Brand new sub, dead in less than five minutes?

[Kaldonis]

So just last Friday I bought a used MSP (Spicy) from a Mazda Dealer in town. I realized after a day or two of driving that my subwoofer was blown, so when I let Mazda know they agreed to replace it no problem. When I took it in to them today they checked all the wiring etc to make sure it wasn't a problem with something else but they soon realized that it was indeed the sub that was blown, however, they said that the factory replacement was too expensive and they would rather replace it for me with something else from a local car audio shop. I wasn't about to argue after hearing all of the issues with the stock sub, so I went down to the car audio place they deal with and found out that there was really only one sub they had that would fit, an 8" Focal 21V2.

So after a bit of gentle persuasion, the installer had replaced my stock Kenwood sub with the Focal. We turned it on, it sounded great, and I was on my way. Well, before I could even get home, I noticed that the bass had stopped. I played with all of the settings on the deck to see if it had just been turned down or off, but nope. Nothing. No sub. The place is closed now so I'll have to wait until tomorrow until I go back but I can't understand why it would have died on me already. I don't think the sub is blown... the stock amp shouldn't have enough power to do that. Do you suppose it's more likely that my amp has now died? What's the easiest way to check if my amp works, aside from hooking up another sub?

 

[Low-Hz]

If you have a DMM you can check to see if the amp is putting out power. Also, the amp could be the problem here as well. If your amp isn't working properly it could be sending a clipped signal to your subwoofer causing them to blow prematurely.

If I were you, I would use a DMM, set it to alternating current, and see if the speaker wires going to your sub are putting out any power.

If you PM me we can go from there later on. I will be on tonight.

 

[Kaldonis]

I ended up doing just that this morning, the power wire running to the amp wasn't getting any voltage so I checked the fuse under the hood and sure enough, it was blown. It's all working good now, I just hope there isn't some underlying problem that caused the fuse to blow in the first place, I guess I'll know in a couple of days if it happens to blow again. Thanks for your help.

 

[Kaldonis]

Alright, well that same fuse blew again today and I can't figure out why. All the wiring is stock, the amp is stock, what could have possibly changed that is causing this fuse to blow? I was thinking maybe the wires running to the subwoofer are possibly crossed when he did the install but would that cause the fuse in the amp itself to blow or the fuse right next to the battery? Should I try running something a bit higher than a 15A fuse? No idea here.

 

[Low-Hz]

Alright, well that same fuse blew again today and I can't figure out why. All the wiring is stock, the amp is stock, what could have possibly changed that is causing this fuse to blow? I was thinking maybe the wires running to the subwoofer are possibly crossed when he did the install but would that cause the fuse in the amp itself to blow or the fuse right next to the battery? Should I try running something a bit higher than a 15A fuse? No idea here.

I can help you.

First off, when you are blowing fuses, the last thing you want to do is upgrade the size of your fuse. That is dangerous and not a good idea. What we need to do, is figure out what is causing the problem.

First off, what fuse is blowing? The only way to blow a fuse, is by sending too much current through the wire. If the same fuse has blown more than once, chances are there is a problem somewhere and it isn't the fuse. Let me know what fuse has the problem, and what wire the fuse is attached too. Also, check for any places after the fuse, that could potentially be grounded or any breaks in the wire.

You can PM me as well, if you want a quicker response.