You should lower down the volume to a moderate level or to a point your receiver wouldn’t clip (with enough headroom for peaks). Another reason will be, there are too many speakers such as your surround speakers, center speakers, ceiling speakers, etc., and your Sony receiver is unable to provide enough power to all of them, causing the amp to clip. This usually happens when you turn up the volume too high during a music/movie playback as it draws more power from the amps. If your Sony AV receiver is overloaded to the point of clipping, it will trigger the Sony protect mode. This step should have reset the internal surge protection circuit and your receiver should be working fine now. You should wait at least half an hour before plugging back the power cord and turning the Sony receiver back on. If the protector mode is been activated due to a power outage or electrical surge then this could be easily solved by turning off the receiver and plugging out the power cord from the power outlet. It is advisable to switch it off immediately and bring it in for repair. If recently, you find that your receiver generates a lot of heat, just by turning it on and nothing is been played. Do not place your Sony receiver near appliances that generate heat or under direct sunlight. The area will also need to be a clean environment, remove dust from the area and AV receiver, as they may block the vents or deteriorate the airflow.
You should always place your receivers in an area with proper airflow and ventilation, this is to prevent them from overheating as it will trigger Sony protect/protector mode. If it is not possible due to the placement inside the cabinet, then you will have no choice but to take the receiver out of the cabinet and place it somewhere else with proper ventilation. If it is, you should remove the objects that are blocking the Sony receiver vents. You will also need to check if the vents/exhaust are been blocked. If you are confident enough that is not too hot, you can try physically touching it. After some time has passed, you can try to have a feel of the heat by hovering your hand near the chassis. Once you have switched off the Sony receiver, you should allow some time for it to cool down. You should always turn off the Sony AVR first, once you have turned it off, you can start by following the below steps. You can do some troubleshooting on your own and hopefully solve the issue before the need to send it for repair. Also, when the Sony protect mode is activated, your speakers will not function as you’ll need to find the culprit and remove the threat. The possible culprits that would activate this mode, will be a power surge, a short in the circuitry, excessive heat, speakers issue, and more. Protect/protector mode is activated to prevent damages to your receiver’s internal components such as the power amps, circuits, transistors, etc.
When your Sony AV receiver enters this mode, you will see either the word ‘Protect’ or ‘Protector’ appear.