Whats this metal piece in my subwoofer box?

Question

its connected in between the positive cable its small the size of a thumbs nail. It gets hot when playing the speaker? Also if i play my subwoofer really loud for a period of time the subwoofers volume will cut down to a low volume for a short period of time. Could it be because of this metal thing? The subwoofer is Passive. thanks!

Answer 1

Low pass filter.Its so you don't blow your sub

Answer 2

Since your description of the "metal piece" is vague,it could be a voltage absorbing thermal circuit,this will heat to a certain temp then shut down to cool,then kick back in when it's cooled back down,but be warned...these can fail after time (they weaken from being pushed to hard and long)and then you'll blow your sub woofer and/or the amplifier.