Burned wire smell in the truck after adding sub woofer

I am not scared, but concerned enough about the smell in my truck that I noticed this evening after the sub woofer was installed this morning to ask about it. There were some connections that had to be reconnected because they came loose in the install....but I don't think that the installer did anything wrong with the connections.

I smell a burned wire smell in the truck that is not like smoke....but a smell that smells a bit like electrical burn. I touched the amplifier after making a short trip to the store to see if it was running hot and it was very cool to the touch. I got under the seat and smelled...and the amplifier area did not smell like the electrical burn smell.

The rear speakers, (the ones that are in the top of the cab of the access cab tacos) were tuned to low power on the amplifier....so I don't think that is where the smell is coming from.

Speed wire was installed for the front speakers and subwoofer so I think that those wires are okay.

Any thoughts?

 

when did you first notice the smell? It could be something that happened when it was installed and is still lingering. If so I would go back to whoever installed it and ask. If not please give more details on when you first noticed. Also helpful would be info on whether or not other problems are evident such as blown fuses or system not working.

A voice coil could be burning up and the speaker still working but dying and will eventually fail.

 

Or the installer could have done some soldering inside the vehicle and burnt some wire insulation with the iron.

I would drop by and ask. Electrical fires are a real pain, I wish you the best.

 

Push on the cone of your woofer and see if it has begun to start making a scratching noise.

Most likely, the gain settings are improperly set and are overdriving the woofer causing the voice coil to overheat and there's your "hot" smell.

Typically, once you have that smell, the damage is done. Pull the woofer and measure the voice coil with an ohm-meter and see if the resistance is rising above 4-ohms, or maybe even reading open.

Some woofers do have a break in period, but not likely with an Alpine 8".

I would take it back to the shop that installed it and have them check their work. You may be needing a new woofer and some adjustments.

 

I'm hoping that it was just a smell from the work. I aired the truck out and it isn't as noticeable. (Crossing my fingers)

 

Aye get it looked at,



my last truck with a failed cap

 

......just another reason you don't need a capacitor, truck fires.


So you just added this sub, when you bump for a while is the cone (towards the center) warm?

 

I will check...but the smell is not as bad as it was that first night.
I don't really use the sub in a big way...just to fill in the bass. I doubt that I am overpowering the ability of the sub at all. But....I will check that out.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.