I keep frying subwoofers. .?

[dunigan88]

I have a 2008 Ford F250 with factory touch screen navigation HU, and an 8" oem subwoofer. I disconnected the factory subwoofer, and wired an LOC into one of my rear speakers. I have blown a total of 5 subwoofers now (all appropriately sized RMS wattage for the amp, and I have the gain turned down) .

I was recently told by a car audio technician that the factory HU puts out too much distortion and will fry the voice coil in just about any sub.

This creates a problem as replacing the HU (with another good quality double din touch screen nav) will cost anywhere from $500-$1000. Then, in order to keep my steering wheel controls, I'd also have to purchase a data link box ($150) and the proper wiring harness ($50)... I simply don't have that kind of money to play with at the moment. .

So my question is, if I wired the LOC directly into the factory OEM subwoofer wires, instead of one of the rear mid-range speakers, would it cut down on any of the distortion and allow me to keep my factory HU without continuing to fry subs??

This is my first post, as I am a new member to this forum, so anything helps. Thanks in advance!

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[Massive spl]

Dirty signal or over power is why woofers blows. I had a loc wired in my wife's car for a few years never had a problem.. I think your problem is your dirty power. What amp do you have? How did u set your gains

 

[dunigan88]

Pioneer gm a5602 (900W 4ohm) bridged (2ohm 450W RMS) to a Kicker TCOMP RT 12 (2ohm) 400 RMS. Gain controls are half way now.

This is the new sub a haven't blown. .yet. the last ones, the gain was adjusted differently. There's a good chance the tech I spoke with could've been wrong, but he told me that, without question, it was the distorted signal (dirty signal) from the factory head unit.

 

[dunigan88]

Also, I haven't separated any cones, only burned up voice coils. (Don't know if that matters)

 

[tc300 10+ year member]

spend the money and get a NICE deck...

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

I've done a system with the sync navi with no issues in 8 months now get a good loc not one of the cheap $10 ones and a better amp and sub with correct wiring you should be fine then when set right

 

[mrpep]

I've been beating up subs for just over 20 years and have never blown a sub , knock on wood. Does it clip / distort / crack/ pop when you run it up? To the guys in the room , could incorrect amp settings such as filter settings etc etc cause this ?

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[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

ssf too low in a ported box could, but that doesnt burn coils.

gain was set too high, period. we dont even know how he set his gain, so how do we know its not clipped to hell?

i know fords put terrible headunits in their trucks (drove a 2014 and my 00 silverado had a better stock hu lol) but i dont think thats whats killing your subs

 

[dragon.breath 10+ year member]

I have seen a cheap LOC from Walmart put out 6.5 volts to the RCA's. It would make my buddies amp clip with gain all the way down. My guess is that is the problem here as well.

 

[Steveopevo 10+ year member]

I have a 2008 Ford F250 with factory touch screen navigation HU, and an 8" oem subwoofer. I disconnected the factory subwoofer, and wired an LOC into one of my rear speakers. I have blown a total of 5 subwoofers now (all appropriately sized RMS wattage for the amp, and I have the gain turned down) .
I was recently told by a car audio technician that the factory HU puts out too much distortion and will fry the voice coil in just about any sub.

This creates a problem as replacing the HU (with another good quality double din touch screen nav) will cost anywhere from $500-$1000. Then, in order to keep my steering wheel controls, I'd also have to purchase a data link box ($150) and the proper wiring harness ($50)... I simply don't have that kind of money to play with at the moment. .

So my question is, if I wired the LOC directly into the factory OEM subwoofer wires, instead of one of the rear mid-range speakers, would it cut down on any of the distortion and allow me to keep my factory HU without continuing to fry subs??

This is my first post, as I am a new member to this forum, so anything helps. Thanks in advance!

Is the amp your using for the subwoofer the headunit's internal amp?

 

[djr4x4]

If my mind serves me correctly their is an OEM amp under the dash for the high's... Since you are tapping into the rear speaker wire you are getting a signal from that OEM amp...

 

[dunigan88]

No sir. I'm using an aftermarket pioneer.

 

[OKAY]

No sir. I'm using an aftermarket pioneer.

I'm using the same amp right now on my Alpine 5x7 in the doors with gain down, of coarse. Ive been cooking them for 6 months now and i play full tilt, most the time..their still going fine. That amp is fine unless your gain was way too high.

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[mrpep]

Try adjusting gain with a digital multimeter on your next set up. There's a thread out here on how to do it and it will set your gain to what has been calculated to be optimal. You can always tweak but its a great way to do it safely and feel good about the range you are in.

 

[nismos14 5,000+ posts]

Try an adjustable LOC, and lower the level on it.