Standby indicator flashes
When the "Protection" indicator comes up the display panel of my receiver or the On/Standby LED is flashing, does that mean my receiver needs to be repaired?
The "Protection" light comes on when the receiver's current sensing and thermal monitors detect some unusual operating condition that, if left unchecked, might damage the amplifier. This can happen if there's a dead short in a speaker wire or if you're using very low impedance loudspeakers at high volume for an extended length of time. On older model AVRs you may see the word "Protect" on the receiver's display. More current models will indicate a flashing red light on the Standby LED when a Protection circuit trips
n thermal cases, the circuitry will automatically reset after a few minutes of cool down and the Protection indicator will go out and normal operation will resume. If the protection light came on due to a speaker wire short, low impedance condition or a bad speaker, the receiver's power will need to be turned off to reset it. Before turning the power back on, all speaker wire connections should be checked for their integrity at the receiver side and at the speaker side. If the protection light goes on immediately after you turn on the receiver, disconnect the speaker wires at the receiver side and retest. If the receiver's protection light goes off, then there would still seem to be a problem with one channel's speaker wires or speakers. Connecting them one by one and retesting should allow you to find the problem speaker or connection.
If after checking all your connections, the Protection indicator stays lit, you may need to "initialize the microprocessor (see the FAQ on that topic) or take your receiver to an authorized repair center for a diagnostic. The "Initialization of the Microprocessor" or "reset" procedure can be found in your owner's manual on current model AVR product. Please note, this will erase all setup configurations in the system and require the system to be setup again. You may want to mark down the settings before resetting your receiver to aid in the setup process. If you had an installer setup your system, you can contact them for assistance and any associated costs that may apply to setup the receiver again would be the responsibility of the owner.
