AM/FM/CD player to replace BMW radio?

[P. Kennedy]

Far be it from me to rub salt in anyone's wounds, but, his user ID is 3bvert.

[3bvert]

hey stero installer1
I apologize for not saying the car was a ic.so chill......have a cig

my car, like me, was a basket case . aside from mechanical things, the radio was just sitting in the dash, they say the did not know why it did not work, well it was because the pulled out there good one and slid this one back without rewiring I bet

the amp must have been robbed before I got it, as there is not one in the trunk, under the boot, or under the dash
the wires were so cobbled when I got this car, lights wired direct , not to fuse box, same with heater fan, every radio wire was cut, and so tight , I dont know exactly how they expected to wire in the radio, the rear seat speakers were missing

but the code worked when I wired it back, and I just wired in some polk audio gxr's in the back that I got from a friend. the fronts seem to work ok, both the lower kick panel and tweeters in the door work

sure, its not what you would have done, and I have appreciated all your posts in this thread as well as many others

I just want to get into a nice am/fm/cd on the cheap right now
tires, heater core are on my money priority list

thats why I was looking at crutchfield for stuff at 125 or less


thanks again for yoru time

[Miasma]

Also, I have seen a thread where someone took a Tape converter for a CD/MP3 player, Cut the wire and soldered it to the L/R channel's inside the cassette deck and used the dummy tape to turn it on/off. Then you just need a Walkman in your glovebox...


EDIT: http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26218

Found the thread, It's on the "other" site.

[Miasma]

Amplifer Plug 'Pinouts' (Wiring Harness Colours)

The amplifer wiring harness plug has the following circuits: 4 channels of input from the head unit, 4 channels of boosted output to the speakers, switched power lead (activated by head unit), constant battery power lead, and power ground. Following are the pinouts on my car as tested and verified by me:

BETWEEN HEAD UNIT AND BOOSTER AMP

Yellow/Red - Left Front Channel
Yellow/Black - Left Rear Channel
Blue/Red - Right Front Channel
Blue/Black - Right Rear Channel
Yellow/Brown - Left Channel Ground at Amp End Only
Blue/Brown - Right Channel Ground at Amp End Only
Brown - All Channel Ground at Head End Only
(note that the all of the grounds are spliced together within the wiring harness - the system uses a common ground between the head and the amplifer)
White - 12V Switched (to turn amplifier ON when head unit ON, also runs to power antenna)

BETWEEN AMP AND SPEAKERS

Pair: Black/White and Black/Brown - Right Rear Speakers
Pair: Grey/White and Grey/Brown - Right Front Speakers
Pair: Black/Red and Black/Purple - Left Rear Speakers
Pair: Grey/Red and Grey Purple - Left Front Speakers
(note that the wires highlighted in red above all run to the crossover side of the midrange drivers, you'll want to know this to keep all your speakers in phase - make sure all of your speaker (+)s go to these wires)
(also note that the speaker circuits DO NOT use a common ground when they leave the booster amp)

OTHER WIRES

Red/Black - 12V Battery Power (via 30 amp fuse in fusebox according to Bentley)
Brown - Power Ground

That should help, That is what I used.

[StereoInstaller1]

thanks, its an ic if that makes a difference, and there is nothing in there in front of or behind the antenna

Fuck..WHY do people wait to describe their goddamn car when asking help?

No, you are right, your iC doesn't have the amp there...it is under the top, on the left side of the trunk, on a bracket.

I don't know if all 'verts have an amp, but I have never seen one that didn't.

Now, further instructions (since you did not say you had a goddamn 'vert): do NOT fuck around with deck power. You are wasting your time. Buy a damn amp, just an inexpensive 4 channel amp and a deck with 3 pair of pre-outs.

Run 3 pair of RCAs to the trunk, and use the stock speaker wire that is already in the trunk. You will be adding a sub later, more than likely, so that 3rd set will come in handy then.

GL!
Luke

[funcrew]

You're going to have to bypass the factory amp and/or rewire the speakers.

No getting around it.

