I could use a little help here. a system I recently installed just clunked out on me. The green power light on my Amp comes on for only a second or two when turned on and then switches to the red "Protection Mode" light, powers down and remains this way. The install was only a day or so old and the only things i can think of that may have affected anything are the facts that i turned up the input a little more before heading out this time and i ran over some train tracks probably 150-200 meters before it quit on me. Also it was very hot (like 40 degrees) outside so i thought it may have over heated at first.
here are some of the details/ things ive tried.
ALIPINE DECK 50x4...2000 watt 4 chan boss amp (1000 rms).....two 12" infinity kappas 300-350rms......alipine type s speakers..all speakers were disconnected so they don't really matter.........1.0 farad cap.......grounded the cap and amp in two different bare metal locations.same with deck ground.I checked if it was the rcas,,,then speakers..then subs..only the cap and power cabel are hooked up...tried disconnecting the remote power for the amp also didn't work.
I'm not too technical with this stuff so any help is appreciated.
Try disconnecting all cables to the amp except the power. See if the amp stays green. If not, then you have a defective amp. If it stays green, then connect the rca from the HU and check again. If that triggers the protection light, then set the gain/level properly, check for shorts. Remember, gain/level is NOT a volume control nor should it be used as a bass booster.
yah ive basically tried that (but with the cap connected) and the same thing was happening. I'm hoping its not a deffective amp, but if so, are there any tell-tale signs of a messed up amp i should be looking for when i take it apart?
UPDATE: ive tested the amp (works), switched the grounds around (tried in all bare metal locations), pulled the H/U and checked the remote wire and looked for any kinks and whutnot in it. still i get the "protection mode" light. I dont know what else to try. could it have anything to do with fuses? is it possible my car battery doesnt have enough juice? but it DID work at a point.
Use a DMM and measure the voltage going into the amp. It should be somewhere 12.5v - 14.8v. If you tried the amp with nothing connected except power and remote wire, and the amp still goes into protection, then it needs to get fixed. The problem with electronics is, once it gets damaged by incorrectly set gain/level, it doesn't get fixed by itself. You did say that you "i turned up the input a little more " to get more bass/sound. That is enough to blow cheaper quality amps. I just realized that you own a BOSS amp. They're quite LOW in quality chart. It may not even be worth getting fixed. It'll break down again. Try a different brand like MTX.
If the amp is fine, then you've set the gain/level incorrectly. Fix it asap before the amp blows. Amp going into protection has nothing to do with fuses. It's either the voltage is too low, signal overload, speaker wires shorted, or bad amp.
check your speaker terms, sometimes w/ stranded wire, a small strand will break off and connect both the terminals. its a long shot, but it happened to me once.