P80 speaker issues

[scot850]

I mentioned this in the what did I do today section, but maybe worth more discussion.

I bought 8 speakers (4 from 2 different junkyards) and the 4 bought from PnP are returnable if bad. Naturally all from PnP worked perfectly.
The 4 bought from the other junkyard, 3/4 are bad, but they won't refund on them.

BJinFbks suggested taking a 9V battery and a couple of leads to test the speaker is not popped/blown out. I tried that today and the good speakers, when connected and then a wire tapped on the battery you could clearly see the cone pulling down on the good speakers. On 2 of the bad ones, there was a big nada and zero cone movement. The final rear speaker I had sprayed some De-Oxit D5 on the wiring connectors (rear speaker) and then it seemed to work and the muffled sound went away.

However, what I still noticed was a level of buzzing/distortion on the bass through the speaker. So I guess it is also ready for the junkyard as well.

So while the 9V test worked on this speaker, it would not have shown the buzz on using it. It does at least reduce the chances significantly as this is the first buzzy speaker I have had in over 40 tested. I am thinking now that this car may have ad an aftermarket head unit in it which may mean it was bad for the speakers.

So, in future if I plan to pull speakers I will take the 9V battery test kit to eliminate bringing a dead speaker home. Point 2, don't buy speakers from Buck's in Calgary or anything you are not 100% sure of under $20 in value!

I see Al has mentioned a portable speaker test kit, but while a great tool, it is not ideal for a junkyard environment and more stuff to haul around. Appreciate the idea though and I will research it further. Thanks Al!

Neil.

[duke1]

hi neil id bet the odd noise is either a tear in the diaphragm or debris from the broken cover that jumps about with the bass!on mine under the cover is a dark coloured cloth type cover material which has degraded into small particles and bunched on top of the front dash speakers but i have music ok just dare not turn the bass up cant beat a good tune when your driving.cheers

[scot850]

I agree on that, and with the battery trick now in hand, and only buying from the PnP junkyards where I can return the bad speakers, I should hopefully be good!

I replaced the speaker 'cloth' covering on my center Dolby dash speaker with some material bought on-line. Probably have enough for another 50 speakers!

Neil.

[FireFox31]

BJinFbks suggested taking a 9V battery and a couple of leads to test the speaker is not popped/blown out.

I have heard that 9V may be too much for a speaker and could harm it. I tested mine using a 1.5V AA battery which was really at 1.25V, the end of its life. It moved the speaker cone visible (for my polarity test) and produced a gentle noise. I recommend it.

[BEJinFbk]

Speaker Popper 101 - Cheap Hack!

AA is just fine. That's what I usually make
speaker poppers out of these days, but keep
in mind that you're only applying voltage for a
couple hundred milliseconds, and neither 1.5
or 9v will even warm up a voice coil that fast,
let alone cook it.

Common uses are quick and dirty speaker
op checks, speaker lead identification behind
aftermarket HUs that didn't have the advantage
of a wiring harness adapter ( Pro Tip: nail down
constant power, ignition power, ground, variable
dimmer, 12v parking light and power antenna
connections with a decent meter first. ),
and determining a speaker's polarity. If the
cone moves out, the speaker lead connected
to the battery positive is the positive speaker
lead and vice-versa. A speaker is just a
little linear motor.

As far as using a 9v, that's what I was
introduced to at one of the first shops
I was fortunate enough to work for.

Here's on old one from days gone by...
.

IMG_6982-1.jpg (669.85 KiB) Viewed 237 times

[scot850]

That is basically what I have done. I like the Zip-tie! Touch of class.

Thanks,

Neil.