Why is My Amp Going Into Protection Mode When I Start My Car? | Car Audio Q & A

Watch as Allyn goes through some troubleshooting processes that you can try when your amplifier isn't functioning properly. He shows how to use a multimeter to check the amplifier's power and ground to make sure the amplifier is in the operating power range, as well as other ways to check why your amplifier isn't working correctly.
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[@humbertoguerrero1345]

Awesome video, really helped me identify my problem and save me from buying another amplifier.

[@proud2befknamerican466]

Thank you till this day in 2023 this video still helpful and a lot more detailed and variables than other love the meter u def can't go wrong with numbers!!!!!

[@djdon28]

when im running 2 12's in a ported box, should i run each sub to a separate channel on the amp or can i bridge them together

[@ellobo761]

Thank you so much for taking the time and making this video!

[@kylebennett632]

Quick question, in my boat i have three alpine pdx amps (pdx1.1000, and 2 pdx4.150) all my gains were set with the smd distortion reader, but after maybe 20 minutes of playing music at higher volume the amps go into protect mode. Is this just because of over heating or is there something going on with fuses? thank you!

[@alexanderaguillermo3144]

Your video is helping me I have red light and I discovered that with the ground and the amp control it gives me 00 what can I do, and if I can remove the amp control from another cable from the stereo

[@EmadAbuarrosh]

Thanks For the great advice i was just connecting my amp , and it keeps going into protection mode , but it works fine when i remove one of the speaker (out) its getting late so i came home to check for solutions and i will at least know what to look for tomorrow when i go and check it again ,,, Great work guys.

[@DavidGonzalez-om5yr]

Mine does the same did u figure it out ??

[@isellfoodstamps3667]

@@DavidGonzalez-om5yr did you ever get it figured out?

[@Kaibil66]

Great video thank you for uploading it I'll follow your advice.... let's see what happens

[@jonssnow7281]

hey man, question. what if my amp goes from red to blue on the protection mode, but only if i swap the power cord to the remote cord input? but even though its on it has no sound.

[@nunidee72]

i have to amps 1 for subs and one for highs and a distribution box tied into power for equal amperage? but when i turn the volume up past 20 it kills highs and only subs play. i was told i need a bigger ground to start. any ideas as vague as that is i have the big fuse coming off battery and 4 gauge power wire however the ground is smaller by amps

[@BackyardBandits]

or the ground is loose or not grounded well enough. thats usually what happens to mine when it goes into protection

[@williamking551]

I just purchased a new amp. I had a system in for about a year and wanted something smaller. I went to turn my new amp on and it will turn on and then off right away. I haven’t been able to figure it out. To much power going to the amp? It could be a short but I haven’t been able to find one. I’d appreciate the help. Thanks.

[@farzulali7021]

Question - JL AUDIO HD 600/4 and 2 pairs of 8 ohm components speakers (6.5") Can I connect a channel to each speaker directly or do I have to bring them down to 4 ohms?

[@adamhonda98]

Ive got a 98 civic and my amp is behind the back seat so could it be overheating since it only started this problem after winter?

[@shannonoconnor8334]

should i have continuity between ground and remote on my amp. iI pulled it out of the basement where it sat for a long time and this is what i have going on

[@thabossdon8936]

I have a factory radio and I installed an amp with it. When I cut the car on sometimes it will go into over current mode right of way sometimes it don't. I have the back two rear door speakers connected to the high level output on the amp. I had it on a line out converter but it does the same thing. I turn everything down and it still says goes into over current mode please help Thanks

[@7777Lace]

Please explain what position on the multimeter did you turn to to check the impedance?

[@shawneasonsr.1131]

My subwoofer amp powers up and plays at low volume but as soon as i turn it up it jumps into protect mode. I have disconnected the speaker wire and rca's from the amp and it was fine. i have not checked the power or the ground to the amp yet but please give insight on what to check for now.

[@tatuado5875]

Hey I had a quick question I have a kicker KX 1200.1 woke up this morning started my car speaker started making this weird noise I unplugged them the amp was still in protection mode I rewired everything new from the ground to the hot wire from the battery from the fuse to the remote and it's still in protection mode even without speakers being hooked up so I tried my old amp And my old amp works so could there be something wrong with the kicker app that I bought

[@420dportkid]

I have a pioneer receiver, a 4 channel kicker amp for my highs and a mono fosgate amp for my subs. When the bass in the music hits through my highs I get a horrible distorted sound, but when I disable my subs by turning them off through the head unit it goes away. I am now running my highs off the deck without an amp and it's not as bad. I have swapped out my highs amp, and my head unit without any change in sound. It's an older car (1972) that did not come with a radio in it so a ground has been made behind the heady it. I'm thinking my ground isn't good enough or my rcas are not a good quality. Any ideas? Thanks for any ideas you may have & keep up the good work.

