Possibly blown? where to start?

[thai_creeper 10+ year member]

Halfway through my 3 hr drive today my sub stopped thumping. With my previous amp, this happened when the amp overheated came on later when it got cool enough, but it never came on with my current US Amps MD2D. It's running a 12" L5 right now, 05 model.

When I checked it out, the amp still has the power LED lit and no error/failure or whatever its called on. I don't think the subs blown cuz it doesn't smell or look burnt, any suggestions on where to start before I rip open everything?

Click to read more...

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

what did the bass sound like while you had it goin was it all clipped to hell and distorted or clean? did you use any bass boost? test the resistance of the sub with a DMM and see if you get 3.3-3.8 ohms if you get lower then that then it could be blown, push on the sub lightly and see if you hear any scratchy noises, if you do it could be blown but still play, good luck

 

[thai_creeper 10+ year member]

the bass sounded clean to me, but I'm not even sure if I could tell a distorted sound when I hear one..I don't use all that bass boost stuff, just set the equalizer on the HU. I have the sub mounted inverted so I can only push it so the cone goes outward from the coil, seems a bit stiff but I forgot how it felt before..also I turned off the power to my speakers so I could crank it up to 100% volume and no movement from the sub at all, it's as if it was disconnected. Amp still on, wiring to speakers still look fine..also I'm out at school so unless I find someone else with a DMM, it will be a while til I can get my hands on one, that's why I was hoping there's another way to find out wats wrong

 

[bryce-man 10+ year member]

if you have any kind of speaker

computer speaker

odl headphones that can be ripped to shi.ts

you can touch them to the speaker wires and see if you get sound.. but only for a bit as to not hurt any thing

.. but with those 2 youll have to listen closly cause they dont get loud at all

haha funny story

i blew a little odl computer speaker for fun like that

i want to do it again casue i have about 13 more to fool with

 

[88irocZ 10+ year member]

i have a D2 12" L7 ill sell you to replace that paperweight?

 

[TreyE 10+ year member]

check your tinsel leads..they might have ripped...same as the sub not recieving any power

 

[Fi Car Audio 10+ year member]

Simply disconnect the sub at the amp and run a dmm to it to check if the coils are OK... or if you dont have a dmm, use a 9v battery to pop test the sub (again... leads disconnected from the amp). If it doesnt pop or read, pull it out, its done.

Thanks...

Scott

 

[thai_creeper 10+ year member]

thanks for the replies so far, as far as I can see and feel, the tinsel leads are fine..since I don't access to a dmm, could you describe that pop test more? when I touch them to the batter it'll make a noise? only 9v batteries would work?

I do have some blown headphones so I could try that later, that's just to test the amp right?

and at 88irocZ, I wanna see if it is blown first before looking at getting another sub..

Also, when a sub is blown doesn't it still show some slight movement when powered? Thought I'd see it move when I cranked up the volume all the way at it..well I'm heading down to a shop to pick up something for the deck, hopefully they won't mind taking a look at it while I'm there

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

you just take the speaker wire from the amp and hook it to a battery. the speaker will move from the power in the battery.

 

[thai_creeper 10+ year member]

UPDATE: the guy at the shop was real nice, he did the battery test and checked the coils with a DMM and the sub is fine, then he took out my amp and did a test in the shop and it seems like everythings powering fine but nothing comming out of the speaker outputs, so I'm going to have to send in the amp..

 

[TreyE 10+ year member]

speaker outputs are bad...my friend did work with CIA amp repair company and they fixed his amp nicely but it took him 3 months to get it back so just a heads up...

 

[thai_creeper 10+ year member]

speaker outputs are bad...my friend did work with CIA amp repair company and they fixed his amp nicely but it took him 3 months to get it back so just a heads up...

What's CIA, a company that fixes amps? Good thing I still have warranty on it, hopefully doesn't take too long to fix