If the fuse holders are melted, you need to have the amp checked by a technician to determine why they melted and to determine if the fuse holders are usable. Amplifier Protection Mode Troubleshooting . I have a pioneer gm-5500t I checked all the wires and connections and made sure I had a clean ground. If it doesn't go into protection with no speakers connected, I suspect that the speakers have ben damaged, especially if they're small. The image below shows a terminal block that melted because the set screw wasn't tight enough on the wire (this is very common). I have a 200 watt amp in my car, and everything worked fine. I have a pioneer gm-5500t I checked all the wires and connections and made sure I had a clean ground. When I get the RCA cable and put the tip of it into the line input I can hear sound, but when I plug the RCA cables in all the way the amp goes back in protect mode. If the power light blinks then goes off, the amp is either going into protect mode or there is a bad connection in the power supply wiring. 2 thoughts on “Sony receiver in protector mode FIXED!” Paul. The lights are always lit when the amp powers up but are normally green. Now my amp goes into protect mode. I have two 12in. If the voltage at BOTH the B+ and remote terminals is low and your vehicle's battery is not low (check the voltage at the battery with the multimeter), touch the black lead to a known good ground (a point scraped to the metal on the floor pan of the vehicle) and the red lead to the ground terminal of the amp. It's important that you disconnect the speaker wires from the speaker terminals of the amplifier and disconnect all RCA cables from the RCA jacks of the amplifier. I also plugged in my phone with a jack to rca converter and I get the same result. That's the most common cause for an amplifier to go into protection. March 18, 2013 at 7:58 am I had the same “protect” problem with a Sony STR-AV1070 I was ready to take a hammer to. For The Car Audio and Video enthusiast! If you’re working on a car amp, simply remove the red wire on its back end. In some cases, the connections between the wire and the fuse holder will be a problem. In most of the budget amplifiers, the shield will be directly connected to the NON-bridging speaker terminals. Foreword: Many amplifiers show protect when initially powered up (mute delay) and then switch to green. worked good for 2 days and then the amp was in constant protection mode. The protect light on an amp is there to keep the amp safe when something goes wrong. Now it wont work and keeps turning on and going to protection mode. If the shield ground of the head unit is OK, the amplifier could have one of several problems. If you read something less than 1v, the transformer is likely OK. Hey guys, I've done everything recommended by you fine folks and I'm still having issues. I have a BOSS* PowerDrive 2000 watt amp driving an MTX 10" and a Pioneer 10". All these wires are fully connected and I have no problems with this. RCA leads are used to feed the amp with input signal from the car stereo. 04-05-2008 #1 spikey007. everthing was fine until i connected the rca's so i say find a better ground. I took all the speakers off and the amp worked, it didnt go into protection mode. If it doesn't go into protect, reconnect one pair of speaker wires at a time. If the voltage is below ~11 volts, you need to check the wiring feeding whichever line is too low. 4) Check the grounding is solid. Then I disconnected the RCA cables and the amp turns on. If you find that the B+ or remote voltage is low at the amplifier, you need to trace the voltage back to the source to determine where the voltage is dropping. Otherwise, it's likely that the output transistors failed. The remote turn-on has occasionally become loose and I figured that's what had happened. Maybe your gain is set too high. If it doesn't go into protect, reconnect one pair of speaker wires at a time. Sub works fine when the left input cable is plugged in but as soon as I plug the right one it switches into protection mode. Hello, Here's my dilemma. When I only connect the right speaker to the receiver, I can play at high volumes without the receiver going in protection mode. But If I turn up my Subwoofer RCA Volume the Damn thing goes into Protection Mode. If so it would be the cables or head unit. Username: Remember Me? Age: 31. I tried regrounding it and everything. I have a Pioneer GM-D8701 mono amp that's going into protect mode after about 10-15 minutes of low to medium volume play, ... aftermarket stereo amp and sub in my 1999 ford f150 so how can I run the wires without a wiring harness and how are the rca Jack's ran to a 4 channel amp? - Disconnect speaker cables and leaving the amp with just power and RCA - Same thing. I installed my amp with the rockford 4 gauged amp kit. If the amplifier goes into protect with the RCAs plugged in (but all speaker wires disconnected), there could be several problems. Sometimes it switches the red LED off and switches the green on (Planet Audio, Power Acoustik and similar amps). Tried the disconnect/reconnect of all internal connectors. then once this happens, i can hear strange screeching noises through my 12 subs(oh they are fosgate power hx2,dual 2 ohm.. Not all amps have low voltage protection but some do (MTX, Rockford and most of the Japanese brands). On-board Fuses: If they are connected loosely, it can cause the amplifier to see it as a major problem, so it will purposely put itself stuck into protect mode. Update (02/17/2018) @flamini try this: Unplug the receiver's power cord from the wall and leave unplugged for at least one hour. im only asking cause i have sean some people that have run speaker wire as there ground. