Some car speakers blow out. I wonder why that is? I’m sitting in my garage. I have a blown car speaker in front of me, and I’m scratching my head. There’s got to be a reason why some car speakers blow. The car speaker is blown and you don’t know what to do next? Don’t worry, we’re here to give you a few tips on how to make sure that your car speaker doesn’t blow any time soon.
- Check the fuse – If the fuse is blown, it could be because of a short circuit. This can be caused by a faulty connection somewhere in the system.
- Check the wiring – If there are any loose wires or disconnected connections, that could be why your car speaker is blown.
- Check the amps – The amp might have been damaged from an electrical surge or from being overloaded with power for too long.
- Inspect the speaker – If a screw is loose or a spindle has been damaged, it may be time to repair.
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Why does my car speaker blow?
When a car speaker has been damaged, we often hear people say that the speaker has blown. But what is a blown speaker? What causes it?
A speaker that blows has stopped working. Sometimes it is because of a mechanical failure, like a broken wire or a crack in the speaker, or maybe something broke inside the speaker itself. Sometimes it is because of a thermal failure, meaning that the speaker has gotten too hot for too long and its electrical components have been damaged.
When a speaker is damaged, it is either because of movement that is larger than the speaker can handle, or because the inside parts melt and burn due to the excessive power going through them.
In addition to the above, we can damage speakers by listening to music that is too loud for too long or when speakers are old and internal parts are not as strong as new. This happens most often to the factory car speakers that are made from low-quality materials. Below are the most common causes of blown car speakers.
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Overpowering car speakers
Speakers are delicate. When you push them too hard, they will tear. It’s especially dangerous to push the low frequencies, because the speaker cone moves a lot. The voice coil is pushing the cone, and if it moves too far, it will break the connection between the speaker cone and the suspension.
The majority of damage to the paper cones is caused by humidity, causing music distortion and crackling sounds. In severe cases, when the cone is disconnected with either the amp or its surroundings, the speaker ceases to operate.
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Clipping amplifier
When an amplifier is too weak, it can blow your tweeters.
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Volume set too high
Listening to music at too high of a volume can cause damage to the speaker. The speaker receives more energy than it can handle, causing the thin wires in the voice coil to overheat. If an amplifier that is too powerful is connected to a speaker that is too weak, the speaker will overheat. This can lead to burning or melting other parts. But this rarely happens and is usually found in low-quality systems.
A common mistake among novice speaker users is to play them at high volume through a low-quality amp.
For example, if we have 300W RMS speakers and a small 50W amplifier powers them, we often do not hear the music’s expected dynamic. As an effect, we turn the volume up to the maximum. This, however, does not help. If a head unit or amplifier is not powerful enough to meet the speaker’s needs, then the signal will be distorted.
If the amplifier is too small and cannot handle the vibration, the speaker will sound bad. In the worst case, it will blow. The speaker’s weakest part will be destroyed because of the large and unstable vibrations of the voice coil.
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Incorrectly set crossover’s pass filters.
Crossovers that are set wrong or incorrectly can damage your speakers. Tweeters are particularly vulnerable to this, since they are designed to handle higher frequencies and not deep bass. When a tweeter is asked to play a low frequency, the cone vibrates too much, which causes the speaker to be damaged permanently.
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Speaker is mounted in a too large enclosure
The wrong size of the speaker enclosure is another common cause of blown speakers, and this does not just apply to subwoofers, but also to speakers installed in car doors. When the enclosure is too large, the pressure does not create the required sound. The effect is unstable cone movements, which can damage the surround. The same can happen to the door speakers. You may listen to loud music, and over time, it can affect their surround.
When you build your bass box, follow the manufacturer’s recommendation. It is better for the speaker when you build a box that is a little too small than one that is too large. If a speaker is enclosed in a small box, the air pressure will be too high and the speaker will overheat.
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Can I fix the blown car speaker?
If a speaker is broken, most people will simply replace it, but sometimes repairs are the best option. If a speaker is unique or expensive, it may be more cost-effective to repair it instead of buying a new one. Replacing the sound in a car after a refurbishment is not a simple task. If it is not done correctly, the car will feel like it was not refurbished at all. This is why only professionals should be doing these repairs.
If you have a speaker that is damaged, you may be able to use a repair kit to fix it. This kit may contain the original parts of the speaker that is damaged.
There are simple repairs of car speakers that can be done at home. For example, you can replace the speaker’s surround or fix the cracked cone. If you would like to learn more about speaker repairs, here is a step-by-step guide on how to repair the broken cone.
Blown speakers are a common problem, but they are not the only problem. More importantly, we need to figure out why the speakers blew in the first place. Speakers do not blow out during normal working conditions. If you do not address the underlying issue, the same problem will happen again with the repaired or new speakers.
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How to prevent car speakers from blowing?
It is not always possible to prevent car speakers from blowing. However, by reducing the probability of speakers blowing, we can keep them in great shape longer. Many speakers blow because they are too weak to handle the power of the rest of the audio system or because they are not correctly set up or installed. The most susceptible part of the speaker is the voice coil, which is easily damaged if not treated with care.
If your speaker’s voice coil is damaged, you have to throw it away. To increase its lifetime, you should follow a few simple rules. Use correct passive crossover, or make proper set-up for active crossover. A crossover for a speaker system should be proportionate. An active crossover is a filter that separates sound into different frequencies and sends them to the appropriate speaker, but we have to make sure we set it correctly.
A good practice is to set the crossover frequency in your speakers slightly higher than the manufacturer recommends. This is because the technical specifications do not reflect how your speakers actually operate.
For example, if we read that the speaker works from 60Hz, don’t set the crossover at exactly 60Hz. Instead, set it higher like 65Hz or 70Hz. This will reduce the risk of speaker damage when playing high volume at a lower frequency and will increase the speaker’s lifetime.
It’s like going way too fast on a car. Even when you take your car to a race track, you don’t keep it at the highest RPM. The same applies for the speakers in your car. They should not play high or low frequencies at the highest volume.
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Do not overpower or under power the speakers.
When you use a car audio system, it is important to make sure the power matches the speakers. If not, the speaker will be over- or underpowered and the audio quality will suffer. The best way to match speakers and amplifiers is to use an amplifier that has 50% more power than the speaker.
For example, if we have a 100W speaker, only 150W of power should be provided by the amplifier. Make sure to check continuous RMS power and not any other irrelevant type of power. Amplifier power should be controlled according to the needs of individual speakers. When your amplifier is too powerful for the speaker, you should reduce its power on the control panel.
If you are using a speaker system with weak amplifiers, you may have to be careful about how loud you turn up the volume. If the amplifiers cannot produce enough power for the speakers, these speakers can blow. If you continue to blast your speakers at full volume, you should consider purchasing a new amplifier. This will protect your speakers and enable them to operate with enhanced sound quality for a long time.
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Prevent speakers from physical damage.
For optimum sound quality, the grill must cover the speaker cone. This is especially true if you live in a place where things are jostled around a lot. If you want your speakers to last, never place anything sharp or big near them.
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Use the right size enclosure.
For subwoofers, it is best to use an enclosure that is not too large. Otherwise, the vibrations of the cone will cause damage to the speaker or its surroundings. It is better for a speaker when it is placed in an enclosure that is too small than too large.
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Conclusion :
There are many possible explanations for why your car speakers might be blown. The most common is that you’re driving around town with the volume up too high and the bass turned up. This will cause the speaker to blow within a few months, or even weeks.
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