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Post subject: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 10:57 am
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I used my passport P-250 2 weeks ago with my 4 P-250 speakers, No problems.
Now this weekend I did a car show and I had problems all day with my system shutting off,"protect" light coming on .The only fix was to un-plug 1 speaker.
I tried 3 different cables ,didn't fix. It would play for about 6-8 songs then shut down , But yet 2 weeks ago everything worked fine. Whats wrong ??????????


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 3:03 am
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I know many amps but not this one .

On Fender Passeport Intructions , this mean the speaker or cable are defective . If you try some cable ( are they all good ??? ) check your speaker or wiring / jack , on speaker box.

With no speaker protect must shut off . Do you read carrefully instructions ?

If your speaker are good , you should see a qualified tech

http://support.fender.com/manuals/pro_a ... manual.pdf
___________________________________
Have you do some search with Google ?

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/fende ... ms-272896/


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:34 am
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First, check to make sure you are using SPEAKER cables and not INSTRUMENT cables. They look a lot alike. Both have 1/4" TS plugs, but there's a big difference in the wiring. Instrument cables are designed to accurately transmit a very low-powered signal, while speaker cables are designed to carry a lot more amperage.

Try plugging an electric guitar straight into a passive speaker. You won't get much. The acoustic sound from the strings will be much louder. An instrument cable is designed for the guitar. A speaker cable is designed for the speaker.

If you use an instrument cable for a speaker, you are introducing a LOT more resistance to the circuit, and resistance causes heat, and heat shuts down your amp. I'm suspecting you are using at least one instrument cable in place of speaker cables.


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:49 am
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+100 ContraCaller .

When people write : " I try many cable " we assume they put the proper cable , they do a good work .

But you are right , we may never be sure of that .


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:24 am
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BUT, I used the system set up that way a couple weeks ago for an eight hour show with no problems .
Only difference would be what cable I uesd where. I have 2 -50 ft, 4-25 ft , 2- 30 ft and I mix as i need .
This past week I needed to cover a large parking lot, so i ran 1 rt with a 50 ft , 1 left with 50 ft , then ran the other two with 2 -25 ft on each .
I still couldn't be heard everywhere in the parking lot at a car show.


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:18 pm
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1- Before we had problem ,everything are always working before :lol:

2- What kind of cable ? Speaker or guitar cable ?
Old used cable in the back of your car ?
What size/gauge are the cables's wire ? 18, 16 , 14, 12 ?


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 2:05 pm
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If you need cables that long and the event was outdoors, maybe you had the volume higher this time, and with four speakers, that just overloaded the power amp. The 250 is not a very powerful system. It's good, but that's normally two 125 watt speakers, or I guess four 62.5watt speakers.

Adding more speakers won't make you louder without adding more power amps to go with them. It's like hooking up more hoses to the same spigot and wondering why you aren't getting more water.

If you have gigs that big, maybe it's time to upgrade your PA. Indoor settings don't need nearly the power that outdoor settings do, and if you are trying to cover a large area, you are probably just working too hard without enough horsepower behind it.


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 3:27 pm
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+1000 ContraCaller


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 9:31 am
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I hate to say it ,BUT, evidently my 5 -25ft cables are "instrument" cables !! I didn't realize this until I took apart the 1/4" plug and saw the coaxial type cable (thin wire in center with braid around it) .
My other cables are like heavy duty extension cords , 2 shielded wires inside a cover.

Guess I need to buy some correct cables


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 11:54 am
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stand52 , you find it .


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 3:20 am
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I too am having a "Protect" light problem. One speaker channel is working, one not. The protect light is on. I have tried the speakers and line and they are all good. I was using an instrument cable for a long time be fore I know this was not good. I am guessing maybe the unit over heated one channel? Is there some how I can Reset or get this fixed? I bought the unit in the States and brought it to China.


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 5:50 am
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The key to troubleshooting is to isolate the problem. You start with, "My system isn't working right," and eliminate as much as you can to find out specifically where the problem is. Try disconnecting all speaker wires from the amp and plug in headphones. Do the same symptoms remain? One channel works and the other doesn't?

These units have two separate power amplifiers built in. The 250 is actually two 125 watt amplifiers. The 300 has two 150 watt amps, etc. One amp powers each "side" of the stereo signal, left or right.

Each amp's protection circuit is supposed to reset itself when it cools down.

Instrument cables can cause two different kinds of problems. The cable can overload the amp because it adds too much resistance to the wiring between the amp and the speaker. The amp can burn out the cable because the cable is not built to carry that much amperage.

If the cable burns out, it can either kill the connection, like a fuse, or it can short out the connection. If it shorts the connection, that heats up the amp much faster, and the protection circuit may or may not work fast enough to prevent damage to the amp.

So, either you have a transient problem (the amp was still too hot when you tried to use it, but if you use it now, it will work fine), or you have a bad cable (burned out or shorted out) and if you replace the cables with speaker cables it should work fine, or you have a damaged either the power amp or the protection circuit. That requires either repair or replacement of the power amp or replacement circuit.

I don't know how easy it is to find a shop in China that can fix this if letting the amp cool down and replacing the cable with a more appropriate one doesn't do the trick.

The system also has a fuse, but that's one fuse for both power amps. Since one of the two power amps is working, that doesn't sound like its the source of the problem.

In any case, you need to do some testing to isolate the problem. Let us know what you figure out. Is the problem one of the speakers (headphones play both sides, but speakers play only one side.) One of the cables? (replacing the cables fixes the problem.) One of the power amps or its protection circuit? (Headphones reveal same problem, replacing cables doesn't help.)


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 5:17 am
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Thank you for the comprehensive answer. I have been out of town, sorry for the slow response.
I have isolated that the problem is not the speaker wire or the speaker by using them on the "good" side.
On the passport 300 the only thing I could find that resembled a phones outlet was a "Stereo Out" 1/8" jack with a volume knob next to it. I used some headphones in this but there was not sound at all.
Am I not seeing the phones jack? Does the "stereo out" jack require a powered source to be heard?
I am thinking that possibly the one channel has burned out and will require service, something that will be difficult here in central China!
-Thanks


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:22 am
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This discussion started out with a Fender Passport P250 using four speakers, some of which used "instrument" wires instead of "speaker" wires, leading to the temporary condition of the "Protect" light coming on. I think maybe you wrote in with "I'm having that problem, too," but maybe your problem is different. You apparently have a Fender Passport 300 Pro, which is a very different unit that only uses two speakers.

First, if you are not using this in the United States, what kind of voltage is the AC power? In the US, it's 110 volts. Much of the rest of the world uses 220 volts. There's a switch on the back of the Passport 300 right above the Power switch to select what kind of power you are using. It's red. You can use a flat-head screwdriver to switch it back and forth between 110 or 220 volts. Make sure that setting is correct for the power you are delivering to the unit.

If you know that this setting is correct and you have had the unit unplugged from AC power for at least half an hour, then you plug it in and turn it on and it immediately lights up the red "Protect" LED, then your unit is damaged and it needs repair. Find a repair shop that is authorized to work on Fender equipment.

The Protect light comes on if the unit has overheated. Once the unit cools off, the Protect light does not come on. But the light also comes on if the unit has permanent damage that requires the replacement of parts in the unit. Then it doesn't go off after cooling off.


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Post subject: Re: help with "protect" problem
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 5:55 pm
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Thanks for the clarification. I was aware of the voltage situation and have had it set properly. It sounds like we will need to find an authorized dealer. Called one in southern China but they have never sold or repaired the Passport.

Thank you for your assistance.


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