Radio Wiring and Amp Bypass

[StereoInstaller1]

...Seth....you are IN the bypass thread now..

[c10seth]

I know :(. I fail.

I was fiddling around in the car and got sound out of it when I connected the car's white with the blue on the HU. It was...not nice sound that didn't last for very long, so I'm just going to order some new speakers, wires, and do it properly. Thank you for all the help.

Kindest Regards,

Seth

[StereoInstaller1]

I know :(. I fail.

I was fiddling around in the car and got sound out of it when I connected the car's white with the blue on the HU. It was...not nice sound that didn't last for very long, so I'm just going to order some new speakers, wires, and do it properly. Thank you for all the help.

Kindest Regards,

Seth

No Seth, stop! Do NOT buy aftermarket speakers...remember, I told you that the deck was NOT wired correctly to use the stock amp....did you think it was gonna sound great when it is wired wrong? Of course it sounded like shit, you sent about 4X the voltage the stock can handle to the input stage!

You need to do the bypass first, that is the "Proper" way to do it.

You need to throw knowledge at the car, throwing money is a waste of time (and obviously enough, money).

It is never going to sound good if the install is wrong, what you propose is not the logical way to go. Fix the install first!

Let me explain: the stock Premiums are excellent speakers, they have the best bass of ANY (seriously, regardless of budget, the best ever) speaker of that size. 5.25" speakers are not that common, to the point that dozens of speaker companies don't even offer them, but will have 3 choices in 6.5".

Also, the BMW wire is far superior to the bullshit they call "speaker wire" these days, you will again be downgrading if you "run your own". The stock wire has exceptionally good copper, far better than "Monster" or whatever. All that stupid speaker wire is crap, and not intended for automotive use, no matter what they say on the package. Generally it is corroded and nasty after 3 or 4 years while the BMW wire is still excellent after 20+ years. Basically, you have to go to $10/foot wire to improve. You also have more than enough already ran in the car. If you learn how they did it, if you understand "the BMW way" it makes all the sense in the world...but very few professionals do, much less some dude in a garage.

The bypass takes half an hour, just stop fucking around and do it, you don't need to buy anything at this point.

Until you have a subwoofer AND amplifiers, don't waste your time, just do the amp bypass and see what you have.

What you need to do is install one of our subwoofers and a 5 channel amp, then you get kick-ass sound no matter what.

These cars require a whole different approach, that is why car stereo shops freak out and tell people all kinds of bullshit...don't fall into that bullshit trap, it doesn't work.

Don't panic, you can have great sound in your E30 without spending an assload of money or time.

Sorry if this post is fragmented, I don't have time to write right now.

Luke

[elcoy]

Seth
I am a poster child for what Luke is telling you. I struggled then finally jumped in and followed what is being said in this thread it will work with no $ invested. I followed post 189 and it works perfect for me. Be noble and use your brain not your $. Answer to the calling of the true BMW enthusiast and fix it. I still feel good for doing it my self

[StereoInstaller1]

Update, Seth? Do we have adequate audio yet?

[Big swifty]

Stereo Installer 1 your help is superb and much appreciated.
I have a quick question...

1989 325ix, no amp, does have fader. I have stripped back wires to the twisted pairs and have connected all speakers. Radio functions all work fine.

Problem is that if the headlights (2 orange dashboard lights really) are on, as soon as the FM antenna is connected it will blow fuse 23 and the 2 orange dashboard lights are kaput.

Is this an internal (head unit) issue or an external (installer) issue?

[StereoInstaller1]

Installer, for sure.

Do you have a testlight? Go get one if you don't have one. there is a cheapie at walmart for about $5.

Then, tell me the exact colors you connected to, E30s did some weird color swapping

[Big swifty]

Thank You!
Figured it was my fault. Yes, I definitely have a test light. At work now, will check and report when I get home.

[Big swifty]

Installer, for sure.

Do you have a testlight? Go get one if you don't have one. there is a cheapie at walmart for about $5.

Then, tell me the exact colors you connected to, E30s did some weird color swapping

I'm an idiot. Connected the wrong ground. All is well!

