Siren Troubleshooting

[billyfromhill]

I have a Carson SC-1012 wired to a Feniex 100W speaker. Just this week, it started to sound quiet. Took everything apart, made sure the connections are all good, but still not fixed. I have good continuity through the speaker and my meter reads 10.2 Ohms through the speaker. I disconnected both ends of the speaker wiring to check for shorts. When tested with a multimeter, the wires do not have continuity to each other or to ground. I do have continuity between the speaker pins on the amplifier. When I test the amplifier without the speaker connected, I hear the proper tone coming from the amp. Both the siren and speaker were purchased new and have been installed for less than 6 months. I do not have another amp or speaker to test with.

Is there anything else I can do to try to eliminate the speaker/wiring? I'm thinking I may have a bad speaker.

 

[MtnMan]

Check the siren output at the speaker wires with the meter on AC volts. If the siren is working correctly, you should see about 32 VAC.

 

[carguy411]

I had an issue one time when I worked with a Carson siren. For some reason it would not play nice with any other speaker but a Carson. Don’t know if it was a fluke or if someone had a similar experience. Only installed a Carson once. Just an idea
Good luck

 

[shues]

I have good continuity through the speaker and my meter reads 10.2 Ohms through the speaker.

I remember posting incorrect information in a thread on this topic some years back and soon learning that the correct resistance to expect from the voice coil of a 100-watt siren speaker is around 4 ohms. I believe it was @Henry455 who schooled me on the matter.

Your resistance measurement of 10.2 ohms leads me to suspect the speaker.

Edit: Found it! I have added a link to that old thread above.

 

[billyfromhill]

So finally found time to troubleshoot this further. I am getting about 19 volts right at the amplifier and slightly less than that at the speaker.

Also tried a second new Feniex speaker connected right to the amplifier and it still seems quiet.

All signs point towards a bad amplifier it seems.