Subwoofer "Rattle"...

[Heathen]

Hallo's.

I've just bought an old Subwoofer.

I'm discovering that it was cheap for a reason!

One wire has pulled from the voice coil, but I've repaired that and the resistance reads the same as the other coil.

Now...when I tap lightly on the top part of the cone/face there is a slight rattle. No sound when I do the same on the bottom, left or right hand part of the face. If I evenly press down on the entire cone there is no sound (scratching, rattling etc). The voice coils both read a resistance as expected.

Have not tried to apply music through it yet, but any ideas so far?

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[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

Does it rattle when you tap the center of the sub? If not, then you are good. It rattles because you are misaligning the cone a bit when tapped on "top". I suspect that sub was dropped at some point and set the motor a bit off center. Since it does not rub when manually pistoned, I think it should be ok.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

Hopefully all will be ok

 

[Heathen]

Thanks so much for the more experienced opinion.

I hope you're right as it would be a waste of money otherwise, and I really like the specs of this little sub.

I've just switched cars and am yet to install a sounds system in new vehicle.

I've got an amp that I can wire to a car battery in my garage. Would I be able to use the RCA output on my home stereo as a musical signal to the amp?

 

[Smurfy76]

Just get a aux cable to rca and use your phone. Saves moving stuff and the cable is like 5 bucks at walmart

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

One wire has pulled from the voice coil, but I've repaired that

With what? I wouldn't bet on whatever this is surviving much longer.

 

[Heathen]

Just get a aux cable to rca and use your phone...

Good idea, thanks.

 

[Heathen]

With what? I wouldn't bet on whatever this is surviving much longer.

One end was still attached to the cone, the other was still attached to the terminal. It was severed/crushed in between. They had made a crude attempt at repair with a bulky crimp, but the wire had since been pulled out.

I removed the crimp, stripped the insulation back a little, splayed the strands and tried to gently intertwine. Then I put a drop of flux and soaked in some solder. I've also put a decent heatshrink put over the wound.

Primitive attempt, but it would defeat the purpose of finding a cheap stand-in sub if I were to pay for a pro repair.

Hopefully it will hold up.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Hopefully it will hold up.

Not for long I think, and it may be difficult or impossible to get a clean shot at the coil leads to attach a fresh tinsel.