Bad News Bears for RCA cables

[mgalanif]

The other day a case of water slid into my amp and bent the RCA cables where they plug into the amp, and the tips of them broke off. I called a car audio place to see if the tips could be cut off and replaced instead of replacing the entire RCA cable running from head unit to amp. The guy said doing that is "sometimes" successful, not guaranteed. I tried it and it didn't work, no sound from the sub.

So was he right, that it only works sometimes, or did I possibly do it wrong?

 

[PetrolHead]

First, I would check to make sure the connections on the amp are still good. Get a 3.5mm to RCA adapter cable, and plug a portable music source (iPod, phone, etc) into the amp and play it on super low volume to see if the subs play anything. If they do, then the amp's good.

I don't see why replacing the connectors on the RCA cables wouldn't work...you just have to be watch the hot and ground. If the amp's good and you're still not getting sound, try reversing the hot and ground at your connection. You might have mixed them up, thus no sound.

 

[mgalanif]

Maybe I did mix them up, the instructions on the back of the replacement tips weren't very clear. It looked like the makeup of the inside of the RCA cable was a bunch of silver wires surrounding a larger, different colored wire. Is the larger one the "hot" and the smaller ones the ground?

 

[A41.8QTM]

It shouldn't be a problem if you do it correctly. High-end home audio installs use custom length cables all the time. The run off whatever length they need and install the ends on them. Like mentioned above - make sure the connections inside the amp weren't damaged and make sure you made the connections securely and properly to the new plugs.

 

[PetrolHead]

Maybe I did mix them up, the instructions on the back of the replacement tips weren't very clear. It looked like the makeup of the inside of the RCA cable was a bunch of silver wires surrounding a larger, different colored wire. Is the larger one the "hot" and the smaller ones the ground?

Yes, generally the large one in the middle is hot and the surrounding ones are ground. I highly recommend testing your amp first though.

 

[mgalanif]

Good looks, I tested the amp, then just spliced new RCAs with good tips to the wires of the RCAs already running through the car, electric taped it up and it works. Thanks for the input.