# Tinsel Lead Repair w Aluminum Cone



## Villad1 (Feb 26, 2018)

I gave my Nephew an old pair of Infinty 12's with Aluminum cones. One of them ended up having a broken tinsel lead. I was going to replace it, but the original lead has a soft rubber coating on it and I only have typical bare lead wire. I almost used it, and then I realized the cone is aluminum and thought that was probably why the lead had a coating on it. The lead wire goes through the cone, not underneath it. Will it short on the aluminum? I was thinking I could just use some shrink tube on the lead wire, but I feel like it might end up being too stiff?

So in short, my questions are:

1. Is it ok to replace only 1 of the 4 (DVC) leads? I ask because I have very similar size lead wire, but I'm not sure its exact... It might be the same, if anything its a bit bigger... Its hard to tell because of the coating on the old wire.

2. If I use normal lead wire, will it short on the Aluminum cone if it is left bare?

3. Should I use shrink tube and then just re-epoxy the hole in the cone where it passes through?

4. Is there a better option for coating the lead wire that would be more flexible similar to the more... rubber like coating that was on the original lead?

Thank You in advance for any help!


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## Villad1 (Feb 26, 2018)

I figured I would post about how I'm going to try and fix this in case someone else ever reads this. 

I went to the store this morning to see if I could find something that would be more flexible than typical heat shrink tubing. The only thing I found that looked like it might work was liquid tape (looks similar to plasti-dip). I tested it on a small piece of lead to see how it looked before I made a decision and when the liquid tape dried, it looked very similar to the original tinsel lead, so I decided to move forward.

I soldered the wire to the VC and then I painted the wire with the liquid tape. I ran it through the cone, matched the length to the undamaged lead and soldered it to the terminal. Then I used some epoxy to seal the hole in the cone, and secure the top side of the wire to the cone.
It looks very similar to the factory lead now, so hopefully it works!


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## WilliamS (Oct 1, 2016)

Are those some old Kappa Perfects? Man Those things hammered back in the day.


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## Villad1 (Feb 26, 2018)

Yeah, that's exactly what they are. I gave him 2 of them and an old Soundstream Picasso 2x440 I had sitting around. I bought 2 of those amps on clearance for... i think $40 lol. That was maybe 15 years ago when sounddomain.com was big. The boxes were never opened lol. I sold the car they were going in, and they never ended up getting installed in anything... until now!! 

The 2nd amp was meant to run mono to a 12" solobaric L5... also still brand new in box!:laugh:


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

Villad1 said:


> So in short, my questions are:
> 
> 1. Is it ok to replace only 1 of the 4 (DVC) leads? I ask because I have very similar size lead wire, but I'm not sure its exact... It might be the same, if anything its a bit bigger... Its hard to tell because of the coating on the old wire.
> 
> ...


1. You can replace one wire and leave the other alone for something like this Speaker without too much concern.

2. Shorting would be a concern, yes.

3. Thats one way to do it, but try to use a glue that doesn't harden rock solid or that won't fracture after a Little bit of flexing. Consider using a short 2nd layer of heat shrink to insulate against the cone?

4. You would want something that is designed to be repeatedly flexed. I doubt most heat shrink is designed for this. Look for something that does not harden completely. I would aim for something similar to that kinda-sticky seal-a-leak tar-like stuff that comes in a spray can, or whatever you can find that is as close to the original stuff as you can get in terms of flexibility.

5. When installing the new lead, leave a bit of excess so zou can make sure you make it the correct length between the underside of the cone and the wire termnial. The lead should be as short as possible without impeding the Motion of the cone. You can use the non-damaged lead as an example. If there is a loop of material, have the loop go sideways away from the other tinsel lead. Look at the good woofer you have for an example.

Good luck!


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## Villad1 (Feb 26, 2018)

Thank you for your thoughtful response! 

I'm actually really happy with the way it came out. I tested the resistance on both coils when I was done, and they were both at 4.5 (my multimeter being responsible for .5) 

As for the process, I pretty much did everything the way you described, except I used an epoxy that cured a bit harder than the original adhesive that held the lead in place where it passed through the cone. I dont think its so hard that it will be brittle though... it does have a little "squish" to it... maybe a bit harder than hot glue. 

