Battery testing speakers ...?

[twoohfour 10+ year member]

My car is essentially a gigantic mass of wiring right now in the trunk, and when i'm done sorting through it i'll be in good shape... however...

I have 4 different runs of speakerwires to my trunk (running active up front) and i don't really know which drivers any of them refer to, because everything has gotten so mixed up from install to install.

My friend's father, who is an electrical engineer ( if it matters ), told me that i could just touch a 9v battery to the positive and negative terminals of the speaker wire, and the given speaker would make a small popping so i'd know which wire referred to which spaker.

Is this true? if it is, does that damage the speaker?

i assumed it would in some way, but either way i have to find out which wire is which and i don't want to take my whole car apart again, done that 7 too many times already.

thanks for all responses!~

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[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

I've never used a 9v battery to test speaker wires - I've always used either a AA or a AAA since they are only 1.5v batteries....having said that in my experience I've never had any issues with doing so damaging speakers.

Maybe I've been lucky?!

 

[TypeRBass 10+ year member]

yepy ou can take a 9v battery and hook it up to the + and - of the speaker.

 

[jojosdad 10+ year member]

It won't damage your speakers.

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

If i forget what's what. I usually use my comp amp at low volume and jsut plug speakers in one at a time listen for sound and then put it in its proper place. Usually my problem is remmebering what rca's go where.

 

[skmfkr 5,000+ posts]

ive always just used my trucks bettery for a sec

 

[ndnbolla 10+ year member]

Yea I've done it before with a regular duracell double a battery.

Its a good way to check that you haven't reversed your polarity either without unscrewing the sub/speakers, for when you think something might have gone loose with the wiring while putting them in.

When the sub is excursioning (is that a word???) outward, polarity is correct.

...inward, polarity is reversed.

But I read somewhere that holding it their too long could damage it, so make it short and sweet to stay on the safe side.

 

[twoohfour 10+ year member]

When the sub is excursioning (is that a word???) outward, polarity is correct.

...inward, polarity is reversed.

That tip right there is VERY good to know... thanks

And thanks for all the other responses that clarified this issue.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

how do you know which ones +/-, what kinda sound do I expect?

 

[Ape 10+ year member]

on the 9v battery the + should be the bigger hexagonal shaped one, while - is the smaller circle. Than if the wiring was done correct red (or unmarked) = positive, and Black (or marked, like a stripe) = negitive.

Correct me if im wrong.

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

i use my 12v from my drill. as long as you dont hold it on there, its fine

 

[_DjScrew_ 5,000+ posts]

i use my 12v from my drill. as long as you dont hold it on there, its fine

x2, that's what i usually use.

 

[krouchchocolate 10+ year member]

so if the speaker pops out then that means itz correct? If it pops down then itz wrong?

 

[_DjScrew_ 5,000+ posts]

yup

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

When the sub is excursioning (is that a word???) outward, polarity is correct....inward, polarity is reversed.

uhh... well thats totally dependent of how you hook the battery up..

There is no "correct" polarity on a speaker, it is only "correct" or "incorrect" in relation to the polarity of your other speakers. Generally you want them to all be wired the same way (in phase), so that if you connect the battery to them in the same way you have them wired to the amp (+ terminal on battery to + speaker wire etc), they should all respond the same (either all pushing out, or all pushing in, it doesnt matter which as long as they all do the same thing). I say "generally" because in the strange acoustical environment of a car, sometimes it may sound better to have, say, your front components wired out of phase with eachother, that is, in reverse polarity.

Alot of beginners dont really understand this. I knew a guy who had just gotten subs and wanted me to see if the polarity was "correct". Basically he thought if it was "wrong" his subs would be "hitting the wrong way". If he had any knowledge of a signal being a variable frequency alternating current, its easy to see how his theory of "wrong polarity" causing his subs to "hit the wrong way" is pretty stupid.

Hope this clears some stuff up.