The radio is not switching on. The timer indicator is flashing continuously. The speaker wires not shorted and radio has not been used at high volume. Please help.......... I need my sharp radio.

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. 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.

The audio output transistors or ic is shorted, first! check speaker wiring for shorts, if okay! the above parts will need a attention.

Protect, Protection, Protector, etc. are all indicators of a problem with the output (speakers) of the device. Most times, if you're lucky - you'll find a shorted speaker wire. Other times, it can be an expensive fix. Hopefully, you shut it off right away without cranking the volume up.

Start at the rear of the unit. Make sure no individual strand of the speaker wire has touched the binding post of an adjacent speaker. Continue along each speaker wire to the binding post or termination point on each speaker. Make sure the insulation along the entire length of all the wires haven't become crushed or damaged where they pass under rugs, around corners, etc.

If you can't find a problem, you can try disconnecting all the speakers and plugging in headphones. and power on again. If the Protect message is clear, you should be able to hear the program through the headphones and have full control over the volume. This means there is stall an issue with the speaker wire(s) from the back of the unit up to and including a speaker(s).

If it still indicates Protect, the original problem continued long enough or the volume was turned up high enough to cause an internal failure of the amplifier's output transistors and will require service t restore to working order again.

I hope this helps & good luck!

Generally speaking, an amp attempts to protect itself from heat, shorts, overloads and operator exuberance by refusing to turn on or stay on.

Overloads can be from excessive periods of high output or marginally low impedance loading by the speakers; and shorts would be wiring issues or a speaker blowing up.

You should be able to feel if it's hot. WHY is it overheating? Make sure it has sufficient ventilation on all sides and that vent holes are not blocked by dust balls. Ensure the fan (if equipped) is running as designed (some only operate on demand). Clean dust and debris from it.

If the amp comes back on after cooling, you're lucky. They only have so many self-protection cycles in their lives so continuously resetting or cycling their power without addressing the cause can do more harm than good.

If it protects immediately on a cool power up you should disconnect the speaker connections and try it 'nekkid'. If it comes up then diagnose which lead(s) are shorted. If it does not come up the problem is internal and should be left to an experienced and competent hands-on tech.

Check for loose speaker connections at the speaker as another possible root cause for intermittent shutdown.

"Safety" mode - literally? I don't see that anywhere in the manual.

Page 13

Speaker Connection Precautions

(North American and Taiwan models) You can connect speakers with an impedance of between 6 and 16 ohms. If you use speakers with a lower impedance, and use the amplifier at high volume levels for a long period of time, the built-in amp protection circuit may be activated.

Page 66

The STANDBY indicator flashes red

The protection circuit has been activated. Remove the power cord from the wall outlet immediately.

Disconnect all speaker cables and input sources, and leave the AV receiver with its power cord disconnected for 1 hour. After that, reconnect the power cord and set the volume to maximum. If the AV receiver stays on, set the volume to minimum, disconnect the power cord, and reconnect your speakers and input sources. If the AV receiver turns off when you set the volume to maximum, disconnect the power cord, and contact your Onkyo dealer.

Generally speaking, an amp protects itself from heat, shorts, overloads and operator exuberance by refusing to turn on or stay on.

Overloads can be from excessive periods of high output or marginally low impedance loading by the speakers; and shorts would be wiring issues or a speaker blowing up.

You should be able to feel if it's hot. WHY is it overheating? Make sure it has sufficient ventilation on all sides and that vent holes are not blocked by dust balls. Ensure the fan (if equipped) is running as designed (some only operate on demand). Clean dust and debris from it.

If the amp comes back on after cooling, you're lucky. They only have so many self-protection cycles in their lives so continuously resetting or cycling their power without addressing the cause can do more harm than good.

If it protects immediately on a cool power up you should disconnect the speaker connections and try it 'naked'. If it comes up then diagnose which lead(s) are shorted. If it does not come up the problem is internal and should be left to an experienced and competent hands-on tech.

This is an indicator of an output load problem, turn unit off! remove the speaker wires from the back of the stereo, now turn power on and turn the volume down. If the word protect stays off there is a short in the wire or one of the speakers, but! if the word protect comes on " with the speakers and wires dis-connected " it indicates a short in the audio output ic pack in the stereo.

You have a shorted speaker or speaker wire. If a wire is touching metal lightly it may not have full continuity (short) and will work until more voltage (volume) is sent to the speaker and causes the short. Disconnect all speakers at the radio then turn the unit back on. Turn up the volume and see if it cuts out. If it stays on, re-connect speakers one at a time and test. Once you find the problem speaker, disconnect the wire at the speaker then test again. This will eliminate the speaker itself as the problem. Test again. If it still shorts, trace the wire from dash to speaker and look for a cut in the sheathing exposing the wire. Repair or replace the wire and you should be good to go. If the unit cuts out with all speakers disconnected, the problem is internal and will need to be serviced. Before you repair/ or replace the unit either check all the wiring and the speakers or have someone do it for you so it does not give you a repeat performance. Hope this helps.

The passenger controls on the rear speakers are pretty easy to diagnose.  The wire for Volume up is Pink/white, the volume down is gray/white.  If the Pink/white wire is shorted to ground somewhere, then as soon as you turn on the radio, it will be like having the volume selector pushed up, and it makes sense how you describe it goes to mute and then returns to full volume as soon as you let go.   You don't say what model it is (I doubt it's a Road Glide, gotta be an Ultra), so it's not too hard to get at.  Pull the outer fairing and look on the back of the HK Radio.  There are 2 big connectors, when looking from the front you want the connector on the right.  Pin 23 is down volume, pin 34 is up volume for the rear controls ONLY.  So I would check the continuity to ground at pin 34 first, in other words pull the connector off the back of the radio, take a test lead and hook one end to +12v. Touch the tip to any grounded metal and it should light.  Now touch the tip to pin 34 on the harness side of the connector.  If the test light lights up, you have a short to ground on the pink/white wire.  Now go to the right rear speaker on the tour-pak and disconnect the 6 pin connector and try the test again.  The pink/white goes from pin 34 on the radio and runs through the harness to the passenger controls and nowhere else.  It shouldn't be grounded anywhere.  Let me know what you find out. 

You have a shorted speaker or a speaker with a bad voice coil. This has been confirmed by the fact that the audio amplifier is shutting down (protection) but the unit stays powered on. The speakers will play for a few seconds or maybe even longer at lower volume, but any length or time or an increase in volume will immediateley shut off sound. This is due to the fact that a shorted speaker wire/connection will ground out or short to one another. If you have checked all connections behind the radio AND at the speakers and found no problems, then it is a voice coil on the speaker. A shorted voice coil will work until the speaker cone moves causing the short or until enough power passes through the voice coil's short to turn off the radio.
Solution:
1. You can use a voltmeter set to check continuity to test for a speaker short. Disconnect all speakers from the radio and connect one side of your meter to ground and the other to the speaker lead. An audible "beep" will confirm a short.
2. The other method would be to disconnect all speakers and re-connect them one by one until the radio's sound output shuts off again. This will be your shorted speaker.
I hope this information was helpful.

Your head unit may not have a common ground for the speakers. If you have two wires for each speaker coming from the head unit, rewire the speakers for a floating ground, that means two wires per speaker, or use a floating ground adaptor. These radios now a days are NOT like the radios in the hay days of care audio. If you already did not cause any damage to your unit, you certainly will if you continue to use it the way it is hooked up now. Good Luck