Thread: My amp keeps cutting out

Well...the issue is in one of two places. The head unit or the wiring to the AMP. Is the wiring to the amp rated to handle the size you are pushing? What is the gauge of the wire and how is it grounded? Second, I've had my protect light come on when the line level in is too high. So if you have an input knob, I'd turn it back to less than 3/4 of full. Otherwise, I'd see if I could get my hands on a different head unit, or have a buddy try out the amp in their car. But 3 amps and the same problem...it definitely isn't in the amp.

its a four gauge wire which i was told was enough to run what i had and the head unit is a Dual XDMR7710 which is a little under a year old and its done it just about from the start

Originally Posted by mikhel22

its a four gauge wire which i was told was enough to run what i had and the head unit is a Dual XDMR7710 which is a little under a year old and its done it just about from the start

Check your wiring...especially the ground...if you have a loose connection it might trigger the fault light. Then turn down your inputs.... That fault cut out is your friend. Otherwise you could blow your amp and subs. That would really suck.

i no its a good thing when the protect light comes on but it gets really old and starts to get on ur nerves after a while. i just want it to work how its supposed to without any problems. iv checked the ground and it is a good ground. this is probably a simple question but im pretty new at this and dont know what everything is called yet, as far as turning down the inputs, do u mean the amount of power that the sub is gettin from the amp?

no problem..
Try this.

http://www.lanzar.com/manuals/VIBE22...16-426-436.pdf

Page 2, upper right picture, #1.

Also, as per page 9 of the manual:

Protection Led Comes On When The Amplifier Is Powered Up
• Check for shorts on speaker leads.
• Check that the volume control on the head unit is turned down low.
• Remove speaker leads, and reset the amplifier. If the Protection LED still comes on, then the amplifier is faulty.

thats what i meant about the input levels and there less then half, and as far as page nine, when i turn the radio on the protect light isnt on, it only comes on after being used at a medium to high volume which as far as i understood wasnt what the manual was saying, it was sayin that as soon as you turn on the amp the protect light comes on. is that correct or am i understanding it wrong.

Sounds like it all points to the head unit or RCA's going to the amp. Try turning the input level way down to like 25%. Then maybe it won't fault once you get to a medium or high level of radio volume.

alright thanks, ill try that in the morning and ill post the results tomorrow. thanks for your help

Questions for you:

1) Where do you ground the amp?
2) What is the amp pushing? Sub and 2 speakers? pair of 10's? 4 speakers?
3) If you have subs connected, what are they? (Model numbers would be great)
4) Where is the amp mounted?

Based on everything you've said so far, it sounds like you're either running into an impedance problem (which could include roasted subs), or you have a poor ground.

Your headunit really can't cause the amp to shut down. It can cause it to have a poor signal/sound quality, but your Dual should be OK for that.

Your RCAs could cause problems, however, if they were pinched and touching metal somewhere. Maybe they're pinched where your seat hinges, under the carpet somewhere... it happens. Some amps can handle the load because of complex circuitry, other amps shut down because it's safe and "reliable" way to protect the amp. If you ran your own speaker wire, check this for pinches as well.

To check these issues:
1) make sure if you're sub's final impedance load is something the amp can handle. Your amp can handle a 2ohm-stereo load minimum, which essentially is the same thing as a 4ohm-mono load (bridged). If you don't know how to figure this out, let me know.
If the above seems OK, move to the next check.

2)Check your RCAs and speaker wires for problems. The quick way to test this is to use your iPod or car stereo and run a fresh set of RCAs into your amp's inputs. Drive around like you normally do and see if it cuts out. The speaker wire is a bit harder, so if it cuts out still after the RCA test, you might as well check the RCA and the speaker wire by tracing them back from the amp to the source.

3)Amp placement. You need to have at least an inch or two of clearance above the amp for air to be able to pass over it. If you have it in a cramped area the amp might be getting hot. Heat is the number one enemy of electronics.

4) The ground wire check... If the amp doesn't have a nice, solid ground it can't transfer the power. During light play and early on, the amp doesn't require a heavy amount of juice and the power it's able to squeeze through it's ground is ok. When your crank it up, listen for a long time, play something that has heavy bass, etc, the amp needs to be able to move the energy effortlessly in order to make power.

That's a long one, but this should get down to the problem.