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Above, I purposely recommend placing the black probe of the meter on the ground terminal of the amp. Probably already assumed, but when it does go into protect mode, I can hear the transformer click off. So check that the RCA jacks are connected firmly into both the amp and headunit RCA sockets. For example, some of the Sony amplifiers have lights for power, overcurrent and thermal protection. It will help you troubleshoot many amps down to the component level. If you can identify them try measuring them with a ohm meter. The one on the right is OK. B+ and Remote Voltage: On the rca outputs on my head unit?? It takes 2 op-amps for each input. PROTECTOR as soon as I turn it on. Nothing works. Crossovers/Filters: Not all op-amps are in flat packages. Otherwise, it's likely that the output transistors failed. I have the power and ground secure, and the remote wire runs off the fuse box up front. There are a few amps (some JL Audio) that will go into protect and none of the indicators change. The owner's manual is the best source to help you decode the blink sequence. After a short delay (2-10 seconds), the protect LED will go off. It's important that you leave your head unit on during testing so that the remote line will have voltage on it, the amplifier will be on, and the amplifier will be drawing current. If the car is on but the engine is off they will work, but even then if i try to turn the amp up any from min. Since the meter leads are not long enough to reach the grounds at the battery or trunk over the long run of the power wire, you need to scratch the paint/primer/undercoat to bare metal at each point where you need to check the voltage. If the amp only shuts down when the amplifier tries to produce high power (when it hits a strong note), you need to measure the voltage at the time when the amp shuts down. I need help amp goes into protect mode when rca, If the amp goes into protect with the RCA cables plugged in, go to step 4. If your amp has a “protect” light, and it’s on, then chances are good that you have a faulty speaker, subwoofer, cable or another component. Important! If the problem stays when you plug the left rca into the right input of the amp I'd say it's a internal amp problem. Then I disconnected the RCA cables and the amp turns on. Sounds like a short. I have it set all the way down, sorry forgot to mention that. If the amp goes into protect with the RCA cables plugged in, go to step 4. Some simply shut down and the power light will not illuminate when in protect mode. If the amp is OK in this torn down state start reconnecting wires until you find what causes the problem. One of the more confusing car stereo problems can be when an amplifier goes into protection mode. I called Obcon and they have not heard of a problem like this they too are stumped and are lookin into it. Unplugged all connections- amp stayed in protection mode with nothing plugged in. audiobahns with a 1600 watt soundstorm amp and a 4 farad cap. Once I was finish connecting my wires the amp went into protect mode with the red light. Feb 24, 2006 7,549 53 91. In audio, when an amp or speaker is damaged, it's often referred to as 'blown up', 'puked', 'launched', 'toasted', or some other description. The second LED will light when the amp goes into protection mode. Sometimes, a VERY brief drop in voltage (too short to be seen on a standard multimeter) will cause the amp to shut down for a short while. If you find that one pair of speaker wires or one speaker causes the amp to go into protect, disconnect all speakers from the other end of the wires and separate the wires so they can't touch. This is especially true when the power supply has failed. My amp goes into protection mode when i get it up to 12 on the volume. If there is a problem youll see a dead short between the leads. If you have confirmed that you have sufficient voltage on the amplifier's B+ and remote terminals and have a good ground, procede to step 3. Not many amplifiers will illuminate the protection light when the fuses are blown but a few will so you need to check this. worked good for 2 days and then the amp was in constant protection mode. Sometimes it will make it through a