[@stevekirn8017]

Have you ever made a video how to set up a car system in house like you have here using those switching power supplies? I have the same setup but don’t know what I’m doing wrong? Thanks

[@FreddyRazorify]

hey man i had a broblem with my amp i have a TMA 4 channel and similarly to this vid only when the car is start the audio signal to the speaker drops in volume, it like this when the car in standby mucis works gread no issues, but as soon as te car is start and idling the amp looses its drive. i have tried everything chaned wires tested the voltage change rca. i changed the amp and the issue was solved but i have no idea whats wrong with te amp

[@FinancePro203]

For anyone using a PAC AmpPRO and is having the issue, the problem is likely with the PAC unit. They die easily from ANY kind of short in the car, even for a split second. When they're dead, they will send your amplifier(s) into protect until you replace the unit.

[@alanstant9356]

I want add something to this. I came across alot of amps that was installed wrong. The protection light came on and never went off even with troubleshooting all possible causes. I basically found that the amp was toast with subs either hooked up wrong and just the wrong subs all together.

[@trishcompton8011]

When I installed my boss armor ar1200.2 I had a good ground and power and remote no fuses were blown and when I would turn my key the protection light would blink and nothing else would happen hope u can help me.

[@serafinnieves8137]

I have a 96 Nissan Maxima that has amps on each speaker. I replaced the stock radio with an after market radio. I ran RCA from radio to aftermarket amp RCA input then ran wires from out put not using RCA out put but using wire connect. No sound so If I run RCA input do I have to use the RCA output for it to work?

[@krisv6926]

thanks for the video but the fuse was done for, i dont understand why. The amp didnt spark at me like the last time... and i did nothing with the power cable to make it short. I dont know why it did this, could you explain????

[@og_mcnastyy8985]

I have an sfb 1000. I wired in a ds18 v2hl line out converter. Have a strong ground, 150amp fuse, and sky high remote wire ran to an ignition wire off my stock head unit. I hook the amp up with only power ground and remote and when i turn the car on its in protection mode (protect light blinking), clip light solid, and power light has a slow blink. Not sure why its doing it.

[@oscarmeza19995]

how do I know if I should run new wires to my after market speakers? do wires really make a big difference? or just a little?

[@kevinnkadeslowrideraddicti216]

My amp goes into protection mode n right before it does my sub is vibrating in n out?? Then kills into protection mode..Worked well then all of a sudden this...Any Ideas why?

[@ScrewInTheTuna_]

Mine goes into protection mode only when I drive faster than 60mph... it will kick out when treble takes over, then when a bass moment of the track comes on it kicks back in about 10 seconds later like it realised it was supposed to be on! Any ideas?

[@markusnealy8618]

Thank you helpful video my sub might be blown or went out protective mode only turns on when I connect to sub

[@coreymccracken7329]

I got a question got a Rockville 4ch amp it worked fine when I last parked it. Been driving my new truck. But today I want to drive my jeep and when on standby or started the amp stays on protect mode. I removed all my doors wires from amp and it’s still in protect mode. What else am I missing.?

[@christopherwise7067]

i got a problem. i just installed a dual xpr84d amp. when i turn on the radio, the amp goes directly into protect mode. voltage at the power and ground is battery voltage. when i check the voltage at the amp, it is about 5 volts. brand new stereo works fine. pioneer subwoofer amp works fine. the remote is split off from the dual to my pioneer. ground is good, power is good, remote is good, but the dual 4 channel, with no speakers hooked up, goes into protect mode. power wires are separate, no distribution block. different grounds for each amp.

[@RJBC5199]

I have a kicker 4 channel amp and if I have 2 or even 1 bad 6x9's speakers hooked up to it will it go into protection mode? Because it makes my front speakers even not sound all that good.. Like it won't amplify the sound there's no strong output like there you used to be.. Basically they sound like someone is putting there hand over the speaker.. And it's just not loud.. When you turn it up. Help me out if you know what's going on?

[@wyattracing_andreviews1155]

what would cause the amp tp go into protect mode when you hook up rhe audio cable from the head unit? tried a new head unit and new audio cables and still protection. im guessing theres a short in the amplifier someplace?

