I spilt beer on my sub!! :-(

[SPDJ]

Yep, I know what you are probably thinking. And yes I am thinking it it too. 'What a plonker' :daft: :)

I DJ'd for my friends house party and brought my sub (it was a huge living room with no neighbors).

At some point in the small hours I was totally steaming. Put a can of fosters on the corner of my sub and it toppled over due to the vibrations!

To make matters worse, in the low light I picked up the can upside down the the rest of the beer spilled out!!

My sub is now not working as some beer must have gone in the amp.

Is the only form of repair a straight forward amp replacement or to get an electrician to clean the circuitry of beer stains?

[hammy]

I sell ex military laptops that are waterproof to a certain extent and one day a customer rang me up and said he dropped it in 5 foot of seawater what shoud he do, I told him to rinse it with cold fresh water and let it dry naturally for a week then try it, He rang me back to say it was working fine.

Wether or not you could do it with a sub I have no idea, But hey if you have to buy a new sub why not try it

[rossken]

I sell ex military laptops that are waterproof to a certain extent and one day a customer rang me up and said he dropped it in 5 foot of seawater what shoud he do, I told him to rinse it with cold fresh water and let it dry naturally for a week then try it, He rang me back to say it was working fine.

Wether or not you could do it with a sub I have no idea, But hey if you have to buy a new sub why not try it

I was told that once too.

I was being trained on a Jester DMX Desk and one thing I remember the bloke saying was...

"If you spill Coke on it, rinse it with water as soon as possible"

As Hammy said, worth a try.

[Cowlinn]

I see the logic, as it's not the liquid that does the damage. It's the sugar/salt that messes it up.

Spill fresh, clean water on your gadgets and providing you let it dry and don't turn it on while it\s wet, you should be fine.

So definitely worth a try.

[hammy]

Just to add if you left it on after the spill you may be outta luck, or if you heard a pop or fizzle

[axeman]

i would strip the amp out first if poss, otherwise your gonna end up with a waterlogged sub !

[Digital Jack]

your gonna end up with a waterlogged sub !


Now that's a quote and a half....

Don't forget to close the hatch.

[yourdj]

I do not get it. did it seep into it? Its a sealed mackie?

Have you got it in to the cone?

do not switch it on. strip it out if poss and leave it somewhere warm for a few days. then do the opposite to what I just said :)

[Takeiteasy]

What sub is it ?

[SPDJ]

hey guys,

Its a Mackie SWA1501

I don't think any beer went on the cone (the cone that was recently installed).

It's not totally sealed as it has vents on the back to prevent over heating.

Oh, some plastic-smelling smoke started coming out of it on the night as well . . . . It was at that point in my drunken glory i realized there could be danger and turned it off and unplugged it.

I think the amp is caput as I stupidly switched it on next morning. Light comes on to show theres power, but no sound at all :(

[Takeiteasy]

There's 4 fuse's inside those amps buddy - check them first :)

[SPDJ]

Hey Takeiteasy,

I'm a bit confused by your post. I thaught fuses generally protect against electrical surges and don't do alot with regard to water/liquid damage prevention???

Or am i tying myself in knots here? :confused:

[yourdj]

Hey Takeiteasy,

I'm a bit confused by your post. I thaught fuses generally protect against electrical surges and don't do alot with regard to water/liquid damage prevention???

Or am i tying myself in knots here? :confused:

Have you turned it on again? I would seriously leave it for a few days in an airing cupboard. :)
Strip it apart first.

If it does not work have a look at the sub I have its really good.

[SPDJ]

Toby,

I stupidly turned it on the next day. that was when i noticed that although the power light was on, no sound was coming out so definatly an amp problem.

This was last saturday I have not turned it on since.

replacing it with another sub is an option, though I reckon replacing/repairing the amp is a more cost effective solution.

It is afterall a very good powerful sub though I know there are better ones out there for the similar price.

I could always get a new sub and sell the cab and cone seperatly? hmmmm

[Ajaysdisco]

Hey Takeiteasy,

I'm a bit confused by your post. I thaught fuses generally protect against electrical surges and don't do alot with regard to water/liquid damage prevention???

Or am i tying myself in knots here? :confused:

Fuses protect against too much current flow, this is often caused by a short.
In your case the liquid may have caused a short between the PCB tracks or across a component.

[Takeiteasy]

Have you taken the amp out yet ?
Have you checked all the fuse's ?

[SPDJ]

Have you taken the amp out yet ?
Have you checked all the fuse's ?

Havn't got round to it yet. I will look at it on monday.

Takeiteasy, the only experience I have with electronics was my Grade C at GCSE (ie, not alot lol).

Please can you reply back with some recommendations/instructions for me to carry in order to diagnose the problem by Monday?? That would be very useful.

Thanks :beer1: !

[Takeiteasy]

Well am no electronics engineer am afraid... but i do know that these subs have a number of fues inside which do tend to blow for some reason(s)

Now depending on when your sub was made it could have 3 or 4 fuses inside of it.... there quite well hidden but they are there lol

Check them and replace if need be - turn on (with fingers crossed) and you might just find your problem is sorted :)

We have a number of these units in stock and i would say this happens around 3 times a year for us

[yourdj]

Toby,

I stupidly turned it on the next day. that was when i noticed that although the power light was on, no sound was coming out so definatly an amp problem.

