No sound from one tower speaker

[yooper]

I have a set of exile XM9's. No sound is coming from one of them. I've tried switching them back-and-forth from side to side, the good one always works and the bad one never works, seemingly eliminating the mounts as the problem.

I sent the one back to exile. They checked it out and found no problems. But when I got it back on my boat still nothing. Anyone have any ideas?


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[David Analog]

I have a set of exile XM9's. No sound is coming from one of them. I've tried switching them back-and-forth from side to side, the good one always works and the bad one never works, seemingly eliminating the mounts as the problem.

I sent the one back to exile. They checked it out and found no problems. But when I got it back on my boat still nothing. Anyone have any ideas?


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This will be easy. Go purchase, @ Radio Shack for example, a basic mono 2-pole 1/4" female phone jack. Wire up the two poles to an amplifier channel using a new test length of wire and plug it onto the speaker 1/4" male phone plug . Bypass all else. This conclusively tests the speaker in isolation. Independent of the tower harness. Independent of the quick disconnect.

[yooper]

That's exactly what they did at Exile and it worked fine. It kind of has to be on the tower side, but the one speaker works fine on either side.... Puzzling.


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[David Analog]

Next you have to measure that the male 1/4" post on the speaker connector is precisely in the middle at the tip and not warped slightly to one side. Keep in mind that one contact point is a full inch away from the base of the post so the slightest imperfection can be magnified. It is possible to have a little wear and tear so that one particular male and one particular female connector no longer mate up perfectly. Also try spinning the non-working speaker 180 degrees and see if you get momentary contact. Try loosening, rotating and remounting the collar 180 degrees.

[yooper]

Next you have to measure that the male 1/4" post on the speaker connector is precisely in the middle at the tip and not warped slightly to one side. Keep in mind that one contact point is a full inch away from the base of the post so the slightest imperfection can be magnified. It is possible to have a little wear and tear so that one particular male and one particular female connector no longer mate up perfectly. Also try spinning the non-working speaker 180 degrees and see if you get momentary contact. Try loosening, rotating and remounting the collar 180 degrees.

Hmmm. I've definitely tried spinning it around to every conceivable position and can't even get momentary sound on any position, on either side.

I'll check the alignment. It didn't look obviously bent.


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[David Analog]

Hmmm. I've definitely tried spinning it around to every conceivable position and can't even get momentary sound on any position, on either side.

I'll check the alignment. It didn't look obviously bent.


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The diagnostic assistance will only be as good as the accuracy of the information you have provided. And I'm assuming that everything you've stated thus far is very accurate. From everything you have tried and stated thus far, it points to one issue.
While it seems that you have already tried everything, I would follow through from the beginning and make all these tests for yourself.

[yooper]

Yup. I'll keep working at it. Thanks for the help, David.


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[russellsmojo]

Dumb question. Are all Rca connections and speaker wires plugged in good? I ask this dumb question from experience.


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[MLA]

I've tried switching them back-and-forth from side to side, the good one always works and the bad one never works, seemingly eliminating the mounts as the problem.

Points to the suspect pod and eliminates speaker wire back to source. As David suggests, inspect the male head phone jack in the pod side very close.

[mazzyel2162]

Do you have a Kicker Dual Zone control by chance?

[yooper]

Points to the suspect pod and eliminates speaker wire back to source. As David suggests, inspect the male head phone jack in the pod side very close.

I'm heading to the lake today. I'll play with it again and see what I can find. Like I said, I just got it back from Exile where they checked it out thoroughly. They couldn't re-create the problem on the bench. I tried calling them a few times to see if I could talk to the tech, but I get their standard voicemail "Due to high call volume, we are on a call back basis only. Please leave your name and number and we will return your call." Over the past few years of dealing with Exile, I'm pretty sure I've never got a call back.... You've gotta just get lucky and have someone answer.


Do you have a Kicker Dual Zone control by chance?

I don't. I have an Exile ZLD.

[David Analog]

yooper,
Again, all diagnosis logic is predicated on the accuracy of your statements, and we can only trust that your statements are accurate.
You have stated the following:
The A speaker played in Exile's possession.
The A speaker would not play in either tower position.
The B speaker would play in either tower position.
Exile didn't have your collars and that portion of the connection so their test cannot be conclusive. It does not include the male to female connector relationship between your speaker and your tower.
So based on the above, the first step is to verify that you can get the A speaker to play under any test circumstance. If it doesn't play, it's simple. If it does play via some connection method other than the tower collar, then you know to focus on the speaker to collar(s) relationship.
A female 1/4 phone jack. A pair of insulated alligator clips. Etc. That is the place to begin. You must conclusively confirm or eliminate one component in isolation at a time.

[yooper]

Ok. I brought both speakers inside and hooked up a female phono jack to my home stereo. Speaker B played fine. Speaker A, still nothing.


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[yooper]

Next step: I removed the speaker cone and hooked wires directly to the speaker terminals. Worked and sounded fine.

I DID notice that the male phono plug can pretty easily be rotated by hand. I don't know what the connection on the other end of that male piece looks like, but the pin can be rotated infinitely in either direction.... If there are supposed to be wires hooked to that, I should pretty quickly feel some resistance, right?


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[philwsailz]

Next step: I removed the speaker cone and hooked wires directly to the speaker terminals. Worked and sounded fine.

I DID notice that the male phono plug can pretty easily be rotated by hand. I don't know what the connection on the other end of that male piece looks like, but the pin can be rotated infinitely in either direction.... If there are supposed to be wires hooked to that, I should pretty quickly feel some resistance, right?


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You just found the problem.

[yooper]

Next I cut the wires that go to the connection pod and twisted the speaker wires direct. It worked.

The problem is in the male phono plug itself.




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[yooper]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160715/ca29709bbf0f5a0d0eab23c1372a2d5a.jpg



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[David Analog]

Thank Goodness. Finally I can get a good nights sleep without constantly worrying about it.

[yooper]

Ha! I could tell you were pretty upset


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[yooper]

Quick update and a shout out to Exile. After I finally isolated the problem, I called Exile and explained the situation and they immediately sent out a new part for me to fix my speaker. It arrived yesterday and I haven't got out to the lake to install it yet, but I should be all set. Thanks, guys.