[@seagull7414]

I have an older audiopipe 1500 watts amp and 2 pioneer 10" subs. It used to work fine but some wires got loose and I tried to re-wire it up. Now the amp goes into protect mode when i turn the gain up. I made a new ground and cleaned it. I'm just not good at this stuff so I really need to take it to someone who knows what they're doing but I wanna save money. My car setup is a mess

[@zrlrfi7943]

How do we know amplifier watts.. that didn't shown on the amplifier?

[@stephen2586]

If my battery’s old, can it cause my amp to go into protection mode, just hooked up everything. I have a solid ground. It has the green light until a bass note plays. I have the loc hooked up to the factory sub and the remote wire is coming from the loc

[@leopinnick8990]

I have an audio pipe amp that had no fuse. when I was hooking it up with just the power and ground and remote wires. any metal that touched any part of the amp would ground out and cause an ark. What is going wrong??????

[@mcintosh.motors]

Ok I need help. This is the exact thing happening to my Cerwin vega ht-s15 home powered subwoofer. it used to work great but now once the sub gets a signal on auto mode OR is turned on, the sub clicks and goes into protec mode. Please help!!

[@RandoManFPV]

Do I have to pull my subs out the box to test resistance? I've heard that if your speaker isn't sitting with its butt on the table then your resistance will fluctuate. I'm trying to test my final resistance will subs still in box and it's fluctuating like crazy

[@yunghustle549]

I have a skar audio 800.1D amp I tried the key thing but its still in prt

[@edwarddavis4091]

So in my Silverado in accessory I was getting 12.6 and with it on I was getting 14.6??? Amp still in protection mode idk wat it is? All I have hooked up are door speakers

[@ezra9256]

I have a problem with my stereo. When I start my car and then play music my subs will play for about half a second and then my amp will go into protection mode so the subs stip. The subs I jus installed are skar sdr-2x12d4. I double checked all of my wiring and nothing is touching each other. Thank you for the help people that reply

[@mattithyahuwyisrael4077]

I have that same amp but 2400 and it's worked for 5 years then all of a sudden went to protection mode a few days ago. Thinking of just sending it back to kicker because they don't make the amp anymore

[@sheedatalli2967]

I have a 4 channel amp in my car connected with 4 speakers. My speakers automatically goes off while driving nd they produce a sound sometimes like (triit) what should i do

[@giftakamorapedi8059]

I have the Sony mono but then it kept on burning the ground wire an now if I plug it protect its self so maybe you can help me with that

[@JayFix68]

Will accidentally hooking a line output converter to the 2.75” dash speakers cause protection mode?

[@drippy6941]

Me: why tf is it going into protection mode? *Ground isn’t hooked up right* *Fixes ground* Amp: Protection mode

[@gmax341]

Same! Imma end up junking the whole car I'm done lol

[@adbc6740]

@@gmax341 same

[@gmax341]

@@adbc6740 turns out I was trying to run a 1 ohm speaker with 2 ohm stable amp 🤦🏼‍♂️. Fixed my issue by buying a 1 ohm amp.

[@OSCAROZ]

Hi guys, i got 3000 speakers, and a 7000 watts amp, i tryed everything and still doing that stupid turn off, do i have to swap my battery and my alternator? Or the power wire has to be change also???

[@darrellroireau4061]

Simply explained and good info! 👍

[@bushmaster233]

Question I took out my car battery and when I installed the battery back my amp keep going into production after passing volume 30

[@Relix626]

My amp draws 12 volt when it’s off and when my vehicle turns on. It drops to 5 volts? Fuses are good

[@a.arruda9578]

I figure I'd subscribe,....considering I'm the only one answering these poor guys questions and all........btw. good vid. might wanna explain how you got a short to ground on that speaker tho' just sayin'......

[@danielmaldonado5212]

i got a question. i have a jl audio 1200/1d monoblock amp my green power light stays one nd my protect light blinks every 5 to 10 seconds. i cant get it to work i unplugged everyting nd tried it again multiple times yet noting happens

[@juliosotelo2307]

I'm having trouble getting my amp and subwoofer to play I'm using an alpine Mrv-f301 and a dblink hlc1 converter my sub just comes on and off but no bass is heard to just weird echo have you guys ever runner into this problem? My car is a 06 saturn ion with stock radio.