This was last saturday I have not turned it on since.

replacing it with another sub is an option, though I reckon replacing/repairing the amp is a more cost effective solution.

It is afterall a very good powerful sub though I know there are better ones out there for the similar price.

I could always get a new sub and sell the cab and cone seperatly? hmmmm

Switching it on was a mistake.

Give this bloke a call. Denis - 07950217808.

He is up my way so you can pop in for a coffee and an egg and bacon sandwich.
Have you got any gigs?

I have my 10 inch LD sub but may be lending that out this week.

[Takeiteasy]

Did you check the fuse's ?

[Corabar Entertainment]

Did you check the fuse's ?Is it Monday?


Havn't got round to it yet. I will look at it on monday.

[Takeiteasy]

Sorry... i tend to lose track of what it is by Tuesday lol

[SPDJ]

Okay turned the sub on this afternoon and . . . .

IT WORKS!!!! :) :) :)

The sub now works after being switched off for over a week! My only guess is that it must have over heated since the sub was backed into a corner of the room with the rear just a few inches from the wall.

I remember one of the lights around the back showing, but I was too laggard to know it was the thermal indicator!!

The sub K.O.'d seconds after I split beer all over the place. Thankfully was just co incidence!

The next question I have is: To avoid ever blowing a speaker/woofer, is it possible to replace with a speaker designed to handle a higher wattage than the amp you have got?

The reason for me asking is I have also had the speaker re coned in January. Since then the sound gets pretty awful when I start pushing the sub past the normal level. By normal I mean the 'normal' setting on the volume knob. Its sort of a 'farty' sound where the cone keeps hitting the back of the cone frame as it vibrates.

I think the re cone people re coned with a more 'flimsy' membrane designed for a bigger coil diameter, hence the cone vibrates back and forward too much for what was designed for the frame.

So would it be a good idea to, buy a 15" 700W with a 4" Diameter speaker (Eminence Definimax 4015LF) as opposed to getting a cone with the same specs as the original Mackie one (15" 500W with a 3" Diameter, possibly Eminence 500W Kappa Pro 15" DJ PA Speaker).

Thanks in advance.

[Takeiteasy]

''Okay turned the sub on this afternoon and . . . . IT WORKS!!!''

Good to hear... :)

[Digital Jack]

The next question I have is: To avoid ever blowing a speaker/woofer, is it possible to replace with a speaker designed to handle a higher wattage than the amp you have got?

The reason for me asking is I have also had the speaker re coned in January. Since then the sound gets pretty awful when I start pushing the sub past the normal level. By normal I mean the 'normal' setting on the volume knob. Its sort of a 'farty' sound where the cone keeps hitting the back of the cone frame as it vibrates.

I think the re cone people re coned with a more 'flimsy' membrane designed for a bigger coil diameter, hence the cone vibrates back and forward too much for what was designed for the frame.

So would it be a good idea to, buy a 15" 700W with a 4" Diameter speaker (Eminence Definimax 4015LF) as opposed to getting a cone with the same specs as the original Mackie one (15" 500W with a 3" Diameter, possibly Eminence 500W Kappa Pro 15" DJ PA Speaker).

Thanks in advance.


Hey , good to find it's still working.

On your 2nd question , have you spoke to the bloke who reconed your driver ?
A recone is ( by my understanding) carried out with a recone kit , which (by design) is custom made for the drive unit that's being repaired.
It sounds more like the recone isn't aligned correctly.

If you want a totally new drive unit - you may consider going over to the forums on the Mackie website.
There's a whole load of info' on their subs , and you don't need to register in order to read the posts in the forum.

[yourdj]

The sub now works after being switched off for over a week!

Well you know you will never be able to sell it on here :D

Get a new sub if I were you, it has never been right. My 12 inch LD is bassier.

[Digital Jack]

My 12 inch LD is bassier.



Are you proud of your sub :confused: I don't know why I think that :D .
Have you got a link ?

[Happy Jack]

The sub now works after being switched off for over a week!

Excellent!



I think the re cone people re coned with a more 'flimsy' membrane designed for a bigger coil diameter, hence the cone vibrates back and forward too much for what was designed for the frame.

I'll have to echo what Jack has said - if that is the case then they clearly haven't done their job properly. Perhaps suggest they use something like the WT3 software from Dayton Audio in order to 'prove' their recones and compare measured T/S parameters with that of the original working driver. I am aware of a few companies who effectively 'sign off' their repairs this way.

Not that I'd recommend it at this stage, but a few coats of thinned PVA or damar varnish brushed on to the cone may help stiffen / dampen it. Although if they have bodged the recone or you are running your outputs to hot, then you'll have to address that first.

I wouldn't budget for it just yet, but IIRC the Eminence Kappa Pro 15F is a suitable replacement for your sub.

http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_p--project_27__b--EKP15LFA

[TONYTIGER]

I think i have said this many times Mackie have switched to Eminence drivers ,not up to the job imho lots of posts on the net re driver failures.

[Takeiteasy]

+1 You cant beat RCF :)