There is nothing like having your own theater at home or in your car. A complete sound speaker with the addition of a subwoofer not only enrich the depth of sound, but also give you a better quality of sound.
However, what happens when a subwoofer malfunction? Can we repair it by ourselves?
Here is your step-by-step guide on how to fix a blown subwoofer.
What is a subwoofer?
A subwoofer is one of the components that make up your stereo system and play low-pitched sound frequencies known as bass. Therefore, it plays a crucial part in the quality of the speaker.
This accessory, often made of wood, consists of one or more woofers mounted in an amplifier enclosure to enhance the low-frequency range while the loudspeaker usually covers higher frequency.
A subwoofer enclosure comes in many different designs such as bass reflex, infinite baffle, tapped horn, acoustic suspension, and transmission line. Each type has an advantage and disadvantage in size, cost, and bass extension.
However, there is one thing in common that they are made to withstand air pressure and resist deformation.
This subwoofer is excellent for movie and music lovers, if you have one in your car, it will produce the deepest bass frequencies and enhance the sound quality.
There are two types of subwoofers you need to know; they are active and passive. However, the first one seems to be more popular than another.
The difference between these twos are the active subwoofer, sometimes called powered sub, has an amplifier housed in the same enclosure. Therefore, it receives power through the built-in amplifier.
The passive one, on the other hands, required power from an external source to operate because it does not contain an amplifier.
How do you know if your subwoofer is blown?
Before breaking your speaker all apart, you need to determine which subwoofer malfunctions. However, it is better to test all parts if you are not sure which one.
To identify the subwoofer that does not work, you need to get rid of other surrounding noises by turning off the engine and parking your car at a quiet location.
Next, you can play any type of song and place your ear next to the suspected broken subwoofer, and it is most likely to be fully blown when you hear a hiss, or you don’t hear anything. If the subwoofer seems to work well at low volume but produce a terrible sound when increased, then it is only partially broken.
However, if you hear any rattling sound, don’t be panic, this could be a loose crew or somethings placed against your subwoofer.
Another way to check whether your subwoofer works or not is to observe the dust cap in front vibrating when it’s in use, or you can use your hand to feel the vibration. A blown woofer will not vibrate at all.
Finally, a multimeter can also be used to identify a broken speaker by measuring the voltage in your car. If the reading shows positive when you place it on the subwoofer’s terminal, it is working.
On the other hand, if the multimeters show no sign, very high chance that there is a problem with your subwoofer, and the voice coil is damaged when the reading is at infinity ohms.
You should also remember to turn off the speaker and set the multimeters at zero ohms.
How to fix a blown subwoofer step by step
Now that we are already identified the blown one, the next step is to break down the speaker.
But first of all, you need to understand that subwoofers get damaged when they receive excessive sound.
When we play the sound too loud, the speaker voice coil will come apart from the voice coins, which creates a buzzing sound and cannot be able to produce the bass. It’s called a blown subwoofer.
The next following steps will show you how to fix a blown subwoofer.
Step 1: Detaching the speaker
Use a screwdriver to remove the speaker from its closure and take off all the wire attached.
Now you can see the surrounding that glues to the speaker frame, which is the one that you are supposed to detach gently with something sharp. You should be very careful when doing this because the frame edge is soft and vulnerable.
Step 2: Separating the voice coil and speaker cone
At this step, you can use a small knife to separate the voice coil slowly and speaker cone, then keep them aside together. Make sure you also remove all the wires inside.
Step 3: Fixing the voice coil
Use a rubber blower to wipe all the dust inside the voice coil, which is a cylinder wrapped with aluminum wires, and is responsible for amplifying the current passed through a speaker.
If the problem is the voice coil, you can simply replace it by placing the new one in the gap.
You should not forget to put the spider around the voice coil and place the cone back in the center of the voice coil after applying enough glue. After that, wait for it to dry in 24 hours.
Step 4: Fixing the speaker frame
Once it is dry, attach the speaker frame and the cone back in the right position. Now it comes to the critical part which is reassembling the parts of the subwoofer.
Step 5: Connecting the wires
At this final step, you should have every component of the subwoofer ready to piece together. You can use a soldering iron to weld the new voice coil wire with the old terminal wires.
If the new voice coil doesn’t have pre-attached wires, you can create one by making a hole in the cone and using a small wire to connect it with the old wires through that tiny hole.
Congrats! It’s so simple, all you need to do is to dismantle all the components with great care, replace the voice coil or voice cone with the new one, then put them back and connect the wire together.
Your blown subwoofer should be able to work again, and you can get to save loads of money for buying a new one or maintenance.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to fix a blown subwoofer, you can see it is rather easy and does not require any technical skill as long as you follow all those steps above and perform with great care.
If you think this article is useful, please help us share around to your friends who might have a problem with their speaker. You can also leave your comment below to tell us about your experience; we would love to hear from you.