[@travisumphries1432]

I have a digital audio amp ( Old school I’m guessing) it is a 2 channel 5k amp and can’t find any info on it. It has temp gauge and a voltage gauge and 2 fans, went into protection mode. Need help

[@chrisolavarrieta]

Nice brother thanks def helped me alot with my Memphis setup

[@vyruz2010]

Hi there I've just bought 2 BOSS CX154DVC 900W rms sub and got a mono block pioneer GMD8601 800 @ 1omh load. I got to parallel the subs to 1ohm load, will my amp gonna die

[@astro54541]

Hey Allyn, Thanks for the Vids man, and Greetings from Texas. My question is, What are the main factors in choosing a Great Sub ? For example - Voice coil sizes, Magnets in Oz's and Material that the sub is made From ? Thanks !

[@LuxorVan]

Cristo Bal Look for reviews on products, check out their sites, look for their history in car audio! A good sub can even be a single voice coil sub with a small magnet, it is just the quality of construction, your needs and the power you can afford! One good example is JL Audio, they are well known, have many wins in competitions and even in the late 1990's you could buy a W0 that would turn many heads with sound quality that nobody could compete with! I still have my 15 year old single voice coil JL's and they are as good as the day they were bought, they recently were refoamed but haven't ever failed! They set off Bank alarms, woke up fire departments, got me pulled over just for a peek at them, they even impressed an Authorized Orion HCCA dealer, that had to come and ask what I had, he said his subs looked like they were powered up and coming out of the baskets! I was parking to buy some power cable from him, but he ran outside! I had two 12's and two 15's all single 8 ohm subs each set wired parallel running on a clarion 4 channel bridged to two channels that was rated at 380 watts total! He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw my setup! But that is how JL won many competitions in the early years even setting major records in low power categories, they did so well, retailers wanted to sell JL and would travel to the competitions just to ask to sell them in their stores across America! Also look at warranties offered! JL Retails from their own site!

[@infohackerinfo1045]

i see a reduced quantity of amps witch a HIGH voltage protect. the low and short is in all but the high is in only a reduced group

[@jakewood8884]

Will a 2000watt speaker make a 1000watt amp go into protectin mode? The fuse connection in the amp was not good one wire was not connected and the other wire was connected to both ends on the fuse case so I hooked both wires back up properly and put amp back together but kept blowing the 30amp fuse put a 40 amp fuse it was good but amp goes into protecting mode When I turn the volume up Idk if it's just the amp or if my speaker is to much for it!

[@denverdan13]

My amp goes into protect. A skar lp 1000.1 can't figure out why either. Only when bass hits hard. Gains set right amp even has a clip light. Running stock electrical too.

[@MayzDayz007]

I have adapters that is 2 + 2 - how can I have a bad ground? My voltage sets at 15v drops slowly to 14.4v 3 batteries 140ah on MD3k, I can't go pass half way or goes to protect mode. I have 2 15" subwoofers NVX-VCW154. My last amp NVXVAD17001 I could turn it up no problem ever. I need help?

[@jonny-6515]

I get 6v on amp when battery + and remote hooked up... if I remove remote wire I get 12v battery+ and and 12v remote. why do I get 7v only when I hook them both up to amp.

[@greygoosemafia]

I have a output problem with my Rockford fosgate p1000-1bd. Does anyone know a company that repairs these? also i have 1 volt less on the remote wire.

[@fistmeetsurface]

Heres a fun question, my GF dropped her aux cord into the cig lighter and blew the head unit, the amp is now quieter than it used to be, even with a new head. No protect mode or any other issues. What do you think went on the amp?

[@ronmerkus5941]

Thanks for this informative video

[@lolo-gv3nl]

Hi thanks for all the helpful videos. I have a problem with my Pyle PLBA530FRD BLADE 6,800-Watt 5-Channel Compact Class-D Full Range Hybrid Amplifier when I power it up it plays for a split second an go into protect mode by the way it is not in a car I have it on a shelf with a car battery an a battery charger the amp terminals read 14 volts and even with the charger off at 12.8 volts still goes into protect. I disconnected all cables speakers RCA's an only put power into it same problem I read that is could be a bad output transistor. The problem started when by brother wired 3 different speaker an the resistance went below the rating value on the same channel. I am an electronic guy so if any one know what component inside the amp is doomed please tell me I can open an replace it BTW the amp plays for a split second so I don't think is a transistor idk please help thanks in advance

[@locc__632]

Battery isolators can cause this to happen as well correct.? Thx for the video..

[@eizzliniemanish6277]

I'm running a dd audio redline 800 series on a dd audio Dm1000a. If I use the bass knob more than 40% I the amp goes into protection mode. The amp is always hot.

