Radio Wiring and Amp Bypass

[Eddie Haskell]

89i model with non premium sound no fader and never jacked with bone stock HU. Wired via Luke's synopsis. The 9v battery and testing the speaker leads did the trick. Pulled kickpanel on left side and voila the twisted pairs for rears and left side were there. Had to strip back factory harness behind HU and found the twisted pair leads. Snip,snip,snip and snip. Confirmed with the 9v before hookup. Job done in 1hour. 9v battery tool removes any question before going to the crimpers.

[StereoInstaller1]

Hey thanks for all the info you posted up about the car audio for the e30, I have a question about this, what can I do since I have an aftermarket stereo in my car and aftermarket speakers and it seems to me as if all stock wiring was pulled for aftermarket wiring, I pulled my stereo a few months ago and it seems theres no real harness behind the deck, just wires twisted together and covered with electrical tape.

Same goes for the speakers, all connections are just twisted wires with elec tape around them

Sounds 100% factory!

Go look at the stock color charts for reference. Depending on the car (earlier cars are different, again, depending on model) you should have the same colors.

As far as what to do, that kind of depends on what you are looking to accomplish, right? I have helped literally hundreds of guys (and girls) get decent sound in their car, so we can get you set up too. Shoot me a PM wiuth what budget you have, or even post a thread about what it is you want to accomplish with your stereo install.

Thanks!
Luke

[siazul]

Absolutely, yes. Thanks for bringing this up.

My reasoning is simple: no one who uses a diagram like this even knows who Bruce Brisson or Noel Lee are, much less Ray Kimber (who sells wire that ISN'T snake oil) so the quality of the wire you are gonna get at Monoprice or Home Depot (or get 1000X screwed on at your local car stereo whore shop) is WAY worse than what is already in your car: twisted pair, high copper content, generally excellent condition, neatly ran, no noise, etc...the stock BMW wires kick that shit out of 99.999% of the professionals out there, much less the neophyte installer.

Another advantage is that should you decide to add am amplifier to your system, you can simply connect in the trunk. Run your RCAs and all else is done!

Guys, again: please use the stock wire wherever possible.

Luke

Hey thanks for all the info you posted up about the car audio for the e30, I have a question about this, what can I do since I have an aftermarket stereo in my car and aftermarket speakers and it seems to me as if all stock wiring was pulled for aftermarket wiring, I pulled my stereo a few months ago and it seems theres no real harness behind the deck, just wires twisted together and covered with electrical tape.

Same goes for the speakers, all connections are just twisted wires with elec tape around them

[camip]

I re-read what I wrote and I hope you didn't take that last bit the wrong way (it sounds like you got what I was trying to say) - you don't have to be a genius to fix these cars, you just have to be patient, curious about how things work, and have a certain mindset. It's a good car to learn on. And you're spot-on about making a thread to help other people out if you find something interesting, weird, or helpful.

dont worry i wasnt offended i get what you were saying this is my first car and at first i was worried i couldnt handle it but it seems like everyday im outide fixing or making something better and when i get funds for the stereo instal ill definatly make a thread.

[alloydix]

I have a 88 325ix. It has tweeters and a fader in the dash.

The wires back at the amp.


The wires up front. This is back a little ways so all the loops are eliminated. I believe the green and red wire is a hot battery wire, and thus it is not showing in the back.


From what I see it looks like I need to re-wire, but bimmer630 seems to have done it with a situation that originally looked like mine (no orange and brown wires). I went back on the amp wires about a foot and a half looking for the individual grounds for the each speaker. I didn't see any. Should I go back further, or do I just not have them? Just Scott doesn't say anything about tying in negatives to the speaker wires, but from what Luke is saying that seems necessary. Thanks for the help guys.

I'm a noob to forums and had an issue last time posting pics. In case those didn't work, here are the links

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71254823@N05/6443620731/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71254823@N05/6443622887/

[Gubernaculum]

I re-read what I wrote and I hope you didn't take that last bit the wrong way (it sounds like you got what I was trying to say) - you don't have to be a genius to fix these cars, you just have to be patient, curious about how things work, and have a certain mindset. It's a good car to learn on. And you're spot-on about making a thread to help other people out if you find something interesting, weird, or helpful.

[camip]

Will do I'll get started on it sometime after Christmas and make a thread and hopefully help some other people out. And when I got there wasnt a deck just a hole with cut wires thanks for the info.

[StereoInstaller1]

(^wisdom!)

Pull out the deck and make a thread with pictures showing what and how it was wired.

[Gubernaculum]

There is no telling what the previous owner did - hopefully he did it right, but you'll have to figure that out. Think hard about how a stereo needs to be wired and what you have in your car. Get a volt/ohm meter, the bentley, and the electronic troubleshooting manual. Go to town. The community will help you out somewhat, but you have to try to figure it out yourself first so you can present a logical and intelligent question. You'll get it. And if you can't get it, you might need to reconsider owning a 27 year old car. Have fun.

[camip]

No tweeters just the speakers by the floor which were replaced with some infinitys. And PO had a after market receiver (no longer in car) should I just go off of those wires?

[StereoInstaller1]

If you have front tweeters, you likely have premium sound.

[camip]

Good point on the shop I doubt they can do it. Do i have to run new speaker wires I'd rather keep the stock wires. How do I tell if I have premium sound or not?

[Gubernaculum]

Premium sound vs. non-premium also makes a difference. Worst case you run new wires to every speaker. For a car that's probably worth about a grand (that's my case, at least), it doesn't make sense to pay a shop to do this unless you REALLY can't trust yourself to do it right. And then, do you trust the shop to do it better than you would on your own car?

[camip]

I'm new to wiring and e30s do you recomend that I try this myself or take it to a shop? Btw i have a 85 325e so i think this post pretains to my car.

[StereoInstaller1]

No, I have seen it many times, actually. I think it has to do with the beer served at the BMW cafeteria.