whole song without doing it, sometimes it stays in protect for the majority of a song. If your amp is working properly, pay attention the way the indicators light up when powering the amp up. Problem: Amplifier goes into protect. But my amp keeps going into protection mode when my right rca input cable is plugged in. If you don't know how they're supposed to behave, ask around. Some amplifiers have multiple protect lights. The BX250 and many other amplifiers use the same solid red light to indicate both that the signal is muted and that the amp is in protection mode. If that's the case, the amplifier will need to be repaired. I installed a new head unit, swapped RCA cables, made sure the connections are good, made sure my voltage was good, and tried different media sources; it's still going into protect mode. I have 2 subs bridged into my amp, i just got a different car and they are not as loud in this car as my other car for some reason and the amp goes into protect mode when i am driving. heres my problem when i turn on my system it hits once then shuts off the power light comes on but then it hits and the power light goes off and the protection light comes on here is some other stuff that you might need to know to help me awnser my question i have 2 gauge power wire 4 gauge ground. Normally, both will be above 12v. You first need to check the RCA shields of the head unit. power my subs will make popping noises and the amp goes into protect. T. TLN1 Audiophyte. Generally, when the fuse holder melts, the contacts become badly oxidized and the clips lose their tempering. - Testing the voltage on the remote wire to make sure it is strong enough to turn the amp on - normal (14.4V) - Making sure that the power cables are … If the amp powers up after disconnecting the speaker and signal cables from it, try reconnecting the RCA cables. Just a thought. Each of the 8 pin op-amp packages in the photo contains 2 op-amps. My fuse running from the battery power wire blew today so I had it replaced. 2. If it doesn't go into protect, reconnect one pair of speaker wires at a time. If you read more than 0.01v and the amp is at idle, you may have a bad ground. I’ll try that out, where should I connect my probe tho? Using the demo should help you to better understand where you'd lose voltage when there is a break in the circuit. Most meters will not read to 0 ohms. If you're using a mono amp and have only one pair of speaker wires, you'll need to disconnect all but one speaker from the other end of the speaker wires. You will also see defective fuse holders. Recently, when I attempt to switch my Insignia NS-R2001 Stereo Receiver out of standy by mode after turning it on (it is automatically in standby when you turn it on), it switches back to standby mode after a few seconds. It is definitely an internal amp problem. It is a much more powerful amp than the sub, the amp is 850w rms while the sub has a tolerance of 600w I thought setting the gain all the way down would allow it to be used with it. 26,876 satisfied customers. I have yet to open the amp but I’m wondering if it would be a simple fix? When it goes into protect mode the amp will shut down with the standby light blinking. Generally, the power light is green or blue and the protect light is red but on some amps, the protect light is green and the power light is … If the power light blinks then goes off, the amp is either going into protect mode or there is a bad connection in the power supply wiring. This is common on older Alpine amplifiers. If you have that connection, the shield ground connection is intact. The first thing you need to check is the on-board fuses plugged into the amplifier (if it has them). Touch the black meter probe to the ground terminal of the amp and the red meter probe to each of the RCA shields. The voltage drop should be minimal when the amp is producing/trying to produce significant output. For those amplifiers this is normal. my amp was the same way. I dont know what the problem is? 3. I have also tried using a different amp and that one also went into protection mode. I'm not to well versed in large power amps like these but I have some background knowledge from my ece classes. Not all amps have a protection mode indicator. If there's a question, pull the fuse from the holder and measure the resistance across it (set meter to ohms). Number1 Diamond Member. Thread Tools. Amp is still going into protect mode. I'm on a bit of a budget so my entire system is Boss Audio. If everything there checks out, then you will have to … Then I upgraded to a 1000 watt amp, and it goes in protect mode only when I connect the RCA cables to it. If you know how your amplifier behaves when the amp is in good working order, it will make troubleshooting much easier. If you're using a mono amp and have only one pair of speaker wires, you'll need to disconnect all but one speaker from the other end of the speaker wires. 4. 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