What radio is this, wtf is this wiring...

[bryant.cw]

...and why when they could have made this easy, did they hire a sadomasochist to design it? :hitler: :hitler:

I have seen the wiring diagrams online. I have consulted search. I have no answers.

I have this god forsaken radio :





It is connected using these wires:






The wiring diagrams that I found a link to at http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm seem to have nothing to do with my radio. The colors are not correct. I consulted '88, '89, and '90.

I have a 1/'89 production convertible. I don't think it has 'premium sound' because I don't see a fader, but I really don't know.

I hooked up a little AA battery and just touched them to the different wires to see if I could make the speakers have a little pop to them in order to identify them; no luck. Perhaps the battery has to be connected for this to work? I disconnected the car batt. like a good little mechanic before I went in there.

Could someone help me? If this were a Honda I'd have been done in 20 minutes. Grrrr.



In other news, I just won this auction and I can't wait to throw them in. Pretty happy about the price on those too.

[Jean]

Fader doesn't equal premium sound. Look in the trunk of the car and see if the amp is there. If there isn't, you should be able to 'pop' the speakers with a 1.5 volt battery.

Look up the model of radio on it's lable, google it to get the pin outs :)

[bryant.cw]

It's not even worth my time to try and figure out. I'm just gonna drop in some components and run new wires. Figuring out switched hot, constant hot, ground and the antenna raise/lower will be a snap.

[Dirtboy]

You probably have a common ground for the speakers....

I found this diagram somewhere, and I can't remember where I found it (whoever created it, I hope you don't mind me reposting it):



You should take the positive of your 1.5v to one of the wires then take the negative and connect it to chassis ground. That might help...

[nadodude111]

I believe you have the 6 CD changer along with that headunit. Do you? If you do would you want to sell it? Please let me know!

[E30 Cabrio]

Premium Sound was standard on Cabrio's.

If you have tweeter pods in your doors, you have Premium Sound and an Amp in the trunk behind the rear seat.

[dr.gonzo]

I wouldn't know where the amp would be found. What does it look like and where is it? Yes I do have the premium system because I have tweeters.

[McGyver]

the amp is in the trunk on the left side behind the mouse fur. it is black, has wires, and looks like an amp. you can tell what part of the trunk it is in because the wall that is against the rear seats has a bulge on the left that is not on the right. for a new head to work, you have to power the head AND the amp, and make sure you have a good ground. the system, from what i read somewhere, is not a common ground, but you should be able t-tap into the positive speaker channels and not use the negative wires on the new head. thats what i did in mine and its bee working great! i had the 5/7 series radio and i just looked at the plug to figure out left/right front/back.

[dr.gonzo]

PMed

[StereoInstaller1]

the amp is in the trunk on the left side behind the mouse fur. it is black, has wires, and looks like an amp. you can tell what part of the trunk it is in because the wall that is against the rear seats has a bulge on the left that is not on the right. for a new head to work, you have to power the head AND the amp, and make sure you have a good ground. the system, from what i read somewhere, is not a common ground, but you should be able t-tap into the positive speaker channels and not use the negative wires on the new head. thats what i did in mine and its bee working great! i had the 5/7 series radio and i just looked at the plug to figure out left/right front/back.

It is pretty much as easy as that, if you wanna keep the stock amp.

Make sure the white wire goes to blue/white on your deck.

Black stripes are rear positives, red stripes are front positives, brown/orange is ground.

Do NOT use the decks speaker negatives, just cap them off and let them sit.

GL!
Luke

[dr.gonzo]

When I tried hooking up the new head unit to the amp It sounded alright in the lower volume but as i began to turn it up it became quite distorted until it cut out completely. I am guessing this is because the head unit is high enough powered to overload the amp?

[StereoInstaller1]

Do NOT use the decks speaker negatives, just cap them off and let them sit.

GL!
Luke