Car Stereos: smoke from my subs, voice coils, watt amplifier

Question
i have 2 12 inch pioneer premiers the champion series and a 1900 watt amplifier. i had them on one day and i smelled something so i opened my trunk and alot of smoke was coming out of my subs through the port because i have a ported box. one of my friends that did the set up for me said it was the amp and i had blown out half of its power but i dont see how that has to do with the smoke coming out of the subs. i dont know if its the subs or the amp that has a problem i baught a new amp just today from ebay and im waiting on its arrival. are my subs going to have the same power they did before this occured or not? i have a warranty on my subs so if its the subs i will just have them exchanged but its going to be a hastle so i was hoping that when i do put in the new amp itll be back to normal. can you tell me what i should do please?

Answer
Hi Ahmad,

If smoke was coming from the subwoofer, it doesn't sound to me like the amplifier is the problem.  A defect in the amplifier can cause subwoofer damage, but so can simple over-powering.  It sounds pretty certain that the sub has suffered some damage, though.  I would certainly get the sub checked out before connecting another amplifier.  You can verify that the voice coils aren't shorted, using the resistance function on a multimeter.  Also, try pushing gently on the center of the subwoofer cone.  Make sure the sub can move through its entire range of movement, without any grinding noises, scraping, or sudden stops.  

Hope this helps!

Brian