mattSER Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 How can I test the wiring on some Jamo in-ceiling speakers? I have access to the wires coming out of the wall, but they're not labeled. There's red, green, white, and black. I don't want to connect an amplifier and short something. Do I just grab a multi meter and test pairs of the wires together?? Fwiw, I already tried connecting a cheap Insignia stereo receiver and it literally blew up when I powered it on. I'm guessing the receiver was just faulty, but I don't want it to happen again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtr20 Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 (edited) If you can see the woofer itself, you can touch a 9 volt battery to the pairs. Touch one wire to positive and one wire to negative. If the woofer sticks out, you have it wired correctly, if the woofer sucks in, it's backwards. Edited April 20, 2016 by dtr20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Yeah, I was hoping to figure it out from the wire ends, because the ceiling is like 16ft high. What would the danger really be of connecting it to an amp incorrectly? Is it possible that I really blew that amp with incorrect wiring? Or do you think it was just a bad amp? Like, what would happen if I connected the + wires from both speakers the to + and - of the left speaker terminals on the amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 Like, what would happen if I connected the + wires from both speakers the to + and - of the left speaker terminals on the amp? Nothing. Boring, I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 So, the amp self destructed? Because I'm pretty sure I had the wiring correct, but now I'm nervous as hell to try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 You can check the resistance with a cheap ohmmeter. Most decent receivers have protection circuits though, if it's a dead short it's going to shut off temporarily to keep it from frying itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Not surprising for a $99 Insignia. Returned it immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 If there are 2 ceiling speakers and only 1 @ 4 conductor wire, the red/black are typically for the right speaker (+/-, respectively) and the white/green is for the left speaker (+/-, respectively). If there are 2 @ 4 conductor wires, you probably have dual voice coil speakers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfbane Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 ^^^^ Correct answer here. ^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Sounds good, thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 That's also assuming that the original installer went by that code. He could have done whatever he felt like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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