9 Volt Battery Speaker Test
Testing a speaker with a 9V Battery to Check “Polarity”
You will need a 9V battery, a 9V battery connector (or some alligator clips). This test is mainly used on Low Frequency speakers, and is a quick and accurate way to test a subwoofer or woofer speaker to see if it is “Defective” and / or to check for “Polarity.” It is not recommended to use this test on high frequency speakers.
The Test
Connect (or hold) the 9V battery’s positive terminal to the speaker’s positive terminal, and then “quickly” touch the 9V battery’s negative terminal to the speaker’s negative terminal – you should hear a “pop” and the speaker’s cone should move outward. Then, reverse the battery leads – positive battery terminal to the speaker’s negative terminal, and then “quickly” touch the 9V battery’s negative terminal to the speaker’s positive terminal – you should hear a “pop” and the speaker’s cone should move inward (downward). This is a quick test to let you check the Polarity, and also know if the speaker is working or not. If you don’t hear a “pop” and the speaker cone does not move – the speaker is likely defective.
9V Battery Speaker Test – Video Clip!
Tech Note – JBL Polarity Scheme: Just in case you are working with older JBL speakers (older than 1990) be aware that JBL previously used a “Positive to Black” and “Negative to Red” Polarity scheme – the speaker cone would pull inward then outward. Newer JBL models (1990’s to Present) converted over to the “Positive to Red” and “Negative to Black” polarity scheme utilized by the majority of the other speaker manufacturers.
