cdhicks99 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Before ya'll start, I know that these are powered by the factory amp. I installed two brand new audiobahn 4x6 plates in the rear overhead locations. The speakers worked great upon testing (dangling from the ceiling) but when I put the right one in the hole it sparks like voltage going through ground! When it is in the hole the sound quality just plain sucks. I have reversed polarity still no good! Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Put rubber washers between the speaker and the mounting points? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 yeah, sounds like your wires may be touching the metal ceiling. insulate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordsho90 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 yeah electrical tape works wonders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdhicks99 Posted June 1, 2006 Author Share Posted June 1, 2006 Tried that but for that to work I would have to have plastic screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Tried that but for that to work I would have to have plastic screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 (edited) Tried that but for that to work I would have to have plastic screws. You don't need plastic screws, just put electric tape around the hot connector. Those metal screws should not be touching any hot leads. Edited June 1, 2006 by John Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Sounds like the connections to the speaker are in contact with the mount frame on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdhicks99 Posted June 2, 2006 Author Share Posted June 2, 2006 No, the frame of the speaker is what is sparking. There are no leads near the speaker that are touching metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyb33 Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 are you sure? no leads are contacting anything on the metal frame? positive? i had to do some trimming when i installed my rears... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 (edited) No, the frame of the speaker is what is sparking. There are no leads near the speaker that are touching metal. Then you have a short circuit, the voltage is not making it's complete cycle. In other words you have stray voltage, check the speakers circuit. Edited June 2, 2006 by John Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 In other words, unplug the speaker and use a digital volt/ohmmeter to measure resistance between the positive terminal and the negative terminal(should be 4 ohms). Then measure the resistance between the positive terminal and the metal frame of the speaker(should be infinite, no continuity), then the negative terminal and the frame(same). If continuity exists between either the positive or negative terminal and the frame, the speaker is defective and you'll have to return 'em for a new set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Ben~ Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 (edited) In other words, unplug the speaker and use a digital volt/ohmmeter to measure resistance between the positive terminal and the negative terminal(should be 4 ohms). Then measure the resistance between the positive terminal and the metal frame of the speaker(should be infinite, no continuity), then the negative terminal and the frame(same). If continuity exists between either the positive or negative terminal and the frame, the speaker is defective and you'll have to return 'em for a new set. That didn't really dumb it down much lol. Maybe I'm just the idiot though :X You did use electrical tape around it right? When I did mine I had to go back and retape it a few times, but when it wasn't taped it just didn't work at all; no sparks or anything. Also see if adding some insulation will help. Most new speakers come with a couple inches of the stuff, but if you don't have any it should be pretty cheap to pick up from WalMart or something... Putting that around any potential parts that could be touching wires might fix the problem. Or you can try what 88path said, if you understand what he's saying. While on the topic of speakers, did anyone else have a problem just getting the damn things up in there? I actually had to cut off some of the ceiling carpet just to get the speakers up in there, and even then it was tough getting the screws all the way in. Took me a few hours, and even after that then the speaker case wouldn't go back over them; I have a corner still kinda hanging down on both the rear speakers... Not a big deal, but just wondering if anyone else had the same sort of problems. The front ones were easy to install, rear ones were a bitch. Edited June 3, 2006 by ~Ben~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 Did anybody else see sparking as a red flag? Insulating your connections is straight forward enough for anybody, even if you're just using electrical tape. I've been working on car stereos in my rigs and my friends for over 10 years, and not once, no matter how crappy the wiring and no matter what was touching what, would the wiring to a speaker spark and continue to play. I'm assuming you mean the actual speaker wiring, not the power or ground to/from an amp, etc. I've seen some seriously messy situations. Maybe it would trip the circuits in an amp or deck, maybe blow a fuse, but that's it. And I've dealt with some BS high class P.O.S. engineering. But actively sparking speaker leads and it keeps going and playing? I'm thinking there is something else going on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdhicks99 Posted June 3, 2006 Author Share Posted June 3, 2006 I too have done hundreds of installs and never seen anything like it! It isn't comming from the leads, as we both know one of those gets grounded you get NO sound. My spark is coming when the speaker frame touches the cab. I am going to test the speaker as prescibed above this weekend. I will update then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I was unaware that a speaker frame carried any current. well, ya learn something new every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I was unaware that a speaker frame carried any current. well, ya learn something new every day. The speaker frame is not supposed to carry current and there lies the problem, 88 pathoffroad explainded it best, you need to take some readings from the speaker as it sounds like the speakers circuit is the culprit. Honestly if there new speakers I would return them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89_trailboss Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 what do you expect? there audiobaun.... 88 explaned it best. slap the old ones in and see if they spark. if they dont, then the audiobauns are @!*%(go figure...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I have an Audiobahn 15" subwoofer that's over 5 years old and it still pounds as if it were new... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdhicks99 Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 OK. I tested the speakers which were OK, then I took down the headliner and began trcing down the wire and found no noticable shorts. So I ran new speaker cable straight to the head unit. Problem resolved. While I had the headliner down I also fixed the rear window washer line that was clogged beyond belief. Question does the rear amp fead rear speakers and front amp feed front speakers. I know it sounds like a silly question but I have seen stranger things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdhicks99 Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 I have an Audiobahn 15" subwoofer that's over 5 years old and it still pounds as if it were new... I have heard from several sources (after I bought mine) that Audiobahn mids and highs are pretty crappy, even though their subs have a great reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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