I think you might've missed it in my follow up post, but I didn't end up using heat shrink at all. I used a few layers of liquid tape that was similar to plasti-dip. It cured really nice... its flexible and it closely resembles the factory lead.

ALL THAT BEING SAID (Maybe I should make a new post?)...

I went out to the car to test it and I pulled out the working sub and put the one I just repaired in its place (so same conditions, same exact sub) and at first, everything seemed fine... until I turned up the gain a bit and I got... "over excursion?"

For some reason the cone is extending right up to the top on extended bass notes and I could hear what I think was the spider clacking into itself. When I took it back in the house, I pushed the cone in and out (sounded fine) and then I pulled it up and looked at the spider. I don't think the glue that holds it to the coil broke, but it looks like it might be crimped a little funny, and unfolding a layer that's not supposed to unfold maybe. 

I gotta pull the other one out and check it, so I can see what one that is working properly looks like, but I was a little disappointed, so I figured I would leave it for the night and come back to it.

I've worked on lots of my equipment through the years, but I've never really done work on my speakers. I've always kinda considered them a mystery, but now I'm interested. What is involved in the suspension? what could be broken? I cant imagine that the spider is actually responsible for stopping over excursion is it? 

P.S. I know the sub isn't worth a ton, and it would probably be easier to just buy a new one, but that's WHY I'm willing to work on it myself and use it to learn a little bit. If I destroy it in the process, eh, no big loss. If I fix it, that's awesome!


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Villad1 said:


> Thank you for your thoughtful response!
> 
> I'm actually really happy with the way it came out. I tested the resistance on both coils when I was done, and they were both at 4.5 (my multimeter being responsible for .5)
> 
> ...


A resistance of 4.5 is about right, your meter is not off by .5ohm, the impedance is nominal and I've never seen a voicecoil that had an actual impedance to match it's rated (a 4 ohm coil is usually from about 3.8-4.5 ohms).

I would have suggested E6000 adhesive, it stays very flexible, but it sounds like it's too late for that. When playing the sub without the enclosure, be careful, it will take a lot less power to push to it's max. Does the sub act normal, and noise free, in the enclosure? Is the problem only when playing it outside of the box?

Yes, the spider plays a very big role in stopping over excursion, that's why it's call part of the suspension. The spider, surround, and sometimes motor design all contribute to the speaker's excursion.


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

Villad1 said:


> For some reason the cone is extending right up to the top on extended bass notes and I could hear what I think was the spider clacking into itself. When I took it back in the house, I pushed the cone in and out (sounded fine) and then I pulled it up and looked at the spider. I don't think the glue that holds it to the coil broke, but it looks like it might be crimped a little funny, and unfolding a layer that's not supposed to unfold maybe.
> 
> I gotta pull the other one out and check it, so I can see what one that is working properly looks like, but I was a little disappointed, so I figured I would leave it for the night and come back to it.
> 
> I've worked on lots of my equipment through the years, but I've never really done work on my speakers. I've always kinda considered them a mystery, but now I'm interested. What is involved in the suspension? what could be broken? I cant imagine that the spider is actually responsible for stopping over excursion is it?


Very good that you noticed this. The spider and the surround on the outer edge of the cone are the only two things that prevent the cone from simply shooting out the front of the speaker, so yes the spider is responsible for helping stop the excursion (both outwards and inwards). It sounds like the spider is damaged and unable to do its job correctly. This would make sense because if the cone moves too far, then the tinsel leads will get stretched until they break and you have a broken tinsel lead so...that might be the reason why one broke.

If the spider is damaged, then you have very limited options. Play it carefully and quietly (doubtful haha), rebuild the woofer with a recone kit, or buy a new woofer. A recone kit, if you can find one that is affordable for you, might be a fun project to learn more about how a speaker works. You could also just take it apart and not repair it, you'll still get to see inside.

Have fun though, whatever you choose.


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