Radio Wiring and Amp Bypass

[Pantless Spency]

So I need to unbundle the wires from the fader?

[Pantless Spency]

1987 325e (10-1986 build date)

-NO tweeters
-NO amp in the trunk
-Fader switch in the dash***

***Fader does NOT have twisted pairs along the wiring path AT ALL. Fader wires DO NOT change colors, there are NO additional wires in the bundle. I followed them all the way behind the speedo to make sure. There's only the 4 striped and 2 solid wires going to the fader switch.

Photos of my head unit, fader switch and wiring to the head unit:


IMG_20130210_103441 by Spyke e36/e30, on Flickr


IMG_20130210_092643 by Spyke e36/e30, on Flickr


IMG_20130210_092814 by Spyke e36/e30, on Flickr


IMG_20130210_092929 by Spyke e36/e30, on Flickr


Got all my new radio wiring done, this might help Early model guys. I was super confused at how the OEM wiring was done, but once I had it all out the rewiring made perfect sense. I re-purposed all the OEM wire as it's in good shape, retained the previous wiring colors as to not confuse anyone else who MIGHT get the car after me and as mentioned in here very good quality high copper content.

I now have a permanent e36 female plug so that wiring will never have to be messed with again in the future, easy upgrades. This is for my 87 ETA, fader in dash, no amp in trunk, standard speakers. Wiring colors followed a fairly consistent pattern to my surprise. Here's what I did:

e30 ETA OEM wiring <> e36 female radio plug <> Metra 70-8590 plug

12v ignition/acc
Violet/Grey <> Violet/(White) <> Red
12v batt/constant
Red/Green <> Red/(White) <> Yellow
Ground
Brown <> Brown <> Black
Power antenna
(White) <> (White) <> Blue
Illumination
Red/Grey <> Red/Grey <> Orange

Right Front +
Blue/Red <> Blue/Red <> Grey
Right Front -
Blue/Brown <> Brown/Orange <> Grey/Black
Left Front +
Yellow/Red <> Yellow/Red <> (White)
Left Front -
Yellow/Brown <> Brown/Orange <> (White)/Black

Right Rear +
Blue/Black <> Blue/Black <> Violet
Right Rear -
Blue/Brown <> Brown/Orange <> Violet/Black
Left Rear +
Yellow/Black <> Yellow/Black <> Green
Left Rear -
Yellow/Brown <> Brown/Orange <> Green/Black

***The e36 female plug will have the speaker + and - as a twisted pair. I highly recommend connecting only ONE pair at a time to keep from getting confused, since all speaker negatives on the e36 plug have the same color wire.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do yourself a favor and double-check the power/acc/illumination wire colors with a TEST LIGHT BEFORE making final connections. It's the only way to know for sure. Speaker wires are straight forward, but you're a moron if you don't test the important wires before starting.

This is basically what I'm dealing with.


So blue brown, and yellow brown, both need to be spliced for negatives for both front and rear?

[Pantless Spency]

Bam, the deed is done using the example above. Couldn't be more satisfied.

Thanks.


If anyone has a 6 wire fader in your eta use the example above.

If you need any further help or any other questions feel free to pm me, I'm a changed man with knowledge know :)

[StereoInstaller1]

Wait...is this suggesting to use the same ground for front and rear?

It says specifically in your owners manual NOT to do that!

Expect your deck to run really hot and blow up soon, it is not OK to combine grounds in any way.

Luke

[ajune]

I have a 1987 325is with premium sound. The problem I have isusing the following diagram my stereo only gets power when I turn on the parking/headlights.

Car Deck
Red/Green (fuse 21) Yellow (constant power)
Violet/Grey (fuse 12) Red (switched power)
Brown or BR/BK Black (Ground)
Grey/Red (from light switch) Orange (dimmer)
White (yes there are 2)Blue (antenna remote)
White (still 2) Blue/white (amp remote)

[ajune]

Fixed the power on issues apparently for my specific car the Gre/red is ignition, the red green is illum, and the gray/white is the 12v C

[StereoInstaller1]

Yes, I highly encourage using a test light and confirming your work

[Spyke]

Sorry I am late on this. Just to confirm, I only had one main ground and that was solid brown. All my speakers had (+) and (-) leads, which were kept individual all the way through the e36 adapter end and the Metra harness.

NOWHERE did I say to join or splice multiple wires together, as Luke mentioned it's a big no-no. Every wire front & rear has it's match. If you're doing it my way, do it just as stated or shown in photos, and you'll be happy. Do not confuse front speaker wires with rear speaker wires.

And test lights people, test lights.

[StereoInstaller1]

Sorry I am late on this. Just to confirm, I only had one main ground and that was solid brown. All my speakers had (+) and (-) leads, which were kept individual all the way through the e36 adapter end and the Metra harness.

NOWHERE did I say to join or splice multiple wires together, as Luke mentioned it's a big no-no. Every wire front & rear has it's match. If you're doing it my way, do it just as stated or shown in photos, and you'll be happy. Do not confuse front speaker wires with rear speaker wires.

And test lights people, test lights.

*like*

[e30Prestige]

I'm trying to follow Spyke's method but am unsure about what to do with the Solid yellow and Solid blue wires in the picture below. Does anyone have any insight? My wires match his perfectly otherwise.

[StereoInstaller1]

I'm trying to follow Spyke's method but am unsure about what to do with the Solid yellow and Solid blue wires in the picture below. Does anyone have any insight? My wires match his perfectly otherwise.

It depends on which car and which system you have.

Generally, if you see solid blue and solid yellow, you need to unwrap the harness between the deck and the fader...keep going!

[madbim]

I did this tonight, and the right rear speaker only has sound coming out of the tweeter? Does this mean I goofed somewhere in the wiring or is the speaker blown?

[agent]

It may just be the speaker - that was the case with one of mine. Swap the rears and see if the issue follows the speakers or the connections.

[15Michaeljoseph]

I have a 1987 325is with premium sound. The problem I have isusing the following diagram my stereo only gets power when I turn on the parking/headlights.

Car Deck
Red/Green (fuse 21) Yellow (constant power)
Violet/Grey (fuse 12) Red (switched power)
Brown or BR/BK Black (Ground)
Grey/Red (from light switch) Orange (dimmer)
White (yes there are 2)Blue (antenna remote)
White (still 2) Blue/white (amp remote)

theres a white and yellow pair of wires that come out the back of the HU, and they say 'battery' on them. I'm trying to reinstall my 87 325is's unit, but I can't find any other white or yellow wires to connect these to.... what do they hook up to?


--Mike

[Musij]

Thanks for this Luke. Everything was super easy once you peel back the tape and see the twisted positives and negatives. First time playing with car wires and I installed a new HU and did the bypass in less than an hour. Everything works and sounds great except I get no sound from the front left speaker. I took the kick panel off to see if there was anything disconnected and it looks fine. I double checked my wiring and that looked fine. Should I battery check if my speaker even works? This is a 91 325i premium sound with all 8 speaker wires present in the amp. I did not have to run a single new wire