Amp Cuts Out

[BigED]

I have a Kicker IX-405D. It suddenly started acting up a few weeks ago. I haven't touched it or changed anything on the install for the past 3 months. Several times over the past 3 weeks or so, the amp would just spontaneously turn off (all channels in the amp go dead) while playing at only a moderate volume. I assumed this was the overheat protection kicking in, but it was probably about 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and when I pulled over, the amp was cool to
the touch. It did this turn off and turn back on
(probably took about 20 minutes to come back) about 4 times over a period of 2-3 weeks.

The other day it turned off and has no turned back on since. Today I took some time to examine it. The red light indicating that the protection circuit is on flickers constantly. I have tried disconnecting all of the speaker wires, as well as all of the RCA signal
wires, and no matter what, that red protection light keeps coming on. I checked the fuses and they look ok. I'm not sure what to do next.

Here is what the amp instruction manual says:

Red LED protection indicator is lit and there is no
output:
Case 1: Amp is very hot
• Thermal protection is engaged. Check for proper
impedance at speaker terminals. Also check location of
amplifier to ensure proper air flow around heatsink.
Case 2: Output resumes momentarily when system is
turned off and back on.
• Short circuit protection is engaged. With VOM check
for short between speaker positive and negative, and
between speaker terminals and ground.

[Ian]

it is your remote wire, garunteed.

re-run your remote wire.

if you want a surefire way to test to see if its your remote wire, do the following:

Wait until the amp flickers on and off, or just stays off.

Disconnect the remote wire from the amp

Take a 3 inch length of speaker wire and strip either end of it and connect the "+" terminal of the amp to the remote connection.

The amp WILL turn on when you turn the stereo on, but it will not turn off with it setup that way.

All you want to do is to see if the amp stays on. I am 99% sure it would.

Lemme know how it goes.

[BigED]

Thanks, I'll try that. One question though, isn't the positive power from the amp going to be too much power for the remote lead...it is obviously meant for a lower amount of current...but then again, I guess it'll only draw as much as it needs.

[Ian]

ha, i knew you were gonna ask that.


no, its not too much power. ive done it countless times.

[BigED]

It didn't work.

Here's exactly what I did:
1. Turned car key to accesory to allow radio to turn on. (Amp protection light flickers red)
2. Disconnected remote turn-on lead from amp. (Amp protection light goes out, meaning no power to amp.)
3. Connected a short wire from the amp positive terminal (while still leaving cable to battery on the positive terminal) to the remote turn-on terminal. (Amp protection light flickers red again. Amp is still silent. If amp were working properly, protection light would be green.)

Note, I just realized that I did not turn the car or head unit off and then back on again to see what would happen, but it shouldn't make a difference considering that if I disconnect the remote turn-on lead, the amp won't know if the radio is on or off.

[BigED]

Tried it again turning the car off first, doing the things mentioned above, and then turning the car and radio on. No dice. :(

[Ian]

Ok, then your amp is definately getting the power aspect of what it needs. You need to take a look at the signals (the RCA's).

I know there are RCA testers out there that will light up if there is a signal (check Radio Shack maybe?). The easiest way is to get like a 15ft. pair of cheap-a$$ RCA's, pull your head unit out, and just run them across your car to the amp real quick.

Hope that helps. Lemme know if you have any questions on how to do it at all, but its pretty straightforward.

[BigED]

the problem with that is that I have two separate sets of RCAs running between the head unit and the amp. One for the 2 main channels, and one for the sub. I can't imagine that they both went dead at the same time.

That, and the fact that a bad RCA signal shouldn't put an amp into protection override mode.

[Jason McCallister]

Have you checked your connections at the speaker(s)? You could possibly have a short there causing the protection fault. Use an Ohm meter to measure speaker impedance in case a speaker is faulty.

[Ian]

oh crap, sorry man, i didnt realize you were in "protect" mode.

if you are in protect, its the speaker wire. if one thin strand of copper is frayed out and touching the opposite terminal, it will protect the amp.

check all the speaker wire connections, and then check the subs too, like the person above me said.

[BigED]

If I disconnect all of the speakers and turn the amp on, should it go into protection mode or not?

Technically nothing could be wired wrong if you disconnect all of the speakers, but I was wondering what the possibility is of the amp just going into to protection mode by design by there are no speakers connected to it.

I think when I disconnected all of the speakers it was still in protection mode. Maybe I just disconnect the speakers and turn it off and back on. I don't think I did that yet.

I wonder if the amp's power needs to be reset or if it will go from protection mode to regular mode on the fly after you fix something.

[Ian]

if you had no speakers connected to the amp, and it was still on protect, your amp has a problem.


id get it looked at.