in need of an expert

[dso42092]

Hi, so I've had installed my first system about a month ago. The amp is a Sony XM-ZR1252, and subwoofer is Sony XSL126P5B. Sub is rated at 380 watts RMS and the amp is bridged to mono with an output of 340 watts RMS. So, bass-icly (lol), my problem is on a couple levels possibly. A few days ago I smelled burning coming from the subwoofer, so I took it out of my box to check it out. It was very hot inside the speaker. I ended up changing the stuffing before I put it back together, it is possible I over stuffed it. So today while I'm driving, the sub turned off after I had been riding around for a while. I went to the trunk to check everything while the car was still on, and the red light was lit on the amp indicating a short circuit (according to the manuel), however it could be an indication of the amp overheating and automatically shutting off. It WAS quite hot. This could be because it is bolted onto the top of the speaker box and has little space for airflow around the top and sides, while it is suffocated on the bottom. So, I turned down the gain and bass boost on the amp and tested. It was then that I noticed the subwoofer produced a strange springy sounding rattling noise even at low volume, however otherwise sounded OK. I turned it off, and gently pushed the subwoofer with my hand. When it flexed in I felt a weird resistance as if there was something out of place and causing a light scraping between the materials of the cone. Originally, you could only feel this "scraping" by pushing the subwoofer in about an inch more!

I have now concluded the following:

My amp's light tells me there is a short-circuit on the sub and to check wiring, but may just mean it overheated and turned off power to the sub.

My subwoofer now has sounds weird and rattly. is it permanently damaged? if so, from what!? I thought it couldn't be damaged by an amp with lower power than it...

I may have over stuffed the box. can this cause damage?

But, it still works, just has this internal rattling, and turns off as it gets hot.

What the heck is goin on? should I just buy a new subwoofer?

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[DammitJames 10+ year member]

looks like you got a little gain happy and sent a horrible signal from the amp to the sub. from what you said about the sound it sounds like the sub is toasted which is prolly a good thing now you can get some real stuff. turn ur gains down on the amp and see if it comes out of protect you might have smoked the amp too...

stick around here and read up theres alot more to car audio than takeing wires and hooking them up this is a common mistake with people who are new to car audio ill bet $500 your gains were to high resulting in the damage

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

gain knob is not a volume knob. You turned the gain up past the amplifiers handling capabilities, threw it into protect mode (red light), but before it went into protect, you roasted your subwoofer by sending it a clipped signal.

/thread