Fix Your Subwoofer

[msmith66]

Hello Everyone, Years in the music business have taught me a few things about speakers. Recently, my subwoofer in my '98 Expedition Eddie Bauer started buzzing and popping. I was pretty sure I would have to replace it but I was able to repair it. If the sub makes no noise and the resistance across the 2 terminals when it is disconnected is infinite, you will have to replace the sub or have it reconed - the voice coil is open. Don't ask me who can recone it - I have no idea but check with your local pro music store. However, if your sub is still making sound but you would describe it as a buzzing, popping, crackling, distorted type of sound dig it out and take a look at it. I won't go into the details of how to get it out but it takes about 45 minutes and is fairly easy. It basically requires the removal of all the trim and seat belt bolts from the rear of the rear passenger door to the drivers side of the tailgate. When you pull the sub from the black enclosure it is mounted in (and you have to take it all the way out - there is a bolt in the back) and remove the black plastic grill (just pry it up carefully) you will probably find that the foam surround that suspends the top of the speaker cone in its frame has deteriorated and separated from the spider. This allows the voice coil to touch the sides of the channel it lives and and causes this awful noise. It will look like this... Now be careful when you are handling the speaker like this. If you distort the cone or cause the voice coil to become misaligned in its slot you will never get it to sound right. Get your hot glue gun out and ready. I used standard hot glue for mine. It is the same type of glue speakers are built with originally. Lay the speaker on its magnet and let the cone rest as naturally on the foam suspension as possible. Don't press down on the cone or try to get the edges of the surround to meet - the glue will do this just fine. Apply enough glue to make the connection between the foam surround and the frame like this... But don't use too much glue - it will interfere with the plastic grill when you put it back together. Use just enough to bridge the gap and make a good connection. Go all the way around the speaker and let it sit for 10 minutes or so to stiffen up. The finished product should look like this... Reverse your assembley to the point you can test the speaker. You might find the plastic grill doesn't want to sit flatly on the frame but its ok - just screw it down so its tight and won't rattle and forget about it. Mine sounds as good as it did the day it was new. Maybe a tad better cause it didn't cost me $150. If it doesn't work you're not out much. and would have had to do most of this work anyway to replace it. Let me repeat - if your sub is not making noise before you take it out, it is unlikely to be fixed by this process. I hope you're as lucky as I was. Enjoy - Matt

[krewzn_along]

Matt,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I just hot glued my woofer speaker cone back together and it sounds sweet! My daughter thanks you too since our Expy is now her daily driver.

The subwoofer has been 'cracking' for over a year. Maybe a lot of age (we're the original owner of this '97 EB 4WD 5.4) plus a teenager's cranking the music were to blame. I had been considering replacing it or, more recently, just disconnecting it. I took it apart today and tried listening with no sub. The sound is pretty poor. Then I recalled I had read your post a year ago and went looking for it. Now our Expy sounds sweet again on the inside!

Way to go Matt and FTE!

[nistech414]

Yeah I did something similar with mine but I used black RTV gasket maker. I plan on replacing the sub at some point so I just wanted a temporary fix. Still works good so I'm just going to leave it for now.

[msmith66]

Glad it was a help to you! My Expy has been gone for a year now - I can only work on my wife's explorer now!