crackling sound from tower speaker

[jcon44]

Hey guys, I was recently made aware of some noise/feedback from one of my tower speakers, Exile sxt65's. I ran them int he driveway and it is noticeable, and more so as i up the volume. I was told that my tweeter was bad so I ordered up a new tweeter from Exile and replaced it Sunday to find out that didn't change anything. I am hoping the whole unit is not spent. has anyone else had this issue? or have any suggestions on trouble shooting I should try. Thanks,

[Earmark Marine]

jcon44,

There can be a number of issues within or external to the speaker.

If the noise is timed with a dynamic music transient, particular note or passage, then it is probably in the speaker, but not guaranteed.

First, switch the left and right speakers on the tower or pull down the speaker in question and play it on another source.

Then restore the speakers as they were and reverse the channels at the amplifier terminals. If the noise follows the same speaker in both cases then you have eliminated both the amplifier plus anything else upstream in the signal path and the tower wiring. If not then you have at least isolated the cause to something non-speaker. In that case, the trouble-shooting conversation will go in another direction.

Let's say that in the above sequence you confirm the noise is generated from the speaker. In that event, it could be the tweeter, passive crossover element or midbass driver.

You can also disconnect the tweeter and play the midbass driver alone.

If you are handy with a $10 multimeter then you can do a few measurements that would help isolated the exact component.

There are also some physical inspections that you can do once the speaker is removed from the pod. I can give you a list.

If you get it to this point and you are not confident in your own diagnosis, and before you decide the speaker is spent, send the speaker to the dealer or manufacturer as they know exactly how to make a quick diagnosis.

David

[jcon44]

thanks David, I was thinking along the same lines of moving the speakers around but you gave me allot more to think about. I will try moving the speaker 1st to make sure that it is the speakers an go from there. I may be able to do that part tonight and let you know what i find. Thanks for helping out.

[jcon44]

FYI David, i moved the speakers around and it seems to be isolated to the one mount. So it looks like its not an issue with the speaker. I'm not sure if that good news or not but at least that is ruled out. I've been told to maybe check the cables and wiring at and from the amp. If you have any other thoughts feel free to chime in.

[Bobby Light]

Check the wiring at the clam in in the tower for damage. If you have butt splices you'll want to check on those too.

[Bobby Light]

I would take the speaker off the tower and hook it up to your home receiver to see if its something I internal to the speaker or in the signal path, that should shorten up your troubleshooting.

[jcon44]

Check the wiring at the clam in in the tower for damage. If you have butt splices you'll want to check on those too.

yes, i think this is my next step. thanks, I did use butt splices originally, are they prone to issues. what should i be using, soldering everything?

[Bobby Light]

yes, i think this is my next step. thanks, I did use butt splices originally, are they prone to issues. what should i be using, soldering everything?

Not necessarily prone to issues if they are installed correctly. You absolutely have to have the correct crimp tool for a quality crimp or they will likely fail or have a loose connection. Might be worth just cutting off and replacing your butt splices, at that time you could take the speaker off and check it on your home theater receiver to make sure it's not something with the speaker itself. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone per say.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Bobby Light

[Brianinpdx]

jcon44 - Suggest you contact Exile tech support. They can walk you thru step by step procedures on trouble shooting. A lot of good info has been mentioned here but they can help you in real time so your not going back and forth. I'll pm you the info... as to not spam the thread. -Brian

[Earmark Marine]

FYI David, i moved the speakers around and it seems to be isolated to the one mount. So it looks like its not an issue with the speaker. I'm not sure if that good news or not but at least that is ruled out. I've been told to maybe check the cables and wiring at and from the amp. If you have any other thoughts feel free to chime in.

jcon44,

Glad you narrowed it down. As previously discussed, by switching the speakers up top and by switching the wires down below at the amplifier (one process at a time) you can absolutely confirm whether it is in the tower harness or within a connector or disconnect within that same path. You can even run left to right crossing jumpers up above to isolate the collar connections. The speakers do not have to leave the boat for a concrete diagnosis.

Keep this in mind. An intermittent connection, whether opened/closed by vibration or the additional current flow, can open and close faster than you can audibly detect the chatter. This condition can sound like a blown speaker when it is not.

Another recommendation is that anytime you are using a quick-disconnect collar make certain that the upper-lower collar overlap on both sides is absolutely symmetrical.

Personally, I like 100% solder and heatshrink. Doing high current DC lighting will demonstrate how much lower the resistance can be with solder & heatshrink as the crimps can get very warm.

David