[@jessepalomino7662]

Omg I checked the fuse and sure enough it was loose. Thanks for mentioning that because I was wondering why and was about to buy another amp

[@dickhurtzz]

I have 4 12" mtx terminator subs wired at 2 ohms, I have a boss r2000m amp and I am running 4g power and ground. it keeps going into protection mode when I turn the volume past 20....? any help I have wires from one box to the other with butt connectors then to the amp from there.? amp is rms 1000w and I have 800w rms from subs... why is it not working.

[@CJPIMP505]

OK I didn't have a short to ground on my speaker wire it didn't make that beep noise what do I do now?

[@bhagwansinghrana8224]

I am using Pioneer GM D-9601 Class-D Mono Car Amplifier ( it has 3 40 amp fuses) at home to play two 12" sub woofers & I am using 12V 50 amp SMPS to power that Amplifier. My problem is the indicator led bulb of the Amplifier starts blinking after some time & the sub woofers starts to distort or produces disturbed sound. Plz suggest what may be the problem ?

[@Jonathan00062]

Will a bigger wire fuse throw a protection mode also?

[@TehNixonExe]

Can someone help me out please. I was hooking up speaker wire to my amp after installing, and fucked up by not turning the power off. The speaker wires touched, sparked, and now my amp is stuck in protection mode. I'm thinking maybe it's a resistor. I've already checked voltage to the amp and that's fine. My inline fuse is okay being that it's a breaker and didn't short it's self. I disconnected the speaker wires and everything else one by one and it's still in protection mode

[@dmu6987]

Just a quick question my AMP goes into protection mode when i turn on the car but if i unplug the RCA cables and turn on the car and then reconnect the input RCA then everything works fine

[@eliezerbrito301]

I have a jp23 everything is working good but i see that the protection light flashes,can you help?

[@matthewwilder4613]

I have a kenwood 1000 amp the red protection mode turns red butt the amp still works well ?

[@mixadders]

Ok I have a kicker ix1000.1 checked everything’s ok said in the video but my friend tells me it could be a high power up resistor

[@321moe]

Hi, great channel! Wonder if anyone can help with my problem. I use using CarPlay and accidentally had it cranked when I started truck. It shutdown all but sub. Now it occasionally goes out. Thanks in advance!

[@jbl8916]

Could be loose speaker wire on speaker mostly front speaker ... From water getting in your door causing the speaker wires to corrode... has happened to me

[@thaddiushill]

my car amp turn off when i turn the car on. it turn out to be a bad alternator that was going up to 15 volts making the amp protecting come on.06 yukon i had to unplug the wire going to the alternator now my alternator only put out 13.8 volts and I can turn my music up and it do not cut off but sometime my battery light on the dash may come on and sometimes it do not come on but my music sound good

[@franksmith9530]

Metering 12v with Radio off, about 4v when radio on...turned out bolt for ground was loose..

[@johngallegos4524]

The blue light flashes when I hook the power ground and remote wire and nothing else that's already flashing what's that mean

[@MrTarkus007]

i have a regular kenwood radio with 2 speakers & the shit box always goes into protect mode why my mechanic who installed a previous radio told me the radio is no longer good i think that's bullshit what do you think??

[@guillermomarquez75]

Hey I have a 8000 Orion ztreet and I turns on and off I did have all the fuses blown replace fuses but now it just turns on and off help please

[@Tee-qu5bq]

Great video bro helpful

[@djames251]

I have 2 jbl amplifiers when I install it the protect light comes on and goes off and the power light doesn't turn on

[@gobinsiew8303]

I trouble shoot all what u did and, hook the amp separate to d battery, same protection light

[@AARAVBC]

Hi. My speaker wire shorted with car ground and it now stays in protect. How do I repair.

[@mikemike7237]

can you jump it with a speaker wire?

[@brandonsimmons4164]

I have a 2014 Hyundai Sonata they say with my stock radio that the radio keeps cutting off the bass due to the radio going into protection to protect factory speakers it has Bluetooth and everything they say the only was to fix it is to get a aftermarket radio

[@michael6692]

thank you bud onece moor you have done it fix now thanks

[@MrAwsomeshot]

would have been nice to see how you test RCA. do you test them for continuity as well? you kind of breezed over that part "if you test the RCA and they test out fine..." ok how we test em?

[@edwarddavis4091]

Actually I unplugged the rca and all the speakers still goes into protection soon as I start the truck. But when started it read 14.6

[@dbwiskus]

On my amp. Ch 1 is set at 17 volts (75 w x 4 ohm speaker) but ch 2 reads 37 volts? Why is that happening

[@lazzer408]

Usually it's turn-on thump from the stock stereo's amplifier stage. Need a scope to find out.