Asking for repair advice for a w6 subwoofer...

Ty_Max

Sorry for having a non scion question but...google is being useless...
I have a w6 which I have had for about 2 years now. I just recently bought another one to completely utilize my amp. So I am having a fun time bumping it then I realize from the older sub their is a weird distortion sound on certain bass. It sounds like it is leaking air...So I go back to it and push the sub in when it doesn't have any power going to it. It has a whistle of air so I do some research and find out that it is most likely a torn surround...

Does anyone have any further advice on this or another thing that may be wrong? I heard rubber cement to that area does a decent job at repairing the area...I mean the sub cost like 250 and I don't want to have to buy another one if I can fix it for under 50. I did check it and it looks like it is a little torn apart but not all the way through...but it may be my eyes...

:bow: :bow: Thank you all mighty scionlife

mattieg · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Posts: 918

If you bought the sub from a JL audio dealer then you can send it to JL to get it fixed, has to be less than a year old. Also if it is a torn surround you would be able to see it. My advice would be to take a digital volt meter and set it on ohms. Test each voice coil on the sub itself. Each side (if it is a dual voice coil) should read 4 ohms, or 8. If it reads zero then it is a blown voice coil.

Ty_Max · Posted: 9/2/08 9:36PM Post subject:

^thanks for the info...
I hope the rubber cement works for the surround...
If not I probably do have a blown voice coil...then I am fubared...unless you can actually get those repaired for a decent amount...

mattieg · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Posts: 918

Eh I would really call JL audio on that one. I mean its such a nice subwoofer and I would hate to see it held together with rubber cement. The cement would probably come apart because the sub is pretty diesal.

vettereddie · Posted: 9/3/08 6:37AM Post subject:

RTV silicone does a lot better than rubber cement if you can find the tear. Seal it from the back side to make the repair look clean. When I get the whistle sound though, it's usually because the box isn't sealing. This happens from the speaker not sitting flush, the foam gasket on the back side being worn or damaged, or having a hole somewhere in the box, like around the wire terminals or in a corner.

When you put the new sub in, did you take the old one out at any point?

Ty_Max · Posted: 9/3/08 10:46PM Post subject:

^Weirdly enough you are exactly right...
Damn super autobacs...sold me a faulty box..
After getting a huge head ache from listening for the sound..
Finally found it..
SUCH A TINY hole...
Can't even see it on the inside..
but it is coming from there ....its like the didnt screw it down or glue it all the way in the top corner of the side...
Lammmeee...

Sooo...anyone have good ideas for sealing it?
...Already used the rubber cement to fix some of the tears in the old w6 maybe I can just use it for that too?

vettereddie · Posted: 9/4/08 5:11AM Post subject:

Rubber cement is not what you want to use. It stays pliable, you want something stiffer. For the inside of boxes, coat the seams with liquid nails. The clear silicone sealant works well too, do you have a caulking gun? They work much better than the smaller foil tubes.

mattieg · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Posts: 918

So true, well good luck. Its an easy fix and a hundred times better than fixing a sub.

nebster · Joined: 08 Jan 2006 Posts: 7754 Location: team SOLO

omg DO NOT REPAIR YOUR SUB WITH RUBER CEMENT OR SILICONE.

they make special speaker glue that you need to use. unless everything is lined up perfectly you're going to end up damaging it even more. please god take it to a place that does this for a living

Clean_XB · Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 183 Location: Brea, CA

you scared me for a bit tyler. I thought you were going to say that you just blew that new w6 I sold you. I agree you should take it to a reconning specialist to have repairs done to it. If memory serves me right, I believe there was one in the Santa Fe Springs area a few years back....I know they reconned a w6v1 for my friend who was running 3 12's in his bug

Just a side note, im selling 2 brand new 12w6v1's now. Anniversary Edition. Yes NEW.....they were hard to come by

Ty_Max · Posted: 9/4/08 12:22PM Post subject:

^STop buying stuff and get a tc already haha

vettereddie · Posted: 9/4/08 1:30PM Post subject:

For the RTV, I use that in the event of the surround being punctured only, not for cone separation. No disassembly is required for that one, though how long it holds out is questionable.

I'm suggesting liquid nails though to fix the leak coming from the corner of the box. If there's cone separation, get it repaired professionally.

Clean_XB · Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 183 Location: Brea, CA

Ty_Max wrote: ^STop buying stuff and get a tc already haha

its coming. I had those already even when I sold you the w6w2. I was just holding on to them, as they are so rare now I didnt want to give them up but desperate times call for desperate measures.

shame on you for buying a cheap autobachs box for those woofers. You need to build something closer to spec. Always build the enclosure to fit the driver, not the other way around.

Recommending hitting a lowes, or all american center, as those are the only 2 that will cut 3/4 MDF in LA for some reason. Make something simple and draw out your cuts. buy the sheet from lowes and have them make the cuts. Cost me about $35 last time I did it and that included the liquid nails and 1 1/2 inch drywalls screws.

Keystone in La Palma, CA, right next to frys sells enclosure carpeting for about $4 a yard, so snatch up about 3 yards.....just to make sure.

Make each chamber about .65cu ft before driver for each driver. predrill and make all your screw points about 2 inches apart. liquid nail everything together. leave the lid for the 2 10inch cutouts for last. have someone with a handsaw cut it out for you. Liquid nail the lid, drill for speaker terminals, liquid nail those as well and carpet using 3M super adhesive.

you just built a spec box for darn near under $50, which is ironically what most crappy premade boxes cost , except yours will be super sturdy, super sealed, and made to your design/specs

Ty_Max · Posted: 9/5/08 2:30AM Post subject:

vettereddie wrote: For the RTV, I use that in the event of the surround being punctured only, not for cone separation. No disassembly is required for that one, though how long it holds out is questionable.

I'm suggesting liquid nails though to fix the leak coming from the corner of the box. If there's cone separation, get it repaired professionally.

Thanks much
You were right on the dot
Thumbs up for you

Ty_Max · Posted: 9/5/08 2:32AM Post subject:

Clean_XB wrote: Ty_Max wrote: ^STop buying stuff and get a tc already haha

shame on you for buying a cheap autobachs box for those woofers. You need to build something closer to spec. Always build the enclosure to fit the driver, not the other way around.

I know I knoww :(...But my friend works there and he asked his buddy if it should be fine for two w6's and he said yes...Probably shouldn't trust them..They are all retards anyways usually.