Flickering light and cd skipping??

[Sencheezy 689]

I have a Arc Audio SE-2150se, and I have it in mono mode, running at 2 ohms to my fully loaded, D1 18'' fi btl. Everything works fine, but I wanted to turn it up this past weekend to show of to my friends, so when I turn up the amp, from 1/4, to 3/4, it sounded much louder. But when I turn it up, the protect mode light will flicker red, just for when the bass drop, now I know this can't be good. It goes back green, but when ever the bass drops, a big one, it will just flicker red for that one second. Can any body tell me why this is, and is it safe to play it that loud? Not daily, I'm not stupid, but whenever I want to show off for a song or two, can I or should I play it loud without damaging the amp?

Also, I have a Eclipse 5342r, and whenever the bass is up, it skips the cd player. It is a older model, and the guy who had it before me was using it for his 4 12s. Is it skipping just because its been through a lot, and its a few years old now? Is there any way I can get it to now skip any more? Like, is there any way I can like, open it up, and clean the lense or something like that? I really like this unit, plus its 4v.

[jcarter1885 995]

It is hard to tell why your amp is doing that with the information you gave us, what electrical upgrades do you have? Are you sure your wired at the ohm load the amp likes and not below its final ohm load? 3/4 of a gain setting is not a good way to set your gains, could be clipping your amp that is why it is blinking. Set your gains right and I wouldnt say it is safe to play something that has a protection light showing you it is going in and out of protect. you never adjust your gains on your amp when you want to show out, you usually want to have your settings on your headunit turned down from when you set it correctly and then boost those settings when you want to show off. That way those are your max settings before you damage anything.

On the skipping issue make sure it is mounted correctly and not loose so it would cause the headunit to move around.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

wiat what are you turning 3/4 the way up? the gain on the amp or the h/u volume?

and you do relize a few reason why amps CLIP out and go into protect is b/c

A) improper gain settings

B) not enough electrical to support it

so in the long run how DID you set your gains(via ear or dmm) and what is backing the amp? Big 3 extra battery(ies) or h/o alt?

more info please and we can help you out!

[Sencheezy 689]

wiat what are you turning 3/4 the way up? the gain on the amp or the h/u volume?

and you do relize a few reason why amps CLIP out and go into protect is b/c

A) improper gain settings

B) not enough electrical to support it

so in the long run how DID you set your gains(via ear or dmm) and what is backing the amp? Big 3 extra battery(ies) or h/o alt?

more info please and we can help you out!

well I have the big 3 done, I have a 80 amp alt, regular batt, using 4 guage wiring, also have a amp for my highs. I have the bass boost 3/4 up on the amp, and on top of the amp, I see the gain label, but there is like, two white things, i can turn them either left or right, but there is no indicator, for me to know how much it is to the left or to the right, that is why it is hard for me to set the gains right

[Sencheezy 689]

wiat what are you turning 3/4 the way up? the gain on the amp or the h/u volume?

and you do relize a few reason why amps CLIP out and go into protect is b/c

A) improper gain settings

B) not enough electrical to support it

so in the long run how DID you set your gains(via ear or dmm) and what is backing the amp? Big 3 extra battery(ies) or h/o alt?

more info please and we can help you out!

well I have the big 3 done, I have a 80 amp alt, regular batt, using 4 guage wiring, also have a amp for my highs. I have the bass boost 3/4 up on the amp, and on top of the amp, I see the gain label, but there is like, two white things, i can turn them either left or right, but there is no indicator, for me to know how much it is to the left or to the right, that is why it is hard for me to set the gains right

also, its not going into protect mode, the light just flickers red for some reason, but it keeps playing normal with no problem.

[Sencheezy 689]

It is hard to tell why your amp is doing that with the information you gave us, what electrical upgrades do you have? Are you sure your wired at the ohm load the amp likes and not below its final ohm load? 3/4 of a gain setting is not a good way to set your gains, could be clipping your amp that is why it is blinking. Set your gains right and I wouldnt say it is safe to play something that has a protection light showing you it is going in and out of protect. you never adjust your gains on your amp when you want to show out, you usually want to have your settings on your headunit turned down from when you set it correctly and then boost those settings when you want to show off. That way those are your max settings before you damage anything.

