Internal wire broke in half in RE XXX, any way to fix it?

[ls1pimp 10+ year member]

My RE XXX stopped working a few weeks ago, and I just took it out today to verify that it was blown (assumed this was what was wrong). I took it out, and the small 4 tinsel lead from the wire terminal on the subwoofer, to the voice coil, is split in half. Actually, two of them are split, the other two are still connected. Since my speaker doesn't seem to be blown, is there any way to fix this? Or if this is what "blown" is, guess im out of luck. Although it look like just a simple way to connect the metal wire back together in the middle may fix it?

The broken peice is the "tinsel lead" i guess - EDIT

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[innsanes 10+ year member]

u need to buy a new wire and solder them back,

 

[ls1pimp 10+ year member]

u need to buy a new wire and solder them back,

can I solder the one in there now back together? The ends aren't frayed or anything, it was a clean split on both wires. If not, where can I get the type of wire I need? It was coated with metal, which isn't a normal wire obviously so I'm not sure.

 

[CRXBMPN 5,000+ posts]

i would solder it back, maybe add a small piece of speaker wire in there as well for more slack, but not too much

 

[ls1pimp 10+ year member]

is it necessary to bring it to a shop to do this, or should I just solder it back together myself?

 

[ls1pimp 10+ year member]

Does anyone know any reputable shops for speaker repair in Miami, Florida?

 

[ls1pimp 10+ year member]

bump

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

The proper way to do it is comlicated. I've done it numerous times.

What you really need to do is completely replace the tinsel leads. This requires you to take the dustcap off, and meticulously clean/remove the CA glue around the tinsels leade and coil leads, then de-solder this joint making sure not to damage the coil leads. Then use new tinsel lead to solder to the coil leads, and thread them through the cone. Cover them in CA glue, Replace dustcap, and solder to the speaker terminals. Also, make sure you trim them to length (not too short or too long).

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

nG

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

ngsm is correct. Trying to solder the broken tinsels back together where they are broken in the center is just asking for trouble. The current tinsels already snapped once due to over excursion (or them being too short), soldering them back together certainly wont make them any longer, quite the opposite. Second, you'd then have a non-flexible joint right in the middle of your tinsel leads, that is suppose to be very flexible in order to comply with cone motion. Like Noah said, the entire lead must be replaced.

 

[ls1pimp 10+ year member]

ngsm is correct. Trying to solder the broken tinsels back together where they are broken in the center is just asking for trouble. The current tinsels already snapped once due to over excursion (or them being too short), soldering them back together certainly wont make them any longer, quite the opposite. Second, you'd then have a non-flexible joint right in the middle of your tinsel leads, that is suppose to be very flexible in order to comply with cone motion. Like Noah said, the entire lead must be replaced.

very informative post, thanks a lot and easy to understand why my "ghetto fix" definately won't work. What are the chances of messing up the subwoofer while replacing the tinsels? I am not repair inclined at all and very bad with my hands, and I really don't want to screw up a subwoofer like an XXX. Should I just spend the 200 bucks or whatever and send it to either Fi or RE and get them to replace the tinsels if they are willing to for a reasonable fee, or find a shop to replace the tinsels? I really do not want to mess with it myself, at this point it seems like a very easy fix to get the sub functional again once you can get access by taking the sub apart, and if i screw the sub up I might mess something up that is not fixable.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

You should've fused your speaker leads this wouldn't of happened //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[ls1pimp 10+ year member]

You should've fused your speaker leads this wouldn't of happened //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

I never even heard of that before. I had the RE XXX for years and had zero issues with it, and then when it blew it was on low volume too, which was odd.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

You should've fused your speaker leads this wouldn't of happened //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

Was that a joke?
ls1pimp, if you are nervous, contact RE or Fi and see what they would charge to do it, but shipping will likely kill that deal. You can see if any local shops do recones. You dont need a recone, but its similar work. Lastly, see if any members live near by that would be willing and able to help you do it.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I never even heard of that before. I had the RE XXX for years and had zero issues with it, and then when it blew it was on low volume too, which was odd.

Ported box? SSF? Playing below tuning maybe? Broken tinsels could just as easily be from excursion problems as it would from thermal issues.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

Was that a joke?

i've been fusing the speaker leads for years...back in the day RF and PG use to fuse the speaker leads from inside the amps...maybe other companies as well...Boston has started adding fuses to their sub leads....others need to follow this as well...it will protect the subs....