# Braided Tinsel lead replacement



## tophatjimmy (Dec 16, 2005)

My buddy has a pair of the original Arc Audio 12's that have had tinsel lead problems (too short, the keep breaking off) but he loves them and wants to keep using them.

Instead of sending them off the Arc for repair, I thought we could have a go at repairing them ourselves first.

Anybody know where braided tinsel lead can be bought? I found a place in Australia, but there has to be someplace stateside that sells the stuff.....

Also, once the dustcaps come off, what kind of adhesive do we use to reattach the plastic cap to the poly cone?


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## Eric Stevens (Dec 29, 2007)

tophatjimmy said:


> My buddy has a pair of the original Arc Audio 12's that have had tinsel lead problems (too short, the keep breaking off) but he loves them and wants to keep using them.
> 
> Instead of sending them off the Arc for repair, I thought we could have a go at repairing them ourselves first.
> 
> ...


The leads break because they whip and fail where they solder to the terminal. Dont make them too long or it will fail even quicker from even more whipping action.

carefully lift up on part of the dust cap with the tip of a knife and then use the knife carefully to lift off the rest of dust cap. Clean off the old glue by rolling it up with your finger. Clean the dust cap and the cone.

heat up the glue holding down the leads with heat gun and un-solder the leads from the terminal and cut leaving a section of old tinsel attached to the voice coil wire. Clean old solder off terminal

Cover new tinsel lead with heat shrink tubing to prevent whipping and give longer life. Put another piece of heat shrink over the the solder joint to reduce flexing near the terminal.

Solder tinsel to terminal first and insert through hole in cone, make the tinsel lead just long enough so it wont go tight when at full excursion in either direction then cut to final length and solder to old tinsel lead and glue it down at proper length.

put about a 1/8" wide bead of glue about 1/8" away from the upset in the cone and drop on the dust cap (use a piece of masking tape to hold it from the center and then rotate it to proper alignment while lightly pushing down. Line it up using a ruler set across the mounting holes for visual alignment.

Put a small weight on the dust cap for about 30 minutes till the glue starts to set up. Wait 24 hours before playing sub.

buy the tinsel here 
tinsel
http://www.speakerrepair.com/Mercha...D&Product_Code=Leadwire&Category_Code=AIII-SP
glue here or below
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/e600037ozsize.html

or got to home depot or Lowes they usually sell the E6000 glue use it for the leads and the dust cap

Hope this is clear enough and help you get it done.

Eric 
Image Dynamics


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

Very well explained Eric !

I understood it , and i am suffering from a TBI.


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## innsanes (Feb 8, 2007)

sorry this is going to be my first time, but do i have to remove the cone? im kind of scared. also which part do i cut. I'm more of a visual learner. pics would be great thanks.


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## innsanes (Feb 8, 2007)

oh yah this is for a 04/05 xxx the dustcap is all one piece with the cone


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## Eric Stevens (Dec 29, 2007)

innsanes said:


> sorry this is going to be my first time, but do i have to remove the cone? im kind of scared. also which part do i cut. I'm more of a visual learner. pics would be great thanks.


If cone is all one piece depends on how it is built. If you take some detailed and clear pics i will try and give guidance 

Eric


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## speakerboy (Oct 2, 2007)

Kudos to Eric for giving advice on how to fix other brand's subs. I know this is a forum, but he doesn't have to.


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## innsanes (Feb 8, 2007)




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## innsanes (Feb 8, 2007)




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## innsanes (Feb 8, 2007)

those are pics of my sub, but my friends sub is a 12" version


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

im looking forward to learning how to fix tinsels on a speaker made like that


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## saucybmw540i (May 12, 2007)

Stay away from my tinsel !


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## Eric Stevens (Dec 29, 2007)

innsanes said:


> those are pics of my sub, but my friends sub is a 12" version


Where are the tinsels broken? 

The top cone is a large dust cap and can be removed for servicing the tinsels. It will require care though to be able to reuse it. You will probably want to try and slide a piece of mylar shim stock or a metal feeler gauge under the dust cap to break the glue loose from the cone and carefully work your way around. If the bottom cone that actually attaches to the voice coil is paper you want the glue to release from the large poly dust cap. Heat from a heat gu will soften the glue and make this much easier but will also cause the poly dust cap to possibly deform.

If the poly dust cap gets deformed turn it upside down on a flat surface and heat the whole piece with a heat gun to get it to return to its original shape and let cool down.

Aside from what I am stating here follow the instruction I gave for the ARC repair.

Eric


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## Eric Stevens (Dec 29, 2007)

innsanes said:


> those are pics of my sub, but my friends sub is a 12" version


Becareful with heat gun and the foam surround, you could F it up. Keep the heat on the dust cap. 

Also if using thinner tinsel you might want to braid three pieces together and then heat shrink for higher power handling.

Eric


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## innsanes (Feb 8, 2007)

Fixed it today. Wow easier than i thought. thanks for the help.
I did it without removing the cone. I stuffed wash towels in between the cone and spider to lift the cone to its excursion. I then snipped the old tinsel until only a small piece is exposed. Soldered the new tinsel to that point making sure the length is near exact to the the original one. After all is done, check the resistant on it. If all is good, I used ABS cement to glue down the solder point to the cone then go over it with a small amount of goop glue. Works perfect.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Wow, that is great.... !!! 

More props to Eric for being "that" kinda guy...


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