Left sub on my stereo speakers doesn't work after car journey.

[Maks Swiderek]

I bought a set of Wharfedale Rubiance RB-25 speakers to go with my pioneer amp and pioneer cd player (can't remember model number but 1980's tech). They were sold to me as a set and I tested before taking them home.

Each speaker has two parts - an upper speaker and a lower (sub?) speaker head.
The 'sub' on one of the speakers won't work. I've tried rewiring in all possible combinations on both speakers and the amp. The cables are 100% not at fault and neither is the amp or cd player as i've tested with other audio inputs and tested by plugging the cd player into a "tuner" input on the sub to check if the contacts on the back of the amp were at fault.

I bought new wiring and rewired the whole thing - no cigar. I've opened the speaker up (as much as i could - unscrewed the speaker head at fault and the part with the wiring contacts on the back - no loose connections as far as i can tell. no corrosion or anything like that.

I also highly doubt that a speaker would go bust after a car journey during which i wrapped them in coats and jackets to protect the speakers and also the top part works fine (but seems a bit distorted - might be just me).

the reason i'm confused is because one of the speakers had its wiring crossed between the - and + inputs. I can supply photos later today but here's a terrible diagram for now:

http/s1.postimg.org/71dmzdqjj/Untitled.png

 

[americanaudiophile]

That crossed connection would put the woofer and tweeter out of phase with each other. That would cause the sound to be weird and incorrect but not damage anything. Put it back the way the other one was connected. You said you tested them but it is odd that one would be different than the other.
If you connect the working speaker box to the speaker output of your Pioneer that the bad one was connected to and it sounds fine then the problem is in the speaker.
If you get no output from the woofer it could be could be the woofer itself or the crossover that is between the woofer and the external bottom terminals. You can connect the woofer directly to your Pioneer to see if you get any sound.
Make use that the connection between the upper and lower speaker terminals are tight.

 

[Maks Swiderek]

That crossed connection would put the woofer and tweeter out of phase with each other. That would cause the sound to be weird and incorrect but not damage anything. Put it back the way the other one was connected. You said you tested them but it is odd that one would be different than the other.
If you connect the working speaker box to the speaker output of your Pioneer that the bad one was connected to and it sounds fine then the problem is in the speaker.
If you get no output from the woofer it could be could be the woofer itself or the crossover that is between the woofer and the external bottom terminals. You can connect the woofer directly to your Pioneer to see if you get any sound.
Make use that the connection between the upper and lower speaker terminals are tight.

Thanks for the reply. the connection is how i received it. i've since reconfigured the cross over, tried crossing over on the other speaker. basically tried any connection possible. i will try to connect the woofer to the amp directly as you say.

I did connect the working speaker to the other's output so it's definitely the speaker.

UPDATE: Just connected the wires from the amp directly to woofer and it works fine. I can't see anything wrong with the connections between the back end of the speaker and the woofer itself...

Update 2: there was a loose wire next to the woofer membrane. soldered it up. works like a charm.