What are these wires for?

[Redbone]

I really want to clean up wiring I don't need what are these wires for and could I delete them? It's a 1992 318i with premium sound and tweeters. I'm not sure if it had a fader control cause PO had aftermarket radio install with no face plate.


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[bmwman91]

Holy shit, that is a ratchet wiring job. Whoever did that should be slapped. Was there an alarm system installed as well?

As far as I can tell, the person that did that chopped the factory wiring harness and then re-spliced it back in along with aftermarket stuff. I'd remove everything that is covered in electrical tape (tape and wires) and then try to reconstruct the factory harness. Then from there you can properly integrate an aftermarket radio harness, or run a stock head unit.

[Redbone]

Holy shit, that is a ratchet wiring job. Whoever did that should be slapped. Was there an alarm system installed as well?

As far as I can tell, the person that did that chopped the factory wiring harness and then re-spliced it back in along with aftermarket stuff. I'd remove everything that is covered in electrical tape (tape and wires) and then try to reconstruct the factory harness. Then from there you can properly integrate an aftermarket radio harness, or run a stock head unit.

Tell me about it. It did have a alarm. I'm still at a lost for what the solid yellow and solid brown solid blue wires are for .


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[bmwman91]

Solid blue and yellow are a couple of the original speaker output wires (the little white plugs on them connect to the OEM head unit). The brown wires are grounds, and that ring terminal is supposed to be secured under the steering column at ground point G200.

You...have a bit of a project ahead of you. See the link below for OEM wiring diagrams. You will need the 1992 document since it is more complete than the 1991 one (1991 is for 318iS but is missing a ton of pages, 1992 is for 318iS which has small differences here and there but it is at least complete).

http://www.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e30/

[Redbone]

Solid blue and yellow are a couple of the original speaker output wires (the little white plugs on them connect to the OEM head unit). The brown wires are grounds, and that ring terminal is supposed to be secured under the steering column at ground point G200.

You...have a bit of a project ahead of you. See the link below for OEM wiring diagrams. You will need the 1992 document since it is more complete than the 1991 one (1991 is for 318iS but is missing a ton of pages, 1992 is for 318iS which has small differences here and there but it is at least complete).
http://www.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e30/

This helps me a ton. Thanks a lot. Wish I would of worked this out with the dash out. So as far as the ground distribution if that one ring terminal isn't connected a whole bunch of things won't work?


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[Redbone]

Anything on that little black connector?


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[e30davie]

which one?

The once with all the tape around it top right looks like some sort of aftermarket stereo
connector.

Looks like someone just spliced in an aftermarket stereo to the oem wiring.
Nothing too exciting. Are you putting in another aftermarket unit? if so get it working by finding power with a multi meter then start testing wires to see what speaker they are.

[Redbone]

which one?

The once with all the tape around it top right looks like some sort of aftermarket stereo
connector.

Looks like someone just spliced in an aftermarket stereo to the oem wiring.
Nothing too exciting. Are you putting in another aftermarket unit? if so get it working by finding power with a multi meter then start testing wires to see what speaker they are.

It's the one in the middle of the picture kinda look like a domino.


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[e30davie]

Might be the standard stereo plug. Does everything else work except stereo?

[Redbone]

Might be the standard stereo plug. Does everything else work except stereo?

Engine bay currently .. I won't know until I finish my battery relocation and swap.


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[parkerbink]

I just pulled an oem radio and that ring brown ground was attached to the back of the radio:

[Redbone]

I just pulled an oem radio and that ring brown ground was attached to the back of the radio:

Make sense cause there's no way I think I was gonna make that reach under the dash. Did this system have the fader control?


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[parkerbink]

'92 325 & No fader. (White car in sig)

[bmwman91]

Thanks for the correction. I guess it has been so long since I had a factory head unit that I forgot that the radio ground is on the chassis lol.

[parkerbink]

No worries, I only know because I just did it. The "domino" looking connector was attached to an opposite connector in the radio wire harness. No idea what its purpose was.