guage speaker wires (smaller inside the box, larger outside). I believe the larger wire was too big in guage and fried the sub. The back of the sub near the magnet was toasted (all burned and black and crumbling). I am still not sure why I blew one sub and not both, but when I changed the wires and replaced the sub I didn't have a problem.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by GoudyMan
that happened to me also a while ago.... i figured it had to do with the fact that i used two different guage speaker wires (smaller inside the box, larger outside). I believe the larger wire was too big in guage and fried the sub. The back of the sub near the magnet was toasted (all burned and black and crumbling). I am still not sure why I blew one sub and not both, but when I changed the wires and replaced the sub I didn't have a problem.

Strange.. I've run different sized wires in several boxes without any problems....
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 04:01 PM
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A larger gauge wire will have less resistance than a smaller gauge. If the larger gauge wire was the problem, then it was only because it was allowing more current to get to the sub. Which means, it was doing it's job.

You NEVER want the wiring to act as a current limiter. That causes heat, which causes a dangerous condition.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 04:05 PM
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I know it seems elementary, but even the best installers make this mistake sometimes. Check and see that your wires were going to the right place... that their polarity wasn't reversed.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 04:45 PM
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I double checked everything and its all correct. If I touch the cone it works but not very loud. Wierd? I am waiting on the company to email me back. Their CS Dept did but forwarded the email on to the warranty dept.. Sucks A$$ driving without bass. Lots O tweet & mid.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 05:03 PM
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From: N37 39* W122 3*
could be you have just have a bad amp.

it overloaded the sub and blew it...
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 05:06 PM
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Yeah that happened to mine a while back. Push the sub in with your hand, if you feel it crunch when your pushing it in, you've blown a voice coil.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 05:13 PM
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How do you test for a bad amp?
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 05:41 PM
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From: N37 39* W122 3*
some amps have diag LEDs...

goto like walmart or target and buy like a $20 set of 6x9s.

connect them to the amp and see if you get good sounds...
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 06:04 PM
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hey blue...
what kind of amp do you have?
give me that and i will try to help you...thanks
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 06:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Memphis_Yota
hey blue...
what kind of amp do you have?
give me that and i will try to help you...thanks

Ok be ready to LOL:
Metric Audio, Xblod series 1,800 wattsX4
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by BigBadBlue
Ok be ready to LOL:
Metric Audio, Xblod series 1,800 wattsX4
I think you just didn't have enough power to drive those subs.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by MTL_4runner
I think you just didn't have enough power to drive those subs.
Well here is how I saw it in that light:
The amp is 1800 watts but bridged at 900 watts
The speaker is 1000 watts, and I was told it would likely not push the full 1000. so could it blow even if the volume on the amp was down but the decks volume was up.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 08:35 PM
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More than likely, whoever told you about your audio equipment is talking about the max rms you could get. Theoritically it sounds good but you will never reach max power due to resistance and such. I try and always tell watts based on the rms power. For example, my Kicker kx1200.1 amp has an rms of 1528. The max power output is double that,3056. Chances are your 12 has a 500 watt rms and a 1000 watt max. In some cause you have what is called amplifier clipping. Clipping is when the amp accidently sends a surge of power to your drivers. If the drivers cant handle this power, it blows them. Sometimes you get what is called smoking. The smoking is when you can actually smell the burnt smell from the speaker itself.

Last edited by dbikeman; Mar 12, 2004 at 08:37 PM.
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Old Mar 12, 2004 | 09:22 PM
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SORRY! Remember when I spoke about the "longevity" of XBLOD stuff? Try warranty! Hope you get this worked out!

Edited to be nicer.

Last edited by User 051420; Mar 13, 2004 at 12:19 PM.
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Old Mar 13, 2004 | 12:15 AM
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I've blown a 10" Sony Xplod sub 2 weeks after getting it profesionally installed, it was covered by warranty, but I realized that you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to stereo equipment.

BTW, it's a lot easier to blow a speaker/subwoofer by not having enough power, than too much. Did anybody know that?
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Old Mar 13, 2004 | 08:26 AM
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From: ELN
Originally Posted by Juggalo
BTW, it's a lot easier to blow a speaker/subwoofer by not having enough power, than too much. Did anybody know that?
Yeah, I knew that. It's because the signal gets clipped, which is not a good signal to be sending to the speakers.
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Old Mar 13, 2004 | 12:51 PM
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I'm not a audio expert but my audio installer told me, the amp output shouldn't excced the woofer output. If it is powerful then can blow the speaker. My system, since day one til now I have not a problem on my woofer.

Last edited by mkool; Mar 13, 2004 at 12:53 PM.
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