As an aside, and I know this is the "Amp bypass" thread, have You ever successfully mounted an XM antenna inside the E30?

[StereoInstaller1]

I'm an idiot. Connected the wrong ground. All is well!

As an aside, and I know this is the "Amp bypass" thread, have You ever successfully mounted an XM antenna inside the E30?

No worries...I am not a fan of inside mounting, especially if it is XM branded. All OEs use an external antenna for a reason...no one wants that ugly thing.

The only luck I ever had was Sirius on top of the 3rd brakelight housing, mounted on a ground plane. Still not all that great IMO, lost it if there were tall buildings or tall trees close to the road. When I got back home from a trip to cali, I drilled a hole in my roof and externally mounted it. Reception was drastically improved, as good as typical OE.

[efficient]

So I got my 86 eta that I have no idea about the wires. So far I have 3 speakers that work but when I turn up the volume it sounds like my speakers are gonna break. My car has a fader but doesn't have an amp. Can anyone guide me and tell me what the grey and red wire connect to. I been reading and Itconfuses me more. Been contemplating on just running new wires from the speakers.

[efficient]

So I took my car to a shop and they wanted to put new wiring in my car cus they said my wires are old. Lol i left I can do that on my own.
Anyone know what the grey/red wire does? Also on the blue /black wire amd yellow/black wire those go to the back speakers ( i think)but i seen a diagram on here that says that you dont connect one of the negatives for the rear at the deck. Any input? I don't want to run new wires to the back

[StereoInstaller1]

So I took my car to a shop and they wanted to put new wiring in my car cus they said my wires are old. Lol i left I can do that on my own.
Anyone know what the grey/red wire does? Also on the blue /black wire amd yellow/black wire those go to the back speakers ( i think)but i seen a diagram on here that says that you dont connect one of the negatives for the rear at the deck. Any input? I don't want to run new wires to the back

Every bit of the answers you need are here!

If you have an '86 ETA, you could have Premium Sound...do you?

[tractioncircle]

I just installed a Pioneer DEH-X6600BT in my 91 325i with premium sounds following Luke's instruction on the first page. It sounds amazing now. Those factory premium speakers are pretty great I must say.

I did run into trouble trying to figure out the grounding scheme used. I trolled the net but did not find anything that was similar to What I had.

Here's what I had.

Head Unit chassis had two brown wires ground to it through a ring terminal.
Each of this brown wires was wired into 2 Yellow/Brown and 2 Blue Brown wires. These splices were six inches past the fader connector.

At the Amp end. The four wires (2 Yellow/brown, 2 Blue Brown) terminated into a single black brown wire at the connector. I had to strip back six inches from the connector to find the splice.

These four wires were each a part of a twisted pair with a '+' wire as described in the first post.

Once I figured this out, the rest was easy and matched with Luke's main post.

Do it guys, its not that hard after all.

Thanks a Ton Luke. You rock!

[StereoInstaller1]

I just installed a Pioneer DEH-X6600BT in my 91 325i with premium sounds following Luke's instruction on the first page. It sounds amazing now. Those factory premium speakers are pretty great I must say.

I did run into trouble trying to figure out the grounding scheme used. I trolled the net but did not find anything that was similar to What I had.

Here's what I had.

Head Unit chassis had two brown wires ground to it through a ring terminal.
Each of this brown wires was wired into 2 Yellow/Brown and 2 Blue Brown wires. These splices were six inches past the fader connector.

At the Amp end. The four wires (2 Yellow/brown, 2 Blue Brown) terminated into a single black brown wire at the connector. I had to strip back six inches from the connector to find the splice.

These four wires were each a part of a twisted pair with a '+' wire as described in the first post.

Once I figured this out, the rest was easy and matched with Luke's main post.

Do it guys, its not that hard after all.

Thanks a Ton Luke. You rock!

Thanks! One of these days I am gonna make all this into a tutorial for our site.

Good to hear you had success. Wish it was as easy for the later BMWs!

Luke