Radio Wiring and Amp Bypass

[gath]

Did this diagram work for you? I have an early build 1990 with premium sound and no external fader.

Thanks!

I used this and it worked out well.

[Rontgen]

I want to do a factory amp bypass on a late ‘89 with premium sound with no fader. Is thing a good diagram to use?

Did this diagram work for you? I have an early build 1990 with premium sound and no external fader.

Thanks!

[gath]

All done! got it figured out.

[parkerbink]

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[ThatM20Guy]

Took another crack at trying to figure out the wiring on my headunit and am honestly stumped. I only have the one white wire coming out of the dash (the one on my finger) which I assume would go to the remote on the headunit side.

If correct then this is the only wire I have left to connect and it should get rid of the miswire code.

[VWguyBruce]

Another successful amp/fader bypass on my late model coupe. Many thanks to the OP and everyone else that assisted in making this thread what it is.

Now to hunt down the bad driver in the rear....

[bobaflesh]

Hey bobaflesh, I just went through this exact scenario a few days ago in a '90 with premium sound. It was a bit tedious but I got it right on the first try including the factory amp bypass. If you still need help with this, pm me, and I can walk you through it step by step on the phone tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.

Hey thank you so much! I will go ahead and try to bypass the amp per the sticky when I have some time. Will let you know.

[KrautnotRice]

Hey bobaflesh, I just went through this exact scenario a few days ago in a '90 with premium sound. It was a bit tedious but I got it right on the first try including the factory amp bypass. If you still need help with this, pm me, and I can walk you through it step by step on the phone tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.

[bobaflesh]

I am having problems installing a Pioneer head into a 1990 325i sedan.. Got the premium sound system (tweeters on doors and rear deck speakers) and followed the stickied guide, but have no sound.

I have attached two photos so maybe someone could shed some light on the issue for me. Thank you!

[StereoInstaller1]

I gave up. I have a six wire fader and no grounds. I just finished up pulling all the speakers and running new OFC wire. I have a NIB pair of Pioneer 160W 6x9's that are going into the rear deck once I get the riser rings I ordered. I tested them out yesterday and it sounds 100X better then it did when it was working with the factory stuff. To be fair, since someone was in there messing around to install the Pioneer head unit that is in the car, who knows what they did to it.

Yeah, that works...not ideal, but it works. There are so many different setups in these cars its crazy, glad you got through it!

Luke

[Grackle]

Throw up a picture...Im gonna have to write a better tutorial for early cars

I gave up. I have a six wire fader and no grounds. I just finished up pulling all the speakers and running new OFC wire. I have a NIB pair of Pioneer 160W 6x9's that are going into the rear deck once I get the riser rings I ordered. I tested them out yesterday and it sounds 100X better then it did when it was working with the factory stuff. To be fair, since someone was in there messing around to install the Pioneer head unit that is in the car, who knows what they did to it.

[StereoInstaller1]

No other reason to enter here besides THANK YOU, for this guide. It was initially very difficult to understand how everything tied together without actually looking in the dash, but once I got started and began clipping wires, it made 100% sense. Car sounds infinitely better now.

Right on, man...always makes me happy to be of help!

[Heitzke]

No other reason to enter here besides THANK YOU, for this guide. It was initially very difficult to understand how everything tied together without actually looking in the dash, but once I got started and began clipping wires, it made 100% sense. Car sounds infinitely better now.

[StereoInstaller1]

Throw up a picture...Im gonna have to write a better tutorial for early cars

[Grackle]

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

This is driving me crazy. I have my car all apart and I still can't sort this. I don't have any twisted pairs, or the brown/orange wires, nor do I have the blue/brown wires that should be ground. No twisted pairs. I have chased the factory wiring all the way to behind the gauge cluster with no luck. Car has an aftermarket Pioneer deck that was installed at a shop according to the previous owner. Whoever did it capped off all the - outputs from the stereo.

The stereo worked when I bought the car and then quit a couple months ago. If I run a jumper wire from the negative terminal on one of the front kick panel speakers to a negative output from the head unit, all the speakers start to work, though the head unit and the jumper wire gets hot. What in the world is going on here? Car is an 1986es.

ETA: The car has a 6 wire fader in the it.