Audio speaker wire bitten by cat

[Pegasusinthesky]

Hi,

I have an Altec Lansing ADA885-THX surround system on my computer.

My cat bit the wire on the right surround rear speaker and now I get static noises. Can I cut & splice the wire and still have it work, or do I need to replace the entire wire. The wire is solid at the speaker end and a plug at the other end for plugging into my subwoofer.

I would need a repair manual in order to see how to get into the rear speaker box, because I don’t visually see any screws or places to open it up.

The information written on the wire is “AWM 2468 VW-1 80oC E154770 AWG 20X20”. This wire has two sides with that little crease down the center. The other side has “-.-.-.-.-.-.-” continuous along the cord and the dots are even with the dashes. I couldn’t create that here.

It is a very tiny wire, but with a magnifying glass I could see the exposed wire were she had bitten the wire.

I bought the computer and all back in 2000, however the first sound system broke and Dell sent me a whole new system to replace it and this one has worked fine ever since until my cat bit the wire.

I hope someone can help me find a way to replace this wire. The sound equipment itself is still good.

Thank you,

 

[captaincranky]

If this is a true "speaker wire" it can easily be spliced. If it is an "input wire", such as that running from a tape deck or turntable to a receiver, it can still be done, but with greater difficulty, and the possibility of hum introduced be the broken ground. The ground in a "line level" connection such as this, is a "shield" which wraps around the signal (positive) wire.

If the wire you're referring to is flat, with 2 discreet wires showing, that is what I'm referring to as a "speaker wire", and it will look like a typical lamp cord, except much smaller.

Find a friend that knows how to use a soldering iron correctly, and ask for some help with this project.

 

[tweakboy]

You can fix this easy if your tehcnical guy. Not a problem to attach the wires together..gl

 

[Pegasusinthesky]

Thank you for the replies.

To Captaincranky

Yes, the wire is flat, with 2 discreet wires showing. The wire looks like a typical lamp cord, but much smaller.

If soldered, do I use a light gray colored flux, which I have, to melt onto the wires (the wires are copper)? Can it just be twisted together like electrical wires and taped or is that bad for sound. Once it is soldered do you tape each side separately or together. I would think separately first and then together, since that is the way they are setup now. I don't know.


To Tweakboy

Your reply was:
"You can fix this easy if your tehcnical guy. Not a problem to attach the wires together..gl"

Why did your message dead-end? What is your solution? Is there a clue in there I don't see?

Onward thru the fog

 

[mailpup]

The "gl" on the end of the sentence stands for "good luck."

You should solder the wires, not just twist them or you could have static in the sound, especially whenever the wire moves. Definitely tape the wires separately first or you will short them.