Car Audio : How to Tell if a Car Subwoofer Is Blown

If a car subwoofer is blown, there may be scratching noises, but a subwoofer that won't push down has definitely gone bad. Find out how to use a digital voltmeter to test the positive and negative terminals of a subwoofer with help from the manager of a car audio store in this free video on car audio and subwoofers.

Expert: Rich Richards
Bio: Rich has over 20 years of experience in home audio and car audio. He is the manager at Innovative Home and Car Audio.
Filmmaker: Michael Burton

[jesuscollas]

1:07 i thought he was gonna say "it's tight as fuck"

[polcat]

I've come across a few of this gentleman's video's today and have found him to be extremely insightful.

[RMIXMODZ]

1:43
for this to work, make sure you are in an environment with no air...
hahaha

[Javageek]

"Do not test where there is air" What he meant to say was .. "It is best to test the speakers in the vacuum of space." :)

[manlypowers]

Excellent video. Clear, thorough, and to the point.

[gabeulrickson]

1:30 make sure the voltmeter is set to ohms btw

[KClO]

Wow this video is from 2009 and its 720p you don't see that everyday

[runrabbitrun]

YOU can tell this guy is a bad ass, If you knew what was wrong and you were right he'd still tell you your wrong he's such a bad ass.

[kgage]

Thank you sir, this video was very helpful to me.

[flipd]

This is one of the first videos ive seen where its to the point. No b.s about other things or a 3 minute intro on begging for likes or subscribes.

[HybridBell]

any ohm but not above 4ohm! or your amp will short because of lack of resistance. 4ohm will make your woofer sound the full sound and 2ohm won't be that loud. but if you want your thing to last longer then i prefer you'd install an 2ohm.

[OUTLAW]

Short and straight to the point. Nice video

[XxKYFERxX]

Thanks for your help. I have recently taken the sub out of the enclosure and I could not find anything. I then rebuilt the enclosure as there was some slight damage to the carpet. I have never experience this rattling noise like this before at low volumes. Very strange. Thanks again

[Azrael]

It's likely that this remote or trigger wire is connected to a constant 5v line. (This line stays on even when car is turned off) what you may want to do is take a look at your car and splice the trigger wire to something that turns off when the car is off. So something like say your plate lights or in some cases the deck may have a dedicated trigger line out from it.

Hope this helps.

[AznBassAngler]

Hi! I saw that you are an expert on car audio. I have installed a Pioneer AVH X2800-BS in my 2000 Nissan Pathfinder w/ the Bose system. I did install the Scosche CNN02 adapter as well. I had it set up and it was sounding good, but I lost sound in all four speakers (first the front and then the rear) after about 30mins of use. A buzzing noise coming from under the front right fender started to occur once the sound was lost. I am wondering what is going on! Thanks

[inoahmann]

"Make sure you arn't in an enviroment where there is air" 1:41 Sorry I just had to point that out.

[mathesar]

Interesting, I have an older set of Orion XTR Series 2 12's (from the mid 90's old school) and they both measure 6.0 - 6.1 ohms on my multimeter yet they're rated @ 4ohms.

Just to verify it wasn't my multimeter's fault I tested a Pioneer 12" sub and it measures 4.1ohms (4ohm rating).

[LukeAshworth-nxho]

Well I have a blown 10 inch sub what should I do repair it or replace it and if I repair it how do I do so

[capamagic]

@hockeyforlife23 you can buy it in every electronics shop. Ask for a "MultiTester", many times is cheaper to buy the multitester than the ohmnimeter.

[danwiddison]

my vibe slick makes a farting noise when the bass beats hit when turned up. the speaker on the other channel is ok though. the farting one isnt solidly mounted though. Its sitting but the plastic clips have partially broken. Will a slightly loose fit on my parcel shelf really cause this or would you say its being overpowered? Says 80wrms max. My amp is infinity 150w per channel.