Radio Wiring and Amp Bypass

[Zreberlcoe]

So I put my Violet/White wire to my Red power wire and a no go on power:/

Edit: I had to turn the key on... Hahahhahahahaahha

[Spyke]

I have to say, the new head unit and almost 30 year old paper speakers sound SOOOOO much better than the same exact head unit, OEM amp and BSW speakers in my e36. Pretty sad to compare the two actually...

[e30blitz]

First, let me say this is NOT applicable to all E30s. Generally, Late Model (88+) will have this wiring on premium sound cars. IF you have a fader in the dash, this MAY work: you need to unwrap about 8" of fader harness to see if you have 4 pairs of speaker wires, as some cars have only 6 wires, not 4 pairs (8 total) so if this chart does not apply PERFECTLY to your car, don't use it.

Quick disclaimer: this is not idiot proof. You mess it up, don't whine at me, I do not care.

If this saves you countless hours of hassle or you are just feeling generous, feel free to paypal me a tip. Add "@gmail.com" to Stereoinstaller1 and I promise to only use the money for projects on my car.


OK, here is the info.

Obviously, what you do here is simple: connect the "deck" wire to the "dash" wire, then back at the trunk, connect that "dash" wire to the "speaker" wire.

This is not rocket surgery, boys. Get it done.



Aftermarket-----------Dash Wires-----------Speaker Wires

RF+ Grey--------------Blue/Red-------------Grey/White
RF- Grey/Black--------Brown/Orange--------Grey/Brown

LF+ White------------Yellow/Red------------Grey/Red
LF- White/Black-------Brown/Orange--------Grey/Violet

RR+ Violet------------Blue/Black------------Black/White
RR- Violet/Black-------Brown/Orange--------Black/Brown

LR+ Green------------Yellow/Black----------Black/Red
LR- Green/Black-------Brown/Orange--------Black/Violet


(+12V Unswitched) Yellow----Red/Green (Changes to Yellow at C302)

(+12V ACC) Red-------------Violet/White (Changes to Voilet/Grey at C302)

(Ground) Black---------------Brown (may also be Brown/Black)

(ILL) Orange-----------------Grey/Red (Changes to White at C302)

(P ANT) Blue-----------------White (this is one of 2 white wires)

(AMP REM) Blue/White--------White (this is the one in the same harness as the speakers)

Luke

cheers luke

[StereoInstaller1]

cheers luke

Success?

I have to say, the new head unit and almost 30 year old paper speakers sound SOOOOO much better than the same exact head unit, OEM amp and BSW speakers in my e36. Pretty sad to compare the two actually...

All I am gonna say is unless you have one of our subwoofers in that car, you have not heard them yet.

Just a cheap 8" woofer and a $100 4 channel amp can make them come alive.

Hope you get to hear one soon!

Luke

[luckydog2]

ok so if I use the stock wiring and it goes through the stock amp with a kenwood radio cd player it will work?

[StereoInstaller1]

ok so if I use the stock wiring and it goes through the stock amp with a kenwood radio cd player it will work?

Sure! Assuming your stock amp works....it isnt as good as a bypass, but it will work fine.

[Heyrr]

Alright, I don't know if this is the fader or what, but I'm having trouble figuring out what is what for each speaker/ground. All of the aftermarket headunit colors from your guide matched up, but I couldn't quite figure out the stock wire coloring. So I went based off of where they where hooked up on the stock deck, and tried splicing them accordingly to the new deck. I got sound, but not in all the speakers. I then found wires that were the correct colors as you described for the dash wires, but they weren't hooked directly to the head unit. If this is the fader, then your description makes sense, but... in that case I don't know where the grounds are for each speaker. I wanted to check in before I made the cuts to these wires and went too far. Help!

[Heyrr]

Alright I found out what a fader is and I don't have it. So, do I cut these wires off about this black harness/plugin, and splice those into there appropriate speaker according to your guide?

[StereoInstaller1]

Alright I found out what a fader is and I don't have it. So, do I cut these wires off about this black harness/plugin, and splice those into there appropriate speaker according to your guide?

You don't have a fader, but you do have a fader car with a bypass plug.

Unwrap that harness until it reaches the other harness, like 18" or so...keep going until you find the junctions.

[Heyrr]

I tried to reach my arm in as much as possible and as far as i could feel, as it headed towards the drivers side and away, and it just felt like the same bundle of wires routed away. I tried pulling them out a little, but they feel fully extended.

[Heyrr]

This is a 1990 325is.

[Heyrr]

And now it's dark, soul-less e30 in the driveway for the night. I see the correct colored wires, and wrapped with another up and away, but don't understand where I cut them the access a connection. To the stock stereo was a single blue/black wire, and a single yellow/black wire, both of which run to the bottom of that harness posted above, these get used or no? The arrangement of things messes with your orientation.

I hate not having someone with me, double hands on. I'm horrendous with words and pictures!

[StereoInstaller1]

I tried to reach my arm in as much as possible and as far as i could feel, as it headed towards the drivers side and away, and it just felt like the same bundle of wires routed away. I tried pulling them out a little, but they feel fully extended.

Perfect, did you unwrap all of that?

[Heyrr]

I mean I see the four different wrapped pairs, I just have no idea where I'm supposed to cut them from. I see they head into that black harness above, but so do blue and yellow that if I were to cut there, would just cut them off completely and they'd fall out. What are the junctions you speak of? I notice some wires with brown in them are randomly run into a plastic wrap with another wire or two at points..?

[dogsbark26]

Listen to StereoInstaller1. He knows what he's talking about.

If you haven't already, you'll need to remove the instrument cluster and disconnect the wire ties (they can be disconnected. No need to break them. You will want to re-attach them when you are finished.) that hold that wrapped bundle of stereo wires to the dash, making the bundle more accessible. Then unwrap the fabric tape from around that bundle however far is necessary to find whatever it is that Luke is having you search for.