What in the slutty hell? (solved)

[crappycoco]

Just a remark - the more radio cables I disconnect, the better the cars idle. o_O

[StereoInstaller1]

Signal goes from the deck to the fader to the amp to the speakers...in your case, you already have 8 wires, just follow the bypass thread and quit worrying so much, this shit is easy in your car.

[crappycoco]

I'll try and tackle it over the weekend. Thanks.

[crappycoco]

Started out like this:


The problem I had understanding the guide was quite stupid now that I know what everybody was talking about. I took a battery and started to check the speakers via the dash wires. Nothing crackled but my logic told me it should (since there was sound before I pulled everything apart).

It took me about 4 hours to realize what to actually do. After that it was pretty much a breeze.

So by process of elimination: I've tested If the front speakers and tweeters actually work (note the brown/blue wire - whats that? I've connected it to the bare connection on the speaker):



and the rear ones:


This is where I realized that the speakers connect to the amp, and the amp connects to the "deck" unit. And yes, I know that it was mentioned a 100 times, I just didnt know what everyone meant by that.

So the next problem was again, obviously already explained, but I didn't know what people were talking about (i was always thinking they were talking about the front loom). The Yellow/Blue cable pairs. There were 4 up front, but only 2 at the amp. So what I did was cry in a corner. And after an hour or so - it dawned on me - maybe I should peel back that end of the loom. So I did:



Connected everything, paying much attention to the grounds. But there are three wires from that loom that confuse me. One is the antenna, brown is ground i guess, what is the red/black stripe one? Do I have to ground the brown one at the antenna ground above? It's not the same as the ground up front (at the deck) since that one has a black stipe.



This is the front:
I was left with one gray/red stripe wire unattended. Don't know what to do with it (its in the background).




Here it is, radio works:



Thanks, Luke =)

[StereoInstaller1]

YES! Awesome...OK, so now, in retrospect, you see how the speaker level signal goes from the deck to the trunk to the speakers, right?

So now, if you add real power, you can do the connections at your junction point in the trunk, it makes it super easy to build a system.

Next time, cut all wires to the same length and connect them all at one point so you get tidier bundles, it just looks more professional and less chance to get caught up in heater controls or whatever.

Congrats!
Luke

[crappycoco]

Thanks, yes I am thinking about what you just said =) Currently some other car parts have priority (namely the differential) but later i'm definitely doing it =)

Btw, with your permission i'd draw up a step based "diagram". I think It would clarify a lot of questions that beginners might have =)

[StereoInstaller1]

Let me know how I can help...and hell yes, you don't need permission, especially mine!

LF

[mattjewell]

Thanks, yes I am thinking about what you just said =) Currently some other car parts have priority (namely the differential) but later i'm definitely doing it =)

Btw, with your permission i'd draw up a step based "diagram". I think It would clarify a lot of questions that beginners might have =)

How about that diagram? ;)

Just purchased an Alpine-143BT and about to install it. The car now has a Sony CD player with AUX jack.

Front speakers do not work?? Is this common?

89 325i coupe with fader

[StereoInstaller1]

It's probably all fuckered up, pull ot out and "de-hack" first, see what you have in there.

Some 89 325i came with Premium, most didn't. Most have all 8 speaker wires in the dash, but the ground junction is about 15" behind the deck, wrapped in the harness.

Get in there, untangle the mess, unwrap the harness and hope for the best. Find that ground junction, that's the big trick.

GL!
Luke

[mattjewell]

I'll do my best!

Maybe this is what's causing my instrument cluster to go haywire. Maybe the SI board is just fine.

We'll see.. Or maybe that's just a far fetched idea.


Did I read correctly on this thread about running new wire for the front speakers?


Also, what do you recommend for pulling the old HU out?

[mattjewell]

Got the old HU out.

So I everything from Crutchfield and they sent me a few other things along with the Alpine unit. Stuff I need apparently?

This is what I got so far:

Existing wiring (A mess):





And then the floating ground adapter. I following the wiring diagram as what's on the sheet that you see:






Where do the wires go on the output side on the floating ground adapter? Is it these:






Did they ship me more than what I need? Because I have a total of 4.

Any help would be nice.

[mattjewell]

I used this diagram when wiring to the floating ground adapter, since the new head unit's harness didn't writing on the wires:

[StereoInstaller1]

You didn't listen to a damn thing I said.

[mattjewell]

About the ground junction?

[StereoInstaller1]

unwrap that harness until you get to the point where you have 8 speaker wires.