Expert: Cleggsan - 7/8/2009

Question
what is the ptoblem when i hook up my amp and the protection light comes on? could it be my ground?and if not wat could it be? thanks

Answer
Protection light is almost always caused by a short in the speaker line or in the speaker (shorted or burned voice coil).

To check, disconnect the speaker at the terminals of the kicker amp, check the ground connections, remove the input and turn down the volume level control - if it has one.  Then power up the amp and watch it to see if it still goes into protection mode. If so, it has a failure inside the amp circuitry itself.  If seems ok now, turn off and connect the speaker and try.  Or, if you have a VOM check the dc resistance of the speaker line to make sure it is at least near the impedance rating of the speaker. For example, if the speaker load is 4 ohms you should measure a dc resistance of a few percentage points less than 4 ohms.

If the protection light does not come on after reconnecting the speaker then slowly increase the volume control with music signal applied to see if it comes on with audio.

This process should tell you what the problem is and where it is happening.  Hope it helps you solve the problem.

C