L 46 Tweeter Polarity Issue, Need Advice.

[Desull]

Well, I got done rebuilding the crossovers and I removed the 034 Tweeter to take a look - a gratuitous action on my part. I was ready to install the crossover back into the cab and had the schematic out next to me. So I checked and rechecked my work as best I could. Mostly I made sure I "visually" had the rebuilt crossover connected with wires routed exactly as they were. These 46's are in great shape and I'm 95% certain they haven't ever been opened. Long story shorter -- I noticed that the "yelow and black" tweeter lead off the neg binding post (internal) is designated as "Neg" in the schematic and to connect to the negative pole on the tweeter -- the yellow/black lead wire however has a female type spade connector and the corresponding pole on the tweeter is marked with a "+" sign. Solid yellow lead goes neg. What gives?

I found a "Polarity Conventions of JBL Transducers...." Vol 1, Number 12B that gave many models with the unusual polarity but the L46 isn't on the listing.

Any help is much appreciated as I'm relatively new to the tech side of these speakers. Many thanks!

[rdgrimes]

The wire with the black stripe always goes to the neg post on the driver. Same for yellow, white or green. The female connector ON THE 034 is the neg post. the male post on the 034 is pos. to be honest I never looked at the little labels on the plastic before, always just hooked them up as indicated by the connectors.

Edit: Just looked at a L46 crossover here, and you're right. So just ignore the brands on the 034 and hook them up as the connectors require.

[Desull]

Thanks for the confirmation on the crossover. Yes, the male post on the 034 has next to it on the plastic frame the "+" but the yellow/blk stripe wire with the female connector is the negative on teh schematic and wire runs back to the negative binding post.

Now I took the woofer and as you siad the black stripe is supposed to go to the negative side post on the driver. Hooked up the 1.5v "polarity tester" (jury rig) and the positive pole battery touch-wired to the supposed negative post of the woofer (male post) and the cone takes an outward excursion. Hence, the positive post and not the neg?? What gives? the drivers are both consistently opposite of the schematic and opposite the actual action of at least the woofer. I don't dare to test the HF the same way.

So,...in the JBL world is an "inward" excursion or the cone "positive?"

I looked at another crossover too and it appeared the same. Would I just dismiss this and depend on the placement of the male and female connectors on the wires to determine polarity (contrary to the schematic)? Or? Any help appreciated as I'm juuuust a bit unsure if I want to trial & error these to see what sounds best or gaff these up. I planned on using these with another set of JBL's so it would be important that they're all in sync. Again, thanks in advance, any help IS appreciated.:banghead:

[rdgrimes]

I guess I didn't explain it well.
As long as the crossover wiring has not been altered, hook them up in the only way that the connectors allow. That's the way they are connected originally. The black stripe wires, (yellow and green), are both connected to the same post on the crossover on the original crossover. There's no other way they can be connected to the drivers. The entire 80's L-series is wired this same way. It's impossible to hook them up wrong UNLESS you've swapped wires on the XO.

[4343]

I found a "Polarity Conventions of JBL Transducers...." Vol 1, Number 12B that gave many models with the unusual polarity but the L46 isn't on the listing.
...

Thanks for the confirmation on the crossover. Yes, the male post on the 034 has next to it on the plastic frame the "+" but the yellow/blk stripe wire with the female connector is the negative on teh schematic and wire runs back to the negative binding post.

Now I took the woofer and as you siad the black stripe is supposed to go to the negative side post on the driver. Hooked up the 1.5v "polarity tester" (jury rig) and the positive pole battery touch-wired to the supposed negative post of the woofer (male post) and the cone takes an outward excursion. Hence, the positive post and not the neg?? What gives? the drivers are both consistently opposite of the schematic and opposite the actual action of at least the woofer. I don't dare to test the HF the same way.

So,...in the JBL world is an "inward" excursion or the cone "positive?"

I looked at another crossover too and it appeared the same. Would I just dismiss this and depend on the placement of the male and female connectors on the wires to determine polarity (contrary to the schematic)? Or? Any help appreciated as I'm juuuust a bit unsure if I want to trial & error these to see what sounds best or gaff these up. I planned on using these with another set of JBL's so it would be important that they're all in sync. Again, thanks in advance, any help IS appreciated.:banghead:

Welcome to the world of evolving standards. If you study the "Polarity Conventions of JBL Transducers" you see a lot of speakers and transducers (Drivers) that follow the original JBL Standard which is indeed Inward excursion on Positive. The woofers in your L-46 are most likely listed in the document by Driver Number, not by Speaker Model. So no L-46 listed, but the number you see on the rear of the woofer should be listed.

Using the L-46 with other speakers is simply a matter of connecting the cables on the outside of the box to match the other speakers. If your other pair produces outward motion when positive voltage is applied to the red terminal, you must then connect the L-46 so that the positive voltage from the amplifier produces forward motion. Which means that the black connector on the box connects to the positive terminal on the amp. You could simply reverse the wires inside the box, but doing so at BOTH woofer and Tweeter is more work than swapping at the inside of the connector plate, which is itself more work than simply labeling the black terminal as positive. I use a P-Touch label to remind me of the different polarity conventions on my speakers.

[Desull]

Thanks to you both for the info. I'm used to KLH and AR speakers so the polarity seemed counter intuitive.
I checked the Polarity Conventions JBL again for the driver number, 117H-1 but not there. However, if ALL the models made in the 80"s were of this Convention then I guess I'm good. If anyone has info or reference to the contrary please let me know.

Soooo, should I assume the Schematic I had was wrong?? That's what's confusing.

Thanks 4343 for answering my next question about 2 sets of speakers. The other pair I have are L112's also made in the 80's I believe. Should I assume these are also following the same polarity convention as the L46s? Chime in if you can shed anymore light. Again, many thanks! Dan

[rdgrimes]

The other pair I have are L112's also made in the 80's I believe. Should I assume these are also following the same polarity convention as the L46s? Chime in if you can shed anymore light. Again, many thanks! Dan

The L112 and L46 are from the same model line, same catalog. And yes they have identical wiring schemes where you cannot hook them up wrong unless you swap wires on the XO board. FWIW, the brands on the 044 tweeter also show "+" next to the terminal that connects to the "-" wire. Also good to note that on some of the L112 XO boards its pretty easy to disconnect speaker wires and re-connect them wrong at the XO end. Not a problem with the L46 and L86 since they are all soldered.

[4343]

Thanks to you both for the info. I'm used to KLH and AR speakers so the polarity seemed counter intuitive.
I checked the Polarity Conventions JBL again for the driver number, 117H-1 but not there. However, if ALL the models made in the 80"s were of this Convention then I guess I'm good. If anyone has info or reference to the contrary please let me know.

Soooo, should I assume the Schematic I had was wrong?? That's what's confusing.

Thanks 4343 for answering my next question about 2 sets of speakers. The other pair I have are L112's also made in the 80's I believe. Should I assume these are also following the same polarity convention as the L46s? Chime in if you can shed anymore light. Again, many thanks! Dan

Your 1.5V polarity checker will work on the input to any speaker. Just watch to see which way the woofer moves. Then connect as need to get each different speaker moving in the same direction. I like to use mine at the amp end of the speaker cable before deciding which wire is which. Just take off the grille and you can see the one jump from across the room...

[Desull]

VERY helpfull, thanks much! As an aside, how would one check the polarity on a tweeter if it couldn't be determined by the male/female connector as in the 034, or large male spade type post/small male post as on the 052ti? ........ I do have a DMM on the bench.

Thanks for the L112 clarification, btw. I learned a whole heck-of-a lot here thanks to both of you!

Dan. :applaud: