You may also be interested in How to Install Your Own Car Stereo System . An, | About us | Contact us | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclaimer |. Amplifiers can go into protection mode for several reasons. An easy way to accomplish this is to mount the amplifier to a wood board and then mount the board to the vehicle. If your amp isn’t a code-talker, it’s still important to understand what its lights are saying at all times. If you can’t turn your amp’s power light on even by pressing the button, you might be in protect mode. Step 2: Check cables, terminals, and fuses. Some amps don’t even have power lights, but this doesn’t mean they don’t have protect circuits. Next, check that your amp’s grounding cables are securely attached to the car. All rights reserved. If it starts normally, the problem is in your head unit. No car is complete without a stereo capable of blowing out the eardrums of everyone in a 5-mile radius, but you might think you can’t, If you are tired of the poor quality of the preinstalled factory speakers in your car, a 3-way speaker is the best option to improve, If you are looking to upgrade your car’s sound system, but limited space is an issue, an 8-inch subwoofer may be the perfect option. 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. Skip ahead to the next section. Amplifier Protection Mode Troubleshooting Try to determine the cause. Almost all amps (and all amps you should be buying) are engineered with protection circuits. This is also a good time to make sure that the amp is not directly touching the metal of the car at any point. Just check what sequence the light is blinking in, look in the manual to see what it means, then skip ahead to where we talk about solutions. Manuals contain a tsunami of information, so if you’re overwhelmed, here are the things to look for: If the last part is true, you’re on easy street. 10 Best Car Stereos Under $200 in 2020 – Reviews & Top Picks, 10 Best 3-Way Car Speakers of 2020 – Reviews & Top Picks, 10 Best 8-Inch Car Subwoofers of 2020 – Reviews & Top Picks, What color the protect light is supposed to be, If the protect light blinks in code to tell you what the problem is. In that case, you’ll need professional assistance. Look for clean, secure connections at every port. An amplifier will go into the protected mode if the amplifier gets heated. Check to make sure that a speaker wire isn't being pinched somewhere between the amp and the speaker. Try to determine the cause. If you're interested in learning more about troubleshooting, the commonly used components in car amplifiers and the way they work, you may be interested in the full version of the repair tutorial. It’s basically the electrical engineering version of the COVID-19 lockdown. Tear it down. 7 Types of Car Speakers: What Are Their Differences? These amps indicate protect mode by blinking the power light before shutting down completely. If your amp feels like a hot stovetop, check and see if you’ve plugged it into a unit with a lower resistance (measured in ohms) than the amp’s minimum. A good sign of this is if the voltage on every terminal in your battery is low. Add the RCA cables first. To solve a grounding problem, clean your grounding wires, then reattach them more tightly to a location in your car where you’re certain they won’t rattle loose. If you still have a problem in this state then either your amp is defective or you may have an installation problem such as the amplifier touching metal. So I'm a bit of a noob to this kind of stuff but I am really stumped. Copyright © DecibelCar.com 2020. Here are a few of the most common. One of the more confusing car stereo problems can be when an amplifier goes into protection mode. | Car Audio Q & A. Remove all of the speaker wiring and RCA wiring and leave only the power, ground and remote leads connected. I'm confused : SOLVED - thank you guys! Low voltage can be caused by bad grounding. I have a head unit and a 5 channel amp running 2x 6.5" speakers, 2x 6x9" speakers and a 12" sub. If the speaker wires cause the problem then they are probably touching metal. So my amp works when i first turn on the radio at low volume then when i turn the volume up the amp goes into protect mode but if i turn the head unit off and back on again then the amp will once again work at low volume and when i turn it up goes into protect. Why is My Amp Going Into Protection Mode When I Start My Car? This article is designed to help car audio beginners understand and deal with one of the most frustrating things that can happen to any amp: the system shutting down and the “protection” light turning on, seemingly for no reason at all. If your device confined under the closed space, it might cause overheated the amplifier. If you believe your amplifier is defective contact the manufacturer first. If you haven’t found the problem yet, it’s time for a classic engineering solution: try to isolate the vault within the system. If you don't know the reputation of the local shop it may be better to send it to the manufacturer who will have working knowledge of the amp and parts readily available. Tear it down. If it starts right up as normal, the problem is in the speaker — your amp has just shut down to protect itself.