On the skipping issue make sure it is mounted correctly and not loose so it would cause the headunit to move around.

I wired the sub in series to the amp, bridged.

[thebiggmann12 14]

do u have a voltage meter? also, u should def get 0 gauge wiring for ur amp. that will help u out big time. ur probably sending the amp into a clip. do ur headlights dim?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

o my lol! first of all the big 3 awesome good job!

turning the bass boost 3/4 the way up bad idea, i recommend turnign this to 0 lol

umm as for your gain please use a dmm to set this

also like brandon siad use 1/0 since you are powering 2 amps, and use a fused distro to distribute the power to the 2 amps!

also get a volt meter to monitor the battery(ies) voltage would be the best idea! remember under 12volts=bad!

other then those recommendations do some and see what happens and go from there!

also how old is your alt? and front battery?

[Sencheezy 689]

o my lol! first of all the big 3 awesome good job!

turning the bass boost 3/4 the way up bad idea, i recommend turnign this to 0 lol

umm as for your gain please use a dmm to set this

also like brandon siad use 1/0 since you are powering 2 amps, and use a fused distro to distribute the power to the 2 amps!

also get a volt meter to monitor the battery(ies) voltage would be the best idea! remember under 12volts=bad!

other then those recommendations do some and see what happens and go from there!

also how old is your alt? and front battery?

well right now, Im running two runs of 4 gauge, and I have a volt meter on the dash, but, it doesn't show numbers. It just has a H and a L, and the meter will be in the middle at idle with nothing on. It drops and goes back to normal, unless im at a stop light, and have it up, then it kinda stays low, until i drive again. I drive a 96 explorer, so the battery upfront is pretty big. so where can I buy a dmm? and how much does it cost? If I turn down the bass boost on the amp, then it won't produce any bass

[jcarter1885 995]

You may want to invest in a better volt meter unless you know what the actual voltage high is and low is, but it seems like your electrical is suffering if you say it is low.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

o my lol! first of all the big 3 awesome good job!

turning the bass boost 3/4 the way up bad idea, i recommend turnign this to 0 lol

umm as for your gain please use a dmm to set this

also like brandon siad use 1/0 since you are powering 2 amps, and use a fused distro to distribute the power to the 2 amps!

also get a volt meter to monitor the battery(ies) voltage would be the best idea! remember under 12volts=bad!

other then those recommendations do some and see what happens and go from there!

also how old is your alt? and front battery?

well right now, Im running two runs of 4 gauge, and I have a volt meter on the dash, but, it doesn't show numbers. It just has a H and a L, and the meter will be in the middle at idle with nothing on. It drops and goes back to normal, unless im at a stop light, and have it up, then it kinda stays low, until i drive again. I drive a 96 explorer, so the battery upfront is pretty big. so where can I buy a dmm? and how much does it cost? If I turn down the bass boost on the amp, then it won't produce any bass

umm first i recommend you get a voltmeter something like stinger (it is what i use and it is small and acurate)

STINGER SVMR VOLTMETER RED 3-DIGIT DIGITAL DISPLAY NEW - eBay (item 360233695794 end time Apr-10-10 11:13:25 PDT)

as for a dmm almost anywhere you can spend 20-500$ on a dmm so do a little reseach and don't be afraid to use ebay and or buy a used FLUKE DMM (digital multimeter) they are awesome to have!!

okay you say "If I turn down the bass boost on the amp, then it won't produce ANY bass" can you explian this? like you say ANY bass as in 0 dB's? you don't have a dmm so you don't know what it can produce, also sorry if you answered this already what h/u are you using? and is there a bass control setting? if so you should MAX this out, and bass controll not BASS on the EQ!!!