20 Most Recent Jl Audio 500/1 Car Audio Amplifier - Page 3 Questions & Answers

have you checked the input sensor on the amp?

I think you might have your remote turn on from your deck to amp hooked up wrong check that out!! I not are you familliar with the mr. butterworth crossover JL developed for that series of amp? Just like its big nrother the 1000x1 class D the built in smart crossover has many built in pretect modes. If your subs are drawing to much power it shuts down if they draw to little of ohms or to many but that 500 is 1 ohm stable so download the crossover settings from JL and go from there

You will have to take a piece of speaker wire and put it from the positive of one voice coil to the negative of the other voice coil.....Then, with the other remaining positive and negative, hook it up to the amp.....And your good to go....If your still confused, get back to me....hope that helps.....

Listen everyone who is having any JL 500/1 or 1000/1 amps. There are many reasons why your amps have failed. Most of the problem is the power supply mosfets shorted out and output mosfets shorted too. Those are the 2 biggest problems when you run these amps hard. Also the main power supply capacitors and the gate resistors mostly burn out when a power supply mosfet shorts. Some people if they remove the back cover may see signs of of the problem area and others will not. I have been repairing these paticular amps at least 2 to 3 a week with other amps I get in. It seems that the older ones people bought working are now failing. So this is just a quick overview of what your problem is and is part or is the problem guaranteed. Sometimes I get tired of seeing them coming in but it's what I do and know exactly where to start. I don't know at this time but I think for $160 if you send your JL 500/1 to JL they will just replace the board. Don't quote me on that cause prices change. I would call and ask. My repair depending on the damage is around $80-90 to repair these 500/1. The 1000/1 can be the same or higher. I can't tell you if I don't have it in front of me diagnosing it. As I said though, the problems are basicly the same for the most part and the amp will have to be repaired. I help people also who are electronicaly inclined and if they feel confident and can unsolder and solder and know thier way around a volt ohm digital meter I can walk them through the steps. It's not that hard everybody, really it is'nt. A little confidence and soldering and reading a volt meter and you can repair your own amp. Contact me if you need any help. Thank you! Btw, I’m available to help over the phone in case u need at https://www.6ya.com/expert/mark_b53a7494531bf96d

hook up the remote wire ( or make sure its hooked up good) check your ground! ground wire not big enough awg wire and put on bare metal not more than 1 foot away from amp. bad ground will cause this.

Hi, 1 probable cause is a bad ground. Check and/or replace wires GROUND.

500/1 is JL upper line, and the 500.1 is their lower line. They also have another line altogether that is under a different brand name.

Sounds like an amp issue. Does the ohms reading of the sub match the amp? typically this is what kills amps.

Are you sure you getting enough power to push everything. I have seen when the voltage is too low coming in, the amps will shut down so they don't overheat. Once they've cooled off and the volume level is lowered they will kick in again. Low voltage and a heavy draw will create massive amounts of heat.

how do you have the speakers wired to the amp.

They should be wired in series (to arrive at 4ohms) and bridged at the amp.

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.

If your amplifier is blinking Green, and no output is coming out of the speaker, you may have internal damage to your 500/1 Amp.

"My amplifier turns on, but there is no output"

• Check the input signal using an AC voltmeter to measure the voltage from the source unit while an appropriate test tone is played through the source unit (disconnect the input cables from the amplifier prior to this test). The frequency used should be in the range that is to be amplified by the amplifier (example: 50 Hz for a sub bass application or 1 kHz for a full range / high-pass application). A steady, sufficient voltage (between 200mV and 8.0-volts) should be present at the output of the signal cables.
• Check the output of the amplifier. Using the procedure explained in the previous check item (after plugging the input cables back into the amplifier) test for output at the speaker outputs of the amplifier. Unless you enjoy test tones at high levels, it is a good idea to remove the speaker wires from the amplifier while doing this. Turn the volume up approximately half way. 5V or more should be measured at the speaker outputs. This output level can vary greatly between amplifiers but it should not be in the millivolt range with the source unit at half volume. If you are reading sufficient voltage, check your speaker connections as explained below.
• Check to ensure that the speaker wires are making a good connection with the metal inside the terminal block. The speaker wire connectors are designed to accept up to 8 AWG wire. Make sure to strip the wire to allow for a sufficient connection with the metal inside the terminal block.

For immediate assistance please call our Technical Support Department at 954-443-1100.
Otherwise, check this site out for Technical Assistance with your Amp:
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=130

Here is your Manual:
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/13320.pdf I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_69f3cc28d95bf514

ok..well theres a lot of question in there, lemme take a shot at it.

the hi/low switch explained: the hi/low switch tells the amp what signal voltage is being delivered to the amp...hi-power (4-15volts) or low-power(micro-volts). Your aftermarket head unit had what are called pre-outs (or preAmp outs) meaning the source signal (your music) is not amplified before being delivered to the amplifier...sooo...your amplifier setting for your aftermarket radio would be 'low' to tell the amp that the music source being sent to it is low-voltage.

Typically a manufacturers radio will not have pre-outs, they will be amplified by the radios internal amp to anywhere from 4volts on up, and you need to tell your jl audio amp that the source music being supplied is 'hi' voltage.

soo...of course...if you are sending 10volts to the amplifier and tell it that your sending micro-volts (low setting) your amp will over-amplify the signal and thus the overwhelming bass you experienced.

Sounds like your remote wire is loose or bad. I would thoroughly check that out

I had this same issue when I moved the Amp from one car to another.

I did not use the required 4 AWG wire for the Power connection. In my original car I had.

Replaced it and with the correct AWG and it the problem went away.


So check the Gauge wire your using. I tried to be cheap and it was a pain.

This means your amp is in "protect mode" this light indicates that your amp is having a short circuit or loose of power.
Check your cables, if they are secured & no exposed wire And most important of all, check your voltage reading, it must be above 12v.
Loosing voltage in car audio is the number1 factor of heat/thermal problem & fire.
When an amp looses voltage, heat builds up inside it. Too much heat will make the amp be on "protect mode", excessive voltage drop will cause the amp's circuit board & other parts to be burned.
So, always watch your Voltage, either with a plug-in volt-meter or with a fuse holder & voltmeter.
Hope this helps.