Which radio do I need?

[nyy e90]

So my attempt at getting the stock radio back into my e30 has become quite a puzzle. My car had an aftermarket radio when I bought it, and the stock harness was cut through. My car has the fader wheel above the radio area, and has tweeters on the doors, but not sure if the rear speakers are 'premium' or 'standard.' I am also not sure what was original or added over its long history.

I purchased a 'premium' radio (pictured below) and the harness for it which fits nicely. However, we were trying to get it wired into my car and discovered that my car has fewer wires coming out of it than the harness has. In addition, I looked at the wiring of an e30 m3 owned by member Archie. He has the 'premium' radio, but his harness coming out of his car has more wires than my car. And we were successful in plugging in the radio I have to his car.

SO now I'm back to figuring out which radio is truly meant to be in this car. I have attached pictures of two examples below. Please advise, is it one of the ones pictured below or a different one completely?

The car is a 1989 325i. I also looked up the VIN on a VIN decoder and it did not mention anything about premium sound, despite the tweeters and other premium items being there.

Premium (Currently have):


Other kind:


My harness in the car vs. Archie's e30 m3's harness:





My tweeters and rear speakers in the car:

[archie]

Bumpin this. Curious to find this out as well.

[ky0u]

Those rear speakers look like the standard ones. The premium rear's had tweeters in the unit as well.

Like so:

[Todd Black 88]

Your car has the fader, so it will have less wires than Archie's car, which does not have the fader. Your wires are there, but they are part of the harness after the fader switch.

Therears are not premium, but the tweeters are part of the premium kit. Either your car has premium sound and someone changed the rear deck and speakers, or they added the tweeters.

Pull the trunk liner on the left side and check for the premium amp in the trunk, it will tell you for sure.

[archie]

Your car has the fader, so it will have less wires than Archie's car, which does not have the fader. Your wires are there, but they are part of the harness after the fader switch.

Therears are not premium, but the tweeters are part of the premium kit. Either your car has premium sound and someone changed the rear deck and speakers, or they added the tweeters.

Pull the trunk liner on the left side and check for the premium amp in the trunk, it will tell you for sure.

Good point on the amp.
Ross, check drivers side rear under the panel.

[Rtheriaque]

Ugh... I'm trying to find the right head unit for my '89. I have two so far and I think they're both wrong.

I have no fader on the dash and definitely no premium sound.

I have this guy:



and this guy:


So far I have entirely too many wires in the dash and not enough places to put them on the back of these radios. Who would have thought this would have been a challenge?

It's the only hack in the entire car- the rest is bone stock and unmolested. Bah!

[Todd Black 88]

Post a pic of the wires you have in the car.

Both those will work for premium and non premium cars.

[StereoInstaller1]

Who would have thought this would have been a challenge?

Well, anyone with any experience in BMW stereos from the 80's for starters!

Here is what I would do: order a "blank plate" to replace your fader.

Order some speaker plugs, I think MArkSeven" posted a P/N for them.

Your pic here tells the story:



What you want to do is use that "slider" deck, but cut out the fader wiring. See where the "Y" is? Cut that tape wrap off, take out the solid yellow and blue wires, then use the black stripe wires for rear and the red strip for fronts.

Like others have said, those rears are not Premiums, but that harness appears to be Premium. Pull that trunk liner back and grab a flashlight, make sure there are 2 little black boxes in front of that antenna.

Luke

[archie]

Well, anyone with any experience in BMW stereos from the 80's for starters!

Here is what I would do: order a "blank plate" to replace your fader.

Order some speaker plugs, I think MArkSeven" posted a P/N for them.

Your pic here tells the story:



What you want to do is use that "slider" deck, but cut out the fader wiring. See where the "Y" is? Cut that tape wrap off, take out the solid yellow and blue wires, then use the black stripe wires for rear and the red strip for fronts.

Like others have said, those rears are not Premiums, but that harness appears to be Premium. Pull that trunk liner back and grab a flashlight, make sure there are 2 little black boxes in front of that antenna.

Luke

Luke, the photo you posted is of my car with premium sound. His is posted below with way less wires coming out of the car.

[nyy e90]

I just checked and no amp, just the antenna motor.

So no premium sound, fewer wires in the harness, has the fader in the dash, and curiously has the door tweeters.

Does anyone know what the radio headunit options were in 1989?

[archie]

Ross, thinkin it's this guy.
And bummer your premium radio don't work, I would of bought it.

[StereoInstaller1]

I am still just shocked at how hard you guys struggle to put a shitty radio in!

LOL

Luke

[Rtheriaque]

Why, exactly?

In the 2002 community, we're often "struggling" trying to get an original radio wired up properly. I've seen a properly installed period radio draw some wistful looks from folks that dropped huge sums of money on a modern alternative only to realize that it jars the period feeling out of the cabin.

To each his or her own. In my opinion, the E30 is BMW's true ultimate driving machine. I prefer mine to have a time capsule feel that captures the essence of what the car was when it came off the factory floor. There's a reason it didn't come with a cupholder, and I think that's the same reason BMW didn't go out of its way to create an otherworldly sound system. Every sound and vibration of the vehicle helps the driver understand exactly what is going on. Overpowering that changes that driving experience, and that's not what I'm looking for. That doesn't make anything "shitty."

[nyy e90]

Thanks Archie, do you think my radio will still connect with the connections I have? ill be on the lookout for that other one too, a junkyard run may be in order soon too. I appreciate everyone's input.

Rtheriaque you nailed it, I like my car to be a little time capsule. It helps that it's not my DD, but I'd like to keep this car true to its period.

[randywalters]

I just checked and no amp, just the antenna motor.

So no premium sound, fewer wires in the harness, has the fader in the dash, and curiously has the door tweeters.

Does anyone know what the radio headunit options were in 1989?

The Premium Sound system came with the Pyramid Radio (with the infrared finger-slider slot) and this radio has the fader control built in.

The regular sound system came with the CM5905 radio (with the separate bass & treble slider controls in the lower right corner). This radio doesn't have a built-in fader so it uses the fader thumbwheel insert that's already in your dash and works on cars with the premium sound system.