Subwoofer and rain

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RideTheCrash

RideTheCrash

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This past week I drove up north to visit my parents camping at their RV, and I guess the night they got there they had a bad thunderstorm the first night. My dad had this subwoofer and it's covering flew off I guess so it got wet on the front and sides. He tried it afterwards and it's really quiet in volume. He bought a new one, but he was wondering if the old one was worth trying to salvage.

We opened up the back and all the circuity looked fine. When I got home I managed to get the front grille off and the dust cover of the speaker was all wrinkled from being wet. So I think the verdict must be rain got in the speaker and messed it up? I don't really think the rain got the circuity parts at the back anyway.
 
See if the woofer is free to move in and out when you push on it (gently). There should be no scraping, and the only resistance hould be pretty linear and feel like it's coming from the suspension.
To check the power amp, I would find a different speaker hooked to the speaker leads. If it powers that fine you should be OK.

The most likely culprits would be deformed speaker components like the spider, cone, surround, coil (depending on what they're made of ie poly cone will not deform.
Corrosion on metal/metal connectors. Internal plugs/connectors, pots, input plugs, relays, fuse holders, etc.

Generally, you can get most any modern electronics components wet without damaging them. But if it was plugged in while it was wet/damp. That will almost surely toast it.
 
I threw in an 8" 8 ohm speaker and it sounded about the same. Kind of hard to tell. Threw the subwoofer speaker into a vocal cab and it sounded normal compared to another 8" speaker in there. It was apparently plugged in, so while nothing looks corroded or funny to me (mind you I'm not that experienced), I'm gonna guess it's the amp.

Oh well, maybe I'll throw in a 1/4" jack and make it a passive cab for my brother or something.
 
If it has a volume knob (aka potentiometer or "pot"), they don't particularly like to get wet. Since you're saying that it has some output, and that the speaker is behaving with another amp, you may just need to clean out or replace the pot.

Try pulling the knob off and gently blow down the shaft of the pot, with a hair dryer (why do I feel funny writing this...) :D

Seriously though-- if there's some water or water-borne crud in the interior of it, then you're effectively turning the volume way down. There are also "tuner cleaner" sprays you can get at Radio Shack that will clean out the inside if you can get the stuff in there. Worst case, it's possible to replace that component (but you gotta consider how much effort to put into the repair at some point...).

Good luck!
 
Okay, I'll check the pot. It's not worth taking in for repair, so if I can pull it off myself then that's fine. Thanks.
 
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