Subwoofer died!!! I think...help me

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

I was drivin to work today with the music going, I was playin pretty loud, but nothing my system hasn't seen before. After about a solid 15 continuous minutes of play, the subwoofer just cuts out. All the other speakers continued working.

The sub is an Audiobahn Eternal series 12'' powered by a Cadence ZRS-9 pushing 1000W RMS to it.

I checked the amp with a multimeter just to double check it was getting power, even though the lights were on so it was kind of obvious.

Also I have a little knob which adjusts the bass boost mounted in my armrest, on this knob there is also a voltage readout, as well as a...I don't know what to call it...it's a line of LEDs that light up when the bass hits, the louder it is the more bars light up, at the top they are red to signify lots of power....anyway, basically they are lighting up when the bass should play, even though it isn't, which to me means that it's sending a signal...

It seems to me that my amp is in perfect working order. So I took my sub out of the box thinking one of the speaker wires got vibrated loose or something...nope they are all still hooked up fine.

The cone presses down smooth like normal so the voice coils aren't fried...what else should I check? I'm really confused.

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[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

check sub with a dmm

check amp outputs with a dmm

just cause it dosent make a scratchy noise, dosent mean it isnt fried

 

[Exploder 97 10+ year member]

check a fuse somewhere.. haidkealomi adfsadf

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

the amps getting power

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

The amp is getting power.

I haven't checked the actual outputs yet, but according to my bass knob it's working. I'll verify with the DMM when I get a chance, any other ideas?

Do I just play a test tone and check the voltage on the outputs when it's playing? Because I checked them while it wasn't playing but the amp was still on and it read 12V I think.

What on the woofer its self should I look at in terms of possible damage?

 

[Gianotti 10+ year member]

can push your sub in at all? or is it stiff when u pusah on it? if so then it siezed up and its blown, check fuses in ur car, check RCA's other then that.. maybe its somthing as easy as a speaker wire came undone on the sub or the from the amp

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

Like I said int he original post, it presses down normally.

I opened up the box and all the wires look normal, all the wiring to and from the amp looks normal as well.

Any more ideas for me to try throw them out there.

 

[Wkbdkid 10+ year member]

did you check the sub with a DMM?

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

check ohms of sub,

check a/c voltage on the speaker terminal(not input power, th power from amp to the sub) on the amp with a tone or music playing

 

[bumpin focus 10+ year member]

Audiobahn might be the problem

 

[David706 10+ year member]

Audiobahn might be the problem

heh.. thank you, i was trying not to say that

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

I'll try the outputs with the DMM but i'm guessing that's not the problem since my knob seems to be reading voltage through the line

also, say what you want about audiobahn products but they really aren't as bad as you all think. Sure they're shiny, but if you buy their higher up line they aren't bad sounding.

 

[regal8r 5,000+ posts]

I was drivin to work today with the music going, I was playin pretty loud, but nothing my system hasn't seen before. After about a solid 15 continuous minutes of play, the subwoofer just cuts out. All the other speakers continued working.
The sub is an Audiobahn Eternal series 12'' powered by a Cadence ZRS-9 pushing 1000W RMS to it.

I checked the amp with a multimeter just to double check it was getting power, even though the lights were on so it was kind of obvious.

Also I have a little knob which adjusts the bass boost mounted in my armrest, on this knob there is also a voltage readout, as well as a...I don't know what to call it...it's a line of LEDs that light up when the bass hits, the louder it is the more bars light up, at the top they are red to signify lots of power....anyway, basically they are lighting up when the bass should play, even though it isn't, which to me means that it's sending a signal...

It seems to me that my amp is in perfect working order. So I took my sub out of the box thinking one of the speaker wires got vibrated loose or something...nope they are all still hooked up fine.

The cone presses down smooth like normal so the voice coils aren't fried...what else should I check? I'm really confused.

OT i know, but where in nebraska are u from?

 

[JoshHd6 10+ year member]

ohh then the problem is audiobahn..

/thread

 

[creyc 10+ year member]

It's tough to tell where the problem is without being there firsthand. Here's something you can test to see whether the sub still works though.

Take the sub out and leave some speaker wire on each terminal still. Get a 9v battery and put a speaker wire on each terminal, + and -. The cone should move slightly, "popping" as it moves either out or in slightly. If there's no noise or no movement, check the tinsel wires leading from the terminals to the voice coil. Other than that, the sub is dead.