CD unit install, how hard?

[madjurgen]

I still have the stock radio in there but i want to get a CD player now, most probably an Alpine. Im scared to have the teenagers at Cartoys do it, thinking they might just splice into anything they can find. How hard is it to do myself? I know nothing about stereos and their wiring but Im not stupid.

[jrdn223]

do it urself. it would take a shop mere minutes to have it in ur car and would not be worth the price they ask (unless ur a total idiot and are sure to fuck up). I knew nothing about stereos when i bought my alpine but had it workin in about a half hour.

[StereoInstaller1]

Lets see...to install a deck in an amplified e30 (like I bet your is) takes me about 1 1/2 hours...and I have thousands of dollars in tools AND 25 years experience. If you can do it PROPERLY in half an hour...well, you just can't.

The best way to do this is to go to Home Depot and buy a set of ChannelLock brand crimpers. They call them "Wiring Pliers" but whatever. You will need about 50 feet of 18 or 16 guage speaker wire. Lamp cord is just fine.

Run the wire from the speaker connections at the amp (in the trunk) to the deck, use a test light to test your wires...very simple wiring, but to make sure all is tidy and professional should take the average guy half of a day.

If you have questions, PM me or just post. You can do it yourself, it will be a great learning experience.

Good luck,
Luke

[madjurgen]

they came amplified from the factory? i have a 1990 325i.

[StereoInstaller1]

look under your rear deck or in the left rear fender...mine is under the fender cover/trunk liner.

Luke

[jrdn223]

bitch i properly ran all new speaker wires and put the head unit in in under an hour. fuck off and don't tell me what i cant do

[Jordan]

bitch i properly ran all new speaker wires and put the head unit in in under an hour. fuck off and don't tell me what i cant do

Sure you did.

I'm sure all those wires are properly routed through the dash, away from interfering items, and all neatly tucked into the provided channel in the rocker panel.

No wait.. you likely just shoved the wires under the door sill with a flathead.




I don't know how far away Fort Worth is from Austin, but I'm always looking to make a couple bucks on the side and more then qualified to do the install [I]properly[I].

[StereoInstaller1]

bitch i properly ran all new speaker wires and put the head unit in in under an hour. fuck off and don't tell me what i cant do

I can tell you any fucking thing I want, you little waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles.

Shut the fuck up until you learn proper sentance structure.

I have been doing this shit longer than you have been alive....bitch

Your grand total of experience is ONE deck install? How the fuck would you even know if it is done right? You said yourself that you knew nothing when you bought your one and only stereo...oooooh, big bangin' Alpuke on 4 stock speakers....wow, ur so kewl.

Shut your fucking hole, kid. Learn some skills before you post crap. You wouldn't last 15 minuites in my world...bitch.

Luke Fisher
PROFESSIONAL Stereo Installer since 19-motherfucking-80

/attack mode

[ptownTSI]

damn we have some old schoolers here on this site. the best kind. i bet you've only put a *few* decks in e30's over the years.

[whakiewes]

Old thread, but good nonetheless. So far I am at 3hrs rewiring my entire car. I could easily install a deck via the factory wires in less than an hour...possibly not if I solder/heatshrink every connection, but to rewire the car/amp the entire setup is a royal PITA. I have the rear speakers left to rewire which I will do tonight...figure on about 2hrs for that. I am using all premium 16 guage speaker wire, premium RCA's, etc...making sure its done right the first time.

What took me so long on the first half was the PO butchered up the factory wiring so I had to search long and hard to get my wiring for the unit straight. I am not using any stock wires, everything is externally amped to avoid this problem in the future and to eliminate the chance of more bad connections.

Wes

[nomsg]

LOL! Pissed my pants reading Luke's reply! Good shit... bitch! LOL!

[StereoInstaller1]

Damn...haven't seen this thread in quite a while.

Kinda sad that I am at my most eloquent when pissed off.

Oddly enough, we haven't seen that kid again...

Luke

[whakiewes]

Finally got done redoing the wiring on the E30. All new wire front to back, amp mounted in the rear. I really wanted to mount it under the seat or somewhere in the cabin, but no where practical so on the rear deck it went.

What a phenominal difference the new wires made...really amazing. Nothing changed other than the wires and moving the amp from the cabin and mounting it. Worth the effort, especially if you already have to wire for the amp anyways. I made the install as clean as possible by hiding the wires into the factory wiring routes.

Downside was for whatever reason when I reinstalled the Clarion DXZ825 I only get Error 6 when a CD goes in. The fault is 'CD installed upside down, remove and reinstall correctly". Nothing works period so I reset it with no luck. I am guessing I bumped it or something and the lens is misaligned. Going to buy a cleaning cd tomorrow and see if that helps :( .

Wes

[george graves]

HA! Luke's sig was a direct result of that kid's reply!

[DSchultz325e]

Finally got done redoing the wiring on the E30. All new wire front to back, amp mounted in the rear. I really wanted to mount it under the seat or somewhere in the cabin, but no where practical so on the rear deck it went.

What a phenominal difference the new wires made...really amazing. Nothing changed other than the wires and moving the amp from the cabin and mounting it. Worth the effort, especially if you already have to wire for the amp anyways. I made the install as clean as possible by hiding the wires into the factory wiring routes.

Downside was for whatever reason when I reinstalled the Clarion DXZ825 I only get Error 6 when a CD goes in. The fault is 'CD installed upside down, remove and reinstall correctly". Nothing works period so I reset it with no luck. I am guessing I bumped it or something and the lens is misaligned. Going to buy a cleaning cd tomorrow and see if that helps :( .

Wes

A misaligned lens is still misaligned whether it's clean or not. Those cleaning CDs usually fuck things up even more, and most high-end head unit manufacturers tell people not to use them in their instruction manuals. However, if the unit is out of warranty (I'm assuming it's LONG past) then I'd just give it a shot anyway. It's amazing you even got 5 years out of it.