my box is burning at the speaker terminals!

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

today i decided to over look my cars system and make sure everything in the trunk was still legit. since the install, nothing has ever gone into protect nor have had any problems other than my ipod stalling.

anyways, while over looking my connections i found that one of my speaker terminals was kinda corroded. i wiggled the wire and noticed it was a little loose so i got some pliers and when trying to tighten it it felt dirty/rusty. so i took the nut and spacers off to reveal that my box has a nasty burn mark. i also noticed that the top portion of the bolt has broken threads which was completely fine when i installed it at the time.

question: has this ever happened to anyone when they make terminals out of bolts, nuts, and spacers?

could this of burned up some because the connection being slightly loose cause sparking within the spacers and terminals to create enough heat at the bolt to cause it to burn up?

Note: this is coming out of the master amp which is the positive connection.

i'm scared as fuck of having a trunk fire and sketchy as a bitch to continue running my system. i think i'll take the btl out tomorrow and look on the inside of the box.

Click to read more...

 

[ThatChevyGuy 5,000+ posts]

they need plastic around them...

 

[mobeious 10+ year member]

wow... looks like it just might have been a loose connection. use locktite next time

 

[NewAgeKing 5,000+ posts]

A loose connection will do that. I had a loose connection on one of my box's. It was a plastic terminal and it melted the metal connector right into the plastic. Just make sure your connections are tight, and use locking nuts. It should be fine.

 

[dumpin907 10+ year member]

**** dude thats crazy. i personally never had that happen. but you got some sick 0/1 wire, im feelin the purple. where did you get it?

 

[ThatChevyGuy 5,000+ posts]

Are they copper?

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

i think the bolts and spacers are made of zinc/iron with brass nuts.

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

**** dude thats crazy. i personally never had that happen. but you got some sick 0/1 wire, im feelin the purple. where did you get it?

knukonceptz

 

[dumpin907 10+ year member]

siiiiick

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

I guess you're running too much current through those small bolts.

But, it's just a guess.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

i hope you have full coverage insurance on your car....

 

[chucku 10+ year member]

Most likely a loose connection, also, I dont like the exposed metal in your terminal setup, maybe cover the nut/bolt combo with liquid electric tape? If it were me, I would spend the $ and get some real speaker terminals, you can always use then in another box later. This happens often when boxes arent mounted securely and the loose connection can damage you components. Take care!

 

[lil_italy773 10+ year member]

this just happened to me tonight i went out to get sum more beer and i smelled burnin thought it was sumone burning then i smelled it real strong turned off my system. got home and the pos was lose from the box. if this didnt happen to u i would have be stumped, glad ur stuff is working good still.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

Agree, loose connection causing arching. Also with the added heat from the arching accelerates the corrosion process. Mixing material types also increases corrosion. On sailboats this is an issue if some of your hardware is brass and some is alum, zinc or iron they will react with each other and corrode much faster than if they were all of the same type.

I'd say, scrape it all clean. Use a locking nut washer, nylocks or a second nut ontop to lock down the first, then cover it all with grease or other protective layers to keep out oxygen. All corrosion needs oxygen.

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

good to know. today/sunday i'll go to home depot and look for a new larger/thicker bolt setup. i'll look for a single type metal. i would use cups but don't like using them.

as for leaving them exposed, i'll see if i can find some of that said Liquid electrical tape.