AM/FM/CD player to replace BMW radio?

[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.

[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.

[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

[P. Kennedy]

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