What equipment are you connecting to that uses an RCA
jack for speaker connections? Are you SURE that it is
a speaker-level output and not line-level?

"Jack3000" wrote ...
I know nothing about audio equipment so excuse my
ignorance. I am connecting the RCA plug into a
subwoofer.

If this subwoofer has an integrated amplifier then it is
most likely a LINE-level input. Does the subwoofer
have a power/mains cord? If so, it has its own amp
internally and the RCA connector should be assumed
to be LINE-level (and *NOT* SPEAKER-level)
input. DO NOT CONNECT SPEAKER WIRES TO
ANY LINE-LEVEL INPUT. There are ways of doing
this, but direct connection carries a very high risk of
damaging your equipment.

The other end of the wire connects to a wall speaker
(part of the surround sound system).

You have completely lost me at this point. How are
you attaching a subwoofer to an existing speaker?
Is this speaker also a subwoofer? If it is not, then
it likely does NOT have the proper signal for the
subwoofer. How did you come to the conclusion
that you could connect your system like this?

On the speaker there are 2 connection levers for the
wi black and red. I assume black is negative and
red is postive/hot.

In general which wire is usually positive? The wire
that has the writing on it?

Yes, generally, red indicates "positive" and black
indicates "negative". (Note that electricians who wire
buildings have a different concept, so beware!)

However, it would appear that polarity is the least
of your problems at this point. Here are my concerns:

1) I question how you have arrived at your plan of
how you are connecting your system. Are you trying
to mix-n-match various pieces? Did someone who
knows your equipment recommend this setup?

2) Your proposed source (tapping off the input of
another speaker) seems questionable on two counts:

a) It seems doubtful that it is the *correct* signal. It
sounds like it is a surround speaker and likely has
been stripped of any subwoofer low frequencies
in the amplifier.

b) It is not conventional to connect a speaker to the
input of another speaker (called "daisy-chaining")
for several reasons which I won't expand on here.
You almost certainly need a direct connection between
the source/amplifier and your subwoofer. Does the
source have an output identified as dedicated to the
subwoofer?

3) You don't know whether the input of your subwoofer
is a line-level or a speaker-level input. If you feed
speaker level into a line-level input, there is a very
significant possibility of damaging the subwoofer.

Please identify specifically what the source is
(receiver, etc.) and describe all the outputs.

Also identify what the subwoofer is, whether it has
an integrated amplifer, and describe ALL the inputs.
There is almost certainly a correct match between
your source and your subwoofer, but I think you
haven't found the right combination yet.

Honestly, the 1.5V battery idea to check for which
one is postive goes over my head. I wouldn't know
what to do with the battery to check for the polarity.

You didnt mention before (and I incorrectly assumed)
that the RCA connector was on the *source*. But if it
is on the *speaker* that would imply that it is a line-
level input and you SHOULD NOT perform this
experiment on it!