HELP -- how to detect status of existing speaker prewires

[txhorns]

Hello,

I just bought a house that have speakers built-in and pre-wired for around the house & patio. So I have 6 different speaker wire cables (the 4-in-1 type with red, black, green & white) coming out of the wall by the entertainment center. The cables are not marked so I don't know the polarity for the speaker pair or the room assignment. My question is:
* Is there a tool where I can identify and match the wires to the correct speakers without hooking up the wires 1 by 1 to the receiver to test it (assuming that the wires and/or speakers are functional)?

Thanks.

 

[mike c]

a battery (flashlight battery) i've seen size D work.

connect the + - of the battery to the + - of the wire, you will hear a click/thud sound from the speaker that the wire is connected to.

i dont know anything about the 4 in 1 wire. but check the back of the speaker on which 2 wires are connected to it.

 

[xboxweasel]

Or use a multimeter on the ohms setting if you got it. Short one end (at the speaker) and check for continuity (at the receiver).

PS: I'm assuming most people have a multimeter. I have 3. But then again I use them for work. Now, if I could only get a job as a pyrotechnician and bring some of that home. muhahahahahaha.

The battery thing is a good idea. You need a few people to help.

If you live close to me I can help with the multimeter thing.

Are you a pyrotechnician by chance? We can help each other out.

Later.

 

[MDS]

Yet another (easier) alternative is to go to Home Depot and buy the Lan Tracker by Gardner Bender Instruments. It's about $30. It has leads for checking phone (RJ11), Lan (RJ45), coax (F connector), and plain old alligator clips for checking any wire. I used it to trace the cat5 in my house to determine which wire goes to which room because of course none of mine were labeled either!

The 4-in-1 wire is most likely 16/4 wire; ie there are 4 conductors and each is 16 gauge. You can use any of the wires for any connection as long as you are consistent. By convention red and black would be used for one speaker and green and white for another.

 

[xboxweasel]

I never thought of that. But it's true. I've actually used one. Good job man.

Later.

 

[txhorns]

Thanks to everyone who has replied.

MDS:
How does the Lan Tracker work? As I said earlier, the rooms already have the speakers installed and all the wires come out to the wall in the media room. So, if I use the Lan Tracker on the wires in the media room then ...
Also, I assume I would use the alligator clips for the speaker wires?

Thanks.

 

[MDS]

The Lan Tracker is what is generically known as 'tone and probe'. One piece is the tone generator and the other is the probe. You connect one of the leads from the generator to the wire you want to trace and then touch the probe to the other ends. If the wire the probe touches is the same wire to which the other end is connected, it makes a warbling sound.

So you would have to use the alligator clips and connect one to the wire on the speaker and then run the probe by the ends coming out of the media center. Being a low cost device it is not as sensitive as the more advanced (and costly) tone and probe kits so it can be tricky. If the wires coming out of the media center are very close to each other, the warble sound will be heard near all of them. The stronger the level of the tones, the more you can be sure that you have the right wire. It helps if you can separate the wires you are testing from each other.

For example, I used it to trace the cat5. All the wires run to the network connection center and are very close to each other. It was hard to be sure which wire was which when they were so close to each other. Simply by moving them a few inches apart, I got a strong tone and succeeded in properly identifying each wire. I have the same dilemma with pre-wire for speakers, but I haven't yet had time to try it on the speaker wires.

 

[Kai]

I believe in this application it is not the testing hardware needed so much at the distances involved.
I had a similar problem and not having my multi-meter with me I used a D battery, flashlight bulb, some thin guage wire and a bit of electric tape. Basically made a "continuity tester" out of them (based on the "reading" light I made as a kid...works great). Just touched one end "-" to a wire and probed the other wires with the "+" wire until the light lit. Continuity achieved, wire labeled...move on to next until done. That was in one room...it is more difficult in a multi-room wiring system.

Using a light method, as described,(or a multi-meter) you would need a helper that can follow directions.
You are going to need a helper and some sort of communications if you are testing on different floors and lengthy distances in the house. A cheap set of walkie/talkies or cell phones are useful.
Unfortunately I do not think you are going to be able to do it without one long piece of wire. Use the multi-meter/continuity tester/tone generator at the master cluster probing one wire at a time. Connect the long wire to the other clip and move from room to room testing wire after wire until it is done and all wires are identified and labeled.
Identify the polarity of each wire as you desire. Two wires in a room...one is labeled "+" the other "-"...lather, rinse, repeat until done. I am not aware of any "rules" specifying what wire is - or + but if the paired wires are visually different, one copper the other silver colored, use the same labeling for all wires...copper is + and silver colored wire is -. Label each pair by room and polarity.
This is the way I have done it and while time consuming and clunky it did the job with no major cost at all.

You can do it alone by connecting a wire in the room to the tester clip and going back to the main cluster and probing the same color wire until continuity is achieved but that could be a lot of walking and much more time consuming than with a helper.

Good luck and keep us informed with your progress.

 

[Kai]

I believe in this application it is not the testing hardware needed so much at the distances involved.
I had a similar problem and not having my multi-meter with me I used a D battery, flashlight bulb, some thin guage wire and a bit of electric tape. Basically made a "continuity tester" out of them (based on the "reading" light I made as a kid...works great). Just touched one end "-" to a wire and probed the other wires with the "+" wire until the light lit. Continuity achieved, wire labeled...move on to next until done. That was in one room...it is more difficult in a multi-room wiring system.

Using a light method, as described, you would need a helper that can follow directions.
You are going to need a helper and some sort of communications if you are testing on different floors and lengthy distances in the house. A cheap set of walkie/talkies or cell phones are useful.
Unfortunately I do not think you are going to be able to do it without one long piece of wire. Use the multi-meter/continuity tester/tone generator at the master cluster probing one wire at a time. Connect the long wire to the other clip and move from room to room testing wire after wire until it is done and all wires are identified and labeled.
Identify the polarity of each wire as you desire. Two wires in a room...one is labeled "+" the other "-"...lather, rinse, repeat until done. I am not aware of any "rules" specifying what wire is - or + but if the paired wires are visually different, one copper the other silver colored, use the same labeling for all wires...copper is + and silver colored wire is -. Label each pair by room and polarity.
This is the way I have done it and while time consuming and clunky it did the job with no major cost at all.

You can do it alone by connecting one wire (you could use two wires but doubles the wiring needed) to the wire in the room being tested and going to the cluster where the tester is and probing until continuity is achieved. It is much more time consuming but can be done.

Good luck and keep us informed with your progress.

 

[esscue]

[just noticed mikec mentioned similar.. sorry, but ive also included a tip on determing the polarity]

assuming theyre flush mount speakers.... you could always take a small screw driver and pry off the speaker grille, normally now youd find two sets of screws.... one that holds the entire speaker unit to the wall/ceiling and the other to attach the speaker to the mount.
having seen how flimsy/easy to break these mounts are - id suggest unscrewing the speaker from the mount (so the plastic bit stays in the wall/ceiling)... you should be able to take the actual speaker out and have a look at the back.

i assume here that the 4 cables represent a pair of +/- for one room, ie two speakers. so you would need to pop out both speakers in a room to identify polarity and colour assignments..

hopefully the +/- will be labelled, if not, (assuming the same speakers are used all throughout the house??) take note of which colour is on the "left pole" and the "right pole", for both speakers....
that will provide you with a indication of which two colours (ie on each speaker) are for the same polarity... so half your job is done.

with the polarity it doesnt make a whole lot difference, if you switch the +/- on the amp... as long as you do them all the same.
i would expect that the colour scheme should be the same for all the speakers in the house..
so again, youre nearly done.

the only reason youd need to get the phase right is if there were a pair of ceiling speakers in the same room as other speakers.....
with a little bit of practice you can figure it out by ear....

ensure you floor speakers are plugged in properly (+/-)... turn up the bass quite a bit on your floor and ceiling speakers. (note the volume doesnt have to be too loud) then turn up the ceiling speakers.
IF you hear - the bass get louder again, as you turn up the ceiling speakers-then they are phased correctly
IF you hear - the bass get softer then, switch the +/- for BOTH ceiling speakers and try again.

and there you have it.

i reckon youd find it easiest to just remove two speakers in a room and see what colours are used and how...

regards
Wayne

 

[Snap]

It was already mentioned but I did not notice one thing. If you get the tone generator. You can use the clips and turn the thing on to tone. You will hear the speaker making the tone. That is what I do. I will see if I can find the link to a good one. But one of the posters above is dead on right. Just go to Lowes or Home Depot, and get you a tester.

One thing that is not mentioned is are there Volume controls? If there is then they wired 16/4 to the Volume controls from the amp rack, and then 16/2 from the volume control to the speaker. So when you are testing for speakers, make sure that ALL the volume controls are turned UP!

If you do not get sound out of the speakers, pull the volume controls out of the wall and make sure that they are hooked up. Same thing goes for the speakers. I have seen some AV companies install speakers for builders, and not hook them up. Crappy practice, but I have seen some companies do it.