I have wired speakers before, was hoping to not do that. Still, at least I understand how, as opposed to monkeying around with the BMW amp in the trunk.

[E30 Cabrio]

You're going to have to bypass the factory amp and/or rewire the speakers.

No getting around it.

[3bvert]

thanks, its an ic if that makes a difference, and there is nothing in there in front of or behind the antenna

[StereoInstaller1]

The hole in our dashboards is "single DIN" (Deutsches Institut für Normung) and yes, everything fits.

Your 318is is a premium sound car, and if the amp is still in place, it is just in front of the antenna, under the trunk liner. Has a single square plug, looks like a cheesy little amp.

[3bvert]

following along, and waffleswaffleswaffleswafflesfused, one of these days I would really like a nier sounding am/fm/'cd/mp3.but diont want to cobble anything in
crutchfield has units that they listed as direct fit. kenwood, pioneer, etc

I think my 91 318 has/had premium sound. that is what the vin search said, plus it has the little pod speakers in the upper door
however, it has the amfm casette with the little wonderbar and no amp anyplace else

did some one yank the true premium sound out of this car at one time in its life ???

and when places like crutchfield say that a unit fits, do they really ?


grandpa since 2001
congrats on smoke free, ive quit a bunch of times :)

[StereoInstaller1]

The E30 isn't common grounded anywhere, except between the deck and the amp, and that is only on premium sound cars.

The non-amplified cars with a dash fader are "split ground", as the deck is a 2 channel output and the fader distributes that to the 4 speakers, but as ground is kept seperate from left to right, it still isn't a true "common ground".

If you go back in time, Caddys from the 60's didn't even have a negative wire to the speaker, positive only...THAT is common ground!

[bryant.cw]

...which is why I'm just gonna throw in a set of components and run wires direct. I don't know why BMW had to do that common ground, factory amp, external fader stupid stuff.

I was just suggesting the installed option because it didn't sound like he wanted to screw with any of it. I guess there is a chance of a retard screwing it up and breaking something in there, or just not getting it working at all.

[StereoInstaller1]

Thanks for the replies. The CD43 looks great, but is about 2.5X what was wanting to spend. There were several likely candidates at

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=152932

But I still don't know what's involved in wiring one up. I googled "car audio installation" and only found a bunch of theoretical stuff - no "how to" on figuring out the wiring issues. Should I just take this to someone - I'm thinking they would charge an hour's labor for something that actually takes 5 minutes.

Yeah, the CD43 is not cheap. Funny how so many guys say they want a nice deck that looks all factory and stuff, then find the CD43, then say "thats too much" and stuff.

Which is why I don't have one.

My audio cables alone are about $400, but it ain't like I paid that, y'know?

As far as installing a deck in an E30, it isn't tough. There are some variables, like dash fader or not, amplified or not and pre-hacked or not.

I have posted wiring info several times. one of these days I am gonna do an actual pictorial sticky, but finding time and shit...ain't gonna happane soon, let me tell you!

Most installers out there have no fucking clue how to install a deck in an E30. The easiest way is also the shittiest way, and that is about all you are gonna get for $40.

[bryant.cw]

I just got a good deck from this guy.

Good eclipse head units.

Pretty good prices. CD3xxx is the low end, CD5xxx is mid range, CD8xxx is the high end. I've always had good luck with the CD5's. Good sound, easy to use, good price now that they are a few years old but at least they aren't used.

Installing a deck in your car will be easy/annoying as hell depending on whether or not you have the factory amplifier installed.

I would call around town to some different places and find out what they want to throw in a deck. Do -not- pay more than $40 or so. Do not let them sell you any extra accessories or whatever, everything you need is in the box.

GL!

[funcrew]

Thanks for the replies. The CD43 looks great, but is about 2.5X what was wanting to spend. There were several likely candidates at

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=152932

But I still don't know what's involved in wiring one up. I googled "car audio installation" and only found a bunch of theoretical stuff - no "how to" on figuring out the wiring issues. Should I just take this to someone - I'm thinking they would charge an hour's labor for something that actually takes 5 minutes.