The JOY of a protect light.

 

New member
Username: Jmartin2323

Cleveland, Ohio United States

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-10
Ok so i have a slight situation that is driving me nuts. At high volume, sometimes low, My amp decides to "protect" Of course after turning off headunit and back on... were good. Ill run through my install and hope for some advice.
One run of 1/0 High strand Power wire(copper)
250 ANL fuse about a foot from battery.
Electrical system is stock ALT is 130amps.
Big three are all 0 gauge.
Head unit Alpine IVA-D310 (touchscreen) Distribution block 0 to 4. Which then goes to An American Bass VFL 150.1 and an American Bass SQ2000. on my 150.1 are 2 american bass XFL 12's. Dual 4. Wired to 1 ohm. I know that i have a huge voltage drop and the amp isnt doing its full potential. Gain is ehh 3/4 of the way up? something in that area. There is nothing "half-a**" about my install, No rats nets of wires. all correct connectors used, etc. It is all fairly new and never abused. Maybe something as simple as a temperature issue? I have no clue. Maybe with this little info, someone can help. Thank you guys for anything you may suggest. If there is ANYTHING else that is needed for a correct diagnosis let me know. Ill be MORE than glad to provide the info needed
 

Silver Member
Username: Skdooley

Roanoke, VA Usa

Post Number: 415
Registered: Oct-09
If you're having a voltage drop then the amp is shutting off to protect its self from damage. Once it reaches a low enough voltage it is going to shut off until the voltage comes back up. The main thing I could suggest is a HO alt. If not maybe a good battery under the hood and one in the trunk. That depends on how bad the voltage is dropping though. You may also check your gain settings. For a 1 ohm load it should be putting out a set number of volts to your subs. This could be over working the amp if it is a little high and creating voltage drops which is shutting things off. Also be sure your amps are grounded to the frame in the trunk as well. Solid grounds all the way around help with voltage. Hope this helps.
 

New member
Username: Jmartin2323

Cleveland, Ohio United States

Post Number: 9
Registered: Mar-10
As far as the amount of drop... Im not too sure yet. This install is days old and I havent gone too far with it. As for my settings... im still in the "break-in" so i have things tuned down. The grounds are well established to.. some random, GIANT bolt in the floor of the trunk... What its for.... i have no clue. May very well be the frame. I can safely eliminate the ground issue, and im well aware of my alternator need. unfortunately the ONLY HO alternator for my car is 600$ sooo im gonna have to wait on that. Thanks shawn
 

Bronze Member
Username: Sleste8

Shelbyville, MI United States

Post Number: 53
Registered: Mar-10
your amps gain is way to high, its gota be clipping, and its gota be because of the gain.
try it inbetween 1/4 and 1/2 way up.
hopefully this helps.
 

Silver Member
Username: Skdooley

Roanoke, VA Usa

Post Number: 417
Registered: Oct-09
Check DC Power Engineering or Mechman for an alt. See how their prices look. DC had three options for my car, ranging from $300 - $400.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Glasswolf

Columbia, SC USA

Post Number: 12659
Registered: Dec-03
check connections on power and ground and make sure the ground point is either to the negative battery terminal, or to bare metal (meaning sanded down to bare metal) and not just screwed to painted chassis metal.

make sure gain on the amp isn't turned up more than about a quarter turn.

if it still happens, check voltage with a DMM while in use. If the voltage is dropping below 11VDC when this happens, start looking for a high output alternator.
 

New member
Username: Pureaudio90

Post Number: 2
Registered: Mar-10
i have had the same problem.if your stuff is hooked up right then it shouldwork without havin tochange out batteriesand ur alt.so just go thru and check all ur wires
 

Platinum Member
Username: Glasswolf

Columbia, SC USA

Post Number: 12673
Registered: Dec-03
>high volumes
>stock charging system
>130A alternator
>American Bass VFL 150.1 and an American Bass SQ2000. on my 150.1 are 2 american bass XFL 12's. Dual 4. Wired to 1 ohm
>0 gauge wiring
>gains 3/4 of the way up


OK let's see here. You should turn the gains down to below half. closer to 1/4 unless they were set using a scope and DMM. Chances are they are set far too sensitive/high.
You really need to look at a high output alternator with a load like this. 130A alternators as OE are used in cars with a lot of electrical demand already, like power everything, heated seats, etc. You want to look for something in the 220-250+A range.
After this, your next step will be isolating a dedicated battery or two for audio if needed.

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