Car Stereos: Amp in protection, inline fuse, protection mode

Question
I have A kicker 1200.1 class d amp and it is stuck in protection mode. What does this mean and how can i fix it?

Answer
Hi John,

Protection mode is what amplifiers do to protect themselves from damage when they detect something is wrong in the circuitry.  This is usually because a speaker it's been hooked up to is providing a lower resistance than the amp can safely handle, or has blown up.

Another situation is if it overheats.

Try disconnecting everything but the remote, power, and ground, and pulling out the inline fuse that's powering it for 30 seconds (to ensure you've got it in a clean state).

If it stays in protect mode after you put the fuse back and turn the car and deck back on, the amp is likely dead.  If it comes on, test the leads to the speakers you're hooking up to it and ensure they're providing an equal or higher resistance than the amp is able to safely handle.

Justin