Status Indicator Lights Protection Circuitry

! IMPORTANT

Speaker loads below 1.5Ω nominal are not recommended and may cause the amplifier output to distort excessively.

Speaker connections to the 500/1v2 are straightforward and take place at the far right of the front panel. You will notice that there are two “+” positive connections and two “–” negative connections. This is to facilitate multiple speaker wiring. The two positive and two negative connections are connected in parallel inside the amplifier. Connecting two speakers, each to one set of positive and negative terminals, will result in a parallel speaker connection. If only connecting one pair of speaker wires, it is not necessary to use both sets of connections.

Do not chassis ground any speakers connected to this or any other JL Audio amplifier. Doing so will cause the amplifier to go into protection and mute the output.

The 500/1v2’s speaker connectors are designed to accept 12 AWG – 8 AWG wire.

To connect the speaker wires to the amplifier, first back out the set screws on the top of the amplifier, using the supplied 2.5 mm hex wrench. Strip 1/2 inch (12 mm) of insulation from each wire and insert the bare wire end into the receptacles on the front panel of the amplifier, seating them firmly so that no bare wire is exposed. While holding each wire in place, tighten each set screw firmly, taking care not to strip the head of the screw and making sure that the wire is firmly gripped by the set screw.

! IMPORTANT

Do NOT attempt to “bridge” two 500/1v2’s or combine their output to a single load in any manner. Doing so will damage the amplifier(s).

! IMPORTANT

Before reconnecting the battery ground and turning the system on, verify that all control settings on the amplifier are set according to the needs of the system.

Status Indicator Lights /

Protection Circuitry

There are three status indicator lights on the top of the amplifier. These are as follows:

1)“Power” (Green): lights to indicate that the amplifier is turned on and operating normally.

2)“Thermal” (Red): lights to indicate that

the amplifier has exceeded its safe operating temperature, putting the amplifier into a self- protection mode, which reduces the power output of the amplifier. The red light will shut off and the amplifier will return to normal, full-power operating mode if the heat sink temperature drops back to a safe level.

3)“Low Ω” (Amber): lights to indicate that the impedance of the speaker load connected to the amplifier is lower than the optimum impedance load range for the amplifier. When this light is on, a protection circuit engages and reduces the power output of the amplifier. The amber indicator will also light when a short-circuit is detected in the speaker wiring (this can be a short between the positive and negative speaker wires or between either speaker wire and the vehicle chassis).

There is only one condition that will shut down an undamaged 500/1v2 completely… If battery voltage drops below 10 volts, the entire amplifier will shut itself off. The green “Power” indicator on the top of the amplifier will turn off when this occurs. The amplifier will turn back on when voltage climbs back above 10 volts. This may happen in a rapid cycle when bass- heavy program material causes a weak charging system to dip below 10 volts momentarily. If this is happening in your system, have your charging system inspected to make sure it is working properly.

For information on troubleshooting this amplifier, refer to Appendix E (page 21).

12 JL Audio - 500/1v2 Owner’s Manual