E30 Stereo Wiring for Dummies

[StereoInstaller1]

First: why ddi you go and find your own power source? The stock wiring works perfectly to power your stereo. Go undo whatever you did and use the stock wire.

2nd: how did you wire that sony? If you set it up properly, you would have run the front speakers and the woofer off the amp, and the deck would power the rear speakers.

Get very specific on what wire, where you connected it, and add some pictures.

[MaxBell]

Ok, so I'll retake my thread here for a sec. I got all the stereo going. I used the stock wiring mostly.

New headunit. Front speakers I wired into the headunit and it's small(ish) amp. It's an Alpine 9085 or something. (friend gave me it)

For the rear speakers, I wired them into a Sony 504X amp. I added a Rockford Fosgate Punch P1 sub as well, to round out the bass a little, though it's not turned up very loud.

I have a tiny issue though with my turn signals. I have the headunit wired into the hazard lights cuz that's the only 12V constant I could find close to the headunit. However, now my turn signals don't work, not through the hazards or the turn switch on the steering wheel, whether the stereo is on or off.

I have checked the fuses and nothing is blown.

Any ideas?

ALSO:
When I turn up the stereo to 11 the amp stops working and the sub and rear two speakers stop playing, though the front two keep going. Turning the stereo off and starting it again turns the amp on again.

[StereoInstaller1]

Yes. You MUST get past the fader wiring.

Brown is ground, don't forget.

[graffeedy5]

the speaker wires that were going into the stock headunit are yellow, yellow/brown, blue, blue/brown. I have to strip those back a foot to get to the positive and negative?

[StereoInstaller1]

You need to disconnect the fader and strip the harness back about a foot or so.

You will find twisted pairs: 2 blue sets, 2 yellow sets.

BLACK STRIPE IS POSITIVE!

[graffeedy5]

What car you got?

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i stripped the end of each wire though and there's only one type of wire inside. it's an 87 325e. I've got 4 speaker wires, front left, front right, rear left, rear right, where are the positive and negatives? Can anyone take a picture of what it should look like?

[StereoInstaller1]

Agreed (^).

I have done a few installs on E90s and such, the wire is nothing like E30 wire.

[nando]

Don't be silly, the BMW wire is incredible. It is WAY better than any shit you are gonna wanna pay for, trust me on this.

You can't strip other 20 year old wire and expect it to still be nice and shiny.

werd. I've been using the engine harness from my '88 parts car as a "parts" harness. I had been buying wire at the local hardware store, but the quality is horrible. You can't even solder the stuff because it's all nasty inside.

eventually when I gut the rest of the car, I'll strip all the wire out of it and keep it for future use. maybe even steal the premium sound wiring since I was retarded and cut into mine.. :(

oh yeah, the wires on later BMWs suck. especially the "shrink wrap" stuff on the M50. you can pull it apart with your bare hands, and the insulation on the wires gets all hard and brittle. Nothing like that on the E30 harnesses I've taken apart..

[StereoInstaller1]

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Premium Sound does not use speaker ground for amplifier input, and if he still has the factory amp and fader, he will have only 2 wires for "speakers" which is why there is so much confusion.

[mr.vang]

anyone know why I only have 4 speaker wires when that DIY said I should have 8?

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[StereoInstaller1]

anyone know why I only have 4 speaker wires when that DIY said I should have 8?

What car you got?

[graffeedy5]

Don't be silly, the BMW wire is incredible. It is WAY better than any shit you are gonna wanna pay for, trust me on this.

You can't strip other 20 year old wire and expect it to still be nice and shiny.

anyone know why I only have 4 speaker wires when that DIY said I should have 8?

[StereoInstaller1]

Easiest and beat thing to do is scrap all of the original speaker wires, run new wires to the speakers and hook up power, ground, antenna, and ignition.

Don't be silly, the BMW wire is incredible. It is WAY better than any shit you are gonna wanna pay for, trust me on this.

You can't strip other 20 year old wire and expect it to still be nice and shiny.

[graffeedy5]

I can use the existing power, ground, and antenna wires though right?

[bad_azz_bmr]

Easiest and beat thing to do is scrap all of the original speaker wires, run new wires to the speakers and hook up power, ground, antenna, and ignition.