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Reversing a hackjob - RMT 200 DIY - the stereo portion of my E30 M3 restoration

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    Reversing a hackjob - RMT 200 DIY - the stereo portion of my E30 M3 restoration

    EDIT: THE FULL DIY IS ON PAGE 5

    Hey guys,

    Some of you may have seen my build thread in the M3 section, but for those who havent I'm currently restoring an E30 M3 that, while in great overall condition, had a previous owner who was very fond of zip ties and electrical tape. I'm steadily turning the tide on these shoddy repairs, and searching through your discussions here have been very helpful.

    The radio portion of the project has presented some challenges. Any advice or guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

    For starters, my car's option list shows stereo S675A. I am not sure which stereo this originally was.

    This is the unit that the previous owner had installed in the car:





    It was a horrible install job. It stuck out about 1/4 of an inch from the dashboard, and behind it....



    And underneath the tape, professional level wire splicing...










    So, i began the work of pulling this junk apart and separating the factory units from the aftermarket. It was messy, but I've gotten it into some semblance of order. The trouble is, i dont know what the previous owner may have cut out that could now be missing. Below are some pictures of what is left, but to make things easy, i made a diagram as well.

    Colors are the colors of the wires, the diamond shapes at ends signify cut wires, and the squigglys denote twisted wires. I excluded the radio antenna harness, no mystery there.



    And actuals:


















    Then there's this guy by the on-board computer. Dont know what it does. [EDIT: I figured out that this wire is loose/not used on all US E30 OBCs, nothing to worry about]




    So, the objective. I want to convert this rat's nest of wire and tape into an orderly install of an RMT 200:



    BlackSpeed66 put one in and it looks awesome:


    The link says it's an OEM VW radio, so the task is twofold

    1) Figure out what each wire in the OEM harness does, and which are missing
    2) Figure out which need to be wired to the RMT 200 harness and where

    I'm searching through posts and doing research on my side, but if any of you with experience in the E30 radio world could throw some advice or info my way it would be GREATLY appreciated.

    Thanks guys!
    Last edited by CurrusDei; 12-26-2014, 07:50 AM.
    _______________________________________________
    5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
    RMT200 Retrofit

    #2
    I just did this on my vert, first step print out your version of the original wire diagram from this page:

    what speakers are you installing

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks. I want to keep everything original except the head unit if that is possible.
      _______________________________________________
      5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
      RMT200 Retrofit

      Comment


        #4
        Also you should check if the stock amp in the trunk was bypassed or not

        Comment


          #5
          Yep. On my list for tonight after i install the new alternator. Thanks!

          If anyone has wired up the factory wires to VW connectors, a guide would be awesome. Otherwise I'll make one for people to use as I figure things out.
          _______________________________________________
          5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
          RMT200 Retrofit

          Comment


            #6
            There seems to be a thread every month about which head unit keeps the stock appearance best but provides a nice upgrade.

            That stereo is the answer. RMT200.

            I'm looking forward to seeing your wiring solution.
            1987 325e Commuter Project Blog

            1967 1600 Project Blog: www.TX02.blogspot.com

            Comment


              #7
              Me too, ha! First foray into auto audio for me, but that's why its a project car.

              I can't stand 99.9% of aftermarket heads because they're so flashy. This one is perfectly understated. If I get it installed and working I may do an amber led swap as well


              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
              _______________________________________________
              5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
              RMT200 Retrofit

              Comment


                #8
                I'm in the same damn boat my friend. I'm trying to get the stock head unit going but I might cave and get that one. It looks pretty good installed.
                Current:
                1989 325i
                1988 M3
                1987 325ic
                Past:
                2001 330ci
                2001 M3

                Comment


                  #9
                  I know my E24 M6 owner is replacing his shortly, they are miserable as a source for a full system, and he is going to sell his.

                  Closing SOON!
                  "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

                  Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

                  Thanks for 10 years of fun!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Reversing a hackjob - the stereo portion of my E30 M3 restoration

                    If you're talking about the RMT 200 I'll take it! Not looking for a full system here and would love to get one with connectors wired for a bmw

                    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                    Last edited by CurrusDei; 06-05-2014, 07:07 PM.
                    _______________________________________________
                    5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                    RMT200 Retrofit

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Look at TESA tape for wrapping your new harness. It's the proper cloth type tape for European car harnesses.
                      tesa tape offers more than 7,000 product & system solutions aimed at ensuring top-of-the-line performance. Learn about how we're making a difference today.


                      You can buy reverse harnesses for most factory vehicles. VW used a couple harnesses over the years. For example this is the one for mKIII cars.
                      Metra Product # 71-1784 is a Audi Volkswagen wire harness that fits Audi Volkswagen vehicles from 1988 - 2007

                      The wire colours are standard aftermarket colours, so they are easy to figure out. From there you would use the electrical manual to match up to what you need.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Awesome. I've ordered the harness already and ecs has good prices on tesa tape. It looks like the harness only plugs in to the bottom two receptacles on the deck. Is the larger top one just left empty or is it for VW specific use?


                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                        _______________________________________________
                        5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                        RMT200 Retrofit

                        Comment


                          #13
                          That radio is amazing I just looked it up and only $250!

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I appreciate you documenting this as you are. Im about to start ripping all the aftermarket crap out of mine, so this should help.
                            Current:
                            1989 325i
                            1988 M3
                            1987 325ic
                            Past:
                            2001 330ci
                            2001 M3

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Go big or go home:



                              You would be amazed what's lurking in a harness that's over 20 years old that looked just fine. There were tons of soon to be shorts, piss poor aftermarket installs, alarms, etc that I found.

                              Comment

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