Fast simple and dumb question...

[jmeccia]

Ok, call me an idiot, but I dont want to be any dumber than I already am....

I replaced my factory speakers a couple weeks ago and the fronts are already blown (well the passenger side is). :mad:
SO, I went and got some new ones... actually nicer ones [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] and I already replaced the drivers one (the one that wasnt blown) but when I went to replace the passenger side I wanted to be sure that I have the positive and negative correct. Im thinking maybe I had them backwards when I put the speakers in and blew that side...?

I cant remember the color of the wires on the passenger side, but maybe someone here knows. I know that normally the darker color is considered negative, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Thanks!

[img]graemlins/dunce.gif[/img]

[Firebrd9783]

Dark green neg.
Light green Pos.

[megabass]

A simple way to tell without knowing wire colors is to put a tester on the wires with the radio on. If it reads positive, you got it. If it reads negative, then you need to reverse the wiring before connecting to the speaker.

[massivefirebird]

Are you powering them with your factory head unit, or aftermarket.

Another thing to consider is distortion... it can easily kill any speaker, even good ones.

What brand was the blown speaker? How much watts was it getting? Lastly, how loud do you play them?

I had temporarily changed my stock 6.5's, and the newer speakers added more treble, but mids suffered. So I put the stock ones back on. Then I blew them, because they were weak. Next, I put on the the rear 6.5's, and these actually sounded pretty good, but the thing that shocked me was that they play midbass and mids very well, and don't distort as fast as the originals did. I later replaced these with MB quarts, and I love them!

[jmeccia]

The speakers were Kenwood's. And yeah, I played them pretty loud, but I found out that the pass. speaker was reversed. oops. [img]graemlins/dunce.gif[/img]
But that's ok. becuase I just replaced them with Memphis' and they're awesome!
Thanks for the help!

[Brian Dieckman]

reversing the polarity on a speaker wil not cause it to "blow."

What kills speakers is distortion. When the speaker reaches it's excurstion maximum, all the extra energy to move that voice coil is wasted and converted to heat. Too much heat and the VC is toast.

Distortion can be caused by 1. giving your speakers more power than they can handle, 2. clipping the outputs on your amplifier/headunit.

If you're using the factory head (or even an aftermarket head) to power the speakers, you're going to start distorting (clipping the output) only slightly above "normal listening level" when cruising down the highway. (NLL is defined by RTA'ing a car at 65 MPH on a test track. the audio system should be able to produce distortion free audio in a specific frequency range 36-48db above the noise floor)

That's really not that loud. If you (like everyone on the planet) listen to music above that level, you're clipping your output and damaging your speakers. If you don't have one, for goodness sakes get an amplifier. (for the sake of your speakers and your ears)

Have fun with those speakers! (Don't sweat polarity too much, as long as they're the same all around, you're fine)

[jmeccia]

Man, I learn something new everyday... in fact several things when I check this site! :D [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I DID get an amp. Now I have a Phoenix Gold 75x4 powering the Memphis 6.5s and a Memphis 200x1 powering the JL Stealthbox! Incubus never sounded so good!! (well, except for being at the concert [img]smile.gif[/img] )

Thanks everyone!

[StarsCamaro]

Just thought I'd share a 'lil saying I learned while being trained as a car audio installer. When installing front door speakers and you question yourself as far as what color of wire is POS or NEG, always remember this... "The genie with the "LIGHT" brown hair is a "POSITIVE" thing"