My amp keeps going into protect mode

[xminnis]

I have 2 subs bridged into my amp, they aren't as loud in this car as they were in my other car, and the amp goes into protect mode when i am driving. If the car is on but the engine is off they will work, but even then if i try to turn the amp up any from min. power my subs will make popping noises and the amp goes into protect. Anyone know whats going on here?

 

[custom442]

I have 2 subs bridged into my amp, they aren't as loud in this car as they were in my other car, and the amp goes into protect mode when i am driving. If the car is on but the engine is off they will work, but even then if i try to turn the amp up any from min. power my subs will make popping noises and the amp goes into protect. Anyone know whats going on here?

Do you have them wired to the alternator? Just one battery? If you have two batteries, how'd you hook it up - what type of isolator/combiner?

My first suggestion is to wire a separate battery just for your audio. You're draining your starter battery every time you use subs without a second battery and the engine off or have a low powered alternator. You could have some wire resistance or a bad ground because of that popping sound, where did you ground the amps?

 

[85GPLef41]

Did you wire them in series or parallel? What subs are you using? Are they dvc? Sounds like the amp isnt stable down to whatever ohms you have it wired to and thats why its going into protection mode. Just make sure all your connections are good and its properly grounded.

 

[xminnis]

I only have one battery and the speakers are wired parallel. My ground might not be very good is what i am guessing now, but would that cause the amp to push one sub just fine but go into protect mode trying to push 2?

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

It all depends on the amp, how many amps it draws, the quality of the main power and ground wires, the ability of the alternator to keep up with it, and the load it is pushing.

 

[custom442]

I only have one battery and the speakers are wired parallel. My ground might not be very good is what i am guessing now, but would that cause the amp to push one sub just fine but go into protect mode trying to push 2?

Man you gotta give more info, what kind of amp is it, and subs? Where is it grounded, with what gauge wire? Is it wired to the alternator or the battery? Is it the stock alternator or replacement high amp type (a part number will help us with that). Whats the cold cranking amp level of your battery? Can you take pics of how it's wired in the trunk?

My first two guesses are bad grounding or hot wire interference, but it could be a number of other things.

 

[pokertramp]

From the looks of it, the amp is clipping. If you have 2 4 ohm subs and run them in parallel you will get a 2 ohm load. It is possible that the amp might not be able to handle that load. If it did before and is not now then you may need a new amp.

 

[79_GBody]

Mine was doing the same thing a while ago when I hooked them up in a new car and found out that I just had a bad ground. Get a nice size ground wire 4 gauge or better depending on how big the amp is and make sure where you ground it at is clean of paint and/or under coating.