DUAL subwoofer setup. one sub makes a weird ticking sound?

realflow100

CarAudio.com Recruit
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one sub is making a ticking sound only when its moving inward and its definitely not coil rub for sure its not tinsel lead noise either

if I push on it with my hand it doesnt feel scratchy or anything it feels identical to my other sub its just making a weird ticking noise at low to high excursion.

it doesnt get any louder the louder I play it. it just changes with the frequency the sub is getting. its not very loud but its annoying at low-medium volume it sounds like its a tiny piece of plastic tapping on something inside the dust cap but theres nothing I can see anywhere around the spider or voice coil making any noise I dont know how to get rid of it. I tried running it free air at high excursion for a while but it barely made a difference it still does it. its really weird

its done this since I got it out of the box. other than that the subs both hit hard and deep and sound good but the ticking noise is really annoying. its not air leak because it does it free air as well.

 
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I'm not going to blow my subwoofer by doing something stupid like that. and I dont want to risk starting a fire either. my room has carpet.

 
Ok, if the subwoofer sounds ok when it travels , I suggest you take the subwoofer out and test with a multimeter, it may have a faulty voice coil. Another method would be to test the same subwoofer with another amplifier to see if the ticking sound persists,  if not, then it could be your amplifier as well. 

Usually speakers will work fine and sometimes the amps fail and can cause issues.  All the speaker does is convert electrical energy to acoustic energy and nothing more. :fro:

 
the coil measures fine. it doesnt behave weird other than the ticking noise.

the amp is working fine too. powers my other sub just fine on the same channel.

if I move the cone in and out by hand i can hear the ticking only when the sub is moving inward. it doesnt get louder the louder I play the sub. once the ticking sound happens it's just audible but doesnt get louder the louder i play it. the sub can be reaching close to maximum excursion and the ticking sound isnt any louder than at low excursion. it doesnt sound anything like coil rub at all.

if i press on the spider in a certain spot it stops for a moment then comes back 

ive measured the subs they are reading exactly the same.

it sounds like its in one spot of the spider like a chunk of glue is stuck underneath it or something weird right near the voice coil and then the suspension stretches downward it makes a noise as the glue separates and touches the spider again??

but its not coming from the coil or very edge of the coil where it attaches to the spider. its coming from somewhere in the middle of the spider between inner and outer edges of the spider in one specific spot. i tried pinching the spider all along the different ribs/waves around that area and it helped a tiny bit but its still doing it.

 
I am trying to save up money. I plan on getting a much better box and better subs with the new box tuned to around 30hz or so.

it sounds like glue thats dry but has tackyness to it and its being "unsticked" repeatedly.

 
nope Ive felt all around the spider.

 its a single spider. and the spider venting is too small to get even a finger through. but its definitely on there all the way around. not loose anywhere. its glued on good all the way around and around the coil too it stops if i press my finger on a certain spot on the spider but that doesnt help anything because i cant just hold my finger there all the time. and its hard to find the exact spot since it seems to be a big area where I can put my finger on the spider and the noise stops but its nearer to the coil than the outer edge of the spider

 
Im pretty sure it would instantly break if i did that. it probably just make a sharp loud pop noise and be dead within a half a second.

and I dont want to deal with the smell that would make.

 
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Im pretty sure it would instantly break if i did that. it probably just make a sharp loud pop noise and be dead within a half a second.

and I dont want to deal with the smell that would make.
Might launch a YouTube career if you do it and make a vid...  lol... probably get a few hits.

Just title it "Terminator Extermination"

Just a thought Op

 
Considering the history of it all I'd say it's a safe bet they're about as close as you can get to already being exterminated. Op just doesn't realize how bad of a shape they're in.  I'd put a little  $ on it anyway lol....

 
i dont hear any other mechanical noise except the small ticking sound that sounds like its coming from the spider i think.

the other sub has almost no mechanical noise at all except for the quiet air sounds coming out the venting at maximum excursion

 
Well you'd never guess what i did to fix it!

I just took a sprits/spray bottle and filled it with just water. sprayed some all the way around on the spider so it was wet and damp. flexed the speaker a couple times and now its completely silent! Weirdest fix ever but interesting that it worked so well.

I made sure not to get any water on the coil or excess water dripping into the magnetic gap.

after i let it dry for a few minutes i played it and its clean sounding all the way to full excursion!

 
ticking noise can also be created by the terminal tensil leads at high excursion, try to push down the subwoofer cone with your fingers as far as it goes carefully and see if touches the tip of the tensil wire, if it does that's the issue, meaning the tensil lead is slightly too long, the cone smacks in to the wire creating the tick noise
 
2 years late there feller...

really.jpg
 
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realflow100

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