Stereo stopped working.

[ethree]

Last night my stereo (alpine tdm-7475, early 90's? cassette deck) went from occasionally intermittent to fully non-operational woot woot!

On the few times it hasn't worked in the past it would always work again after a restart but this time it stopped and hasn't come on all day maybe turning the car on and off ten times. The HU is receiving power, all lights are on, the ((st)) stereo light comes on and off if I change the radio station around but there is no sound.

I am a complete novice when it comes to stereos so please tell me where to start in my trouble shooting.

[ibavarian]

running an amp?

[DaveSmed]

So to put it another way, when the audio cuts out, visually at the headunit there is no change at all.

Does your car have the premium sound option? (Do you have tweeters by the side view mirrors on the doors?)

[ethree]

So to put it another way, when the audio cuts out, visually at the headunit there is no change at all.

Does your car have the premium sound option? (Do you have tweeters by the side view mirrors on the doors?)

It does have the "premium sound option" package. And yes, if you were looking at the stereo it looks like it should be functioning, tuning volume control all of that works, when I put a tape in it I can hear it turning and can fast forward or rewind but no sound comes out at all. Even if I turn the volume all the way up there isn't a buzzing or hiss nothing. :(

[DaveSmed]

Uh huh. Well, there are many different ways to install a headunit in an E30, most of them wrong. It really sounds like you were still using the premium sound amplifier for some strange reason (you shouldn't be btw) and that piece of junk sounds like it may have finally given up the ghost.

To be sure though, do you have a power antenna that works? Is it up when the audio cuts out?

[ethree]

Uh huh. Well, there are many different ways to install a headunit in an E30, most of them wrong. It really sounds like you were still using the premium sound amplifier for some strange reason (you shouldn't be btw) and that piece of junk sounds like it may have finally given up the ghost.

To be sure though, do you have a power antenna that works? Is it up when the audio cuts out?

Yeah the power antenna goes up and down when I turn the radio on and off it works great!

How do I bypass the amp?

I guess I'll have to start reading up in this forum on all the audio installs. :(

[DaveSmed]

Well, here's the write up I did on installing with the premium sound setup. Many people recommend running all new wire, which is nice, but if you do it this way you do not need to run new wire to the rear speakers, just the two short lengths to the front speakers. Much easier than tearing the interior apart IMO.



Yellow - Red/Green
Red - Violet/Gray
Black - Brown
Blue - White
Orange - Gray/Red

Following wires found at the fader:

Green - Yellow/Red
Green/Black - Yellow/Black
Purple - Blue/Red
Purple/Black - Blue/Black


Now, look in your trunk for the amplifier. Find these wires in the connector and connect them as shown:

(Note: There are two Black/Brown wires listed. They do not connect together. Connect them temporarily to test. If you have no sound out of your rear speakers, swap them and make your connection permanent.)

Black/Brown - Yellow/Red
Black/Violet - Yellow/Black
Black/White - Blue/Red
Black/Brown - Blue/Black

Finally, the front speakers. You need to run new wires to the front speakers from the headunit. (easier than rewiring the whole car, remember that) I will give you the wire colors at the back of the speakers to cut and connect to your new wire from the headunit.

Left:
White - Gray/Red
White/Black - Gray/Violet

Right:
Gray - Gray/White
Gray/Black - Gray/Brown

[ethree]

Well, here's the write up I did on installing with the premium sound setup. Many people recommend running all new wire, which is nice, but if you do it this way you do not need to run new wire to the rear speakers, just the two short lengths to the front speakers. Much easier than tearing the interior apart IMO.



Yellow - Red/Green
Red - Violet/Gray
Black - Brown
Blue - White
Orange - Gray/Red

Following wires found at the fader:

Green - Yellow/Red
Green/Black - Yellow/Black
Purple - Blue/Red
Purple/Black - Blue/Black


Now, look in your trunk for the amplifier. Find these wires in the connector and connect them as shown:

(Note: There are two Black/Brown wires listed. They do not connect together. Connect them temporarily to test. If you have no sound out of your rear speakers, swap them and make your connection permanent.)

Black/Brown - Yellow/Red
Black/Violet - Yellow/Black
Black/White - Blue/Red
Black/Brown - Blue/Black

Finally, the front speakers. You need to run new wires to the front speakers from the headunit. (easier than rewiring the whole car, remember that) I will give you the wire colors at the back of the speakers to cut and connect to your new wire from the headunit.

Left:
White - Gray/Red
White/Black - Gray/Violet

Right:
Gray - Gray/White
Gray/Black - Gray/Brown

Hey, thanks for the how-to! I guess I know what I'll be doing next weekend :x
Stay tuned for me producing an ungodly amount of dumbassed questions!

[325isStephen]

I think i might have the same problem, premium sound, have an alpine cda-XXXX not sure of model but once its been on for a while, 30 mins or so, the sound cuts out, almost sounds like skipping but the cd doesnt pick up at the same spot again, and then after a while it cuts out completely, however if its on radio it never cuts out at all. It has to be a heat thing, because it only happens after a while.

by the way sorry to thread jack, but do you guys think its the same problem

[StereoInstaller1]

Why must you guys do things the hard way?

Grab a test speaker. Pull the deck. disconnect nothing, play music and TEST the damn thing!

Luke

[325isStephen]

Well the only problem with that would be is that the deck is wired in without a plug like it should, its all sodered together. done by the previous owner. But if it is the deck that is the problem, it could be that it itself is overheating due to lack of movement of air, so wiring it to a speaker outside of the car isnt going to work in my opinion. But i'mnot completely sure, i just was trying to find out what it is without doing alot of work

steve

[DaveSmed]

Well, soldering is pretty much the only option, there really is no plug for these cars. The very presence of solder is somewhat encouraging, as opposed to wires twisted together and taped, or wire nuts, or god only knows what else.

At this point, there are two likely items to have croaked, either the "premium" amplifier, or the deck itself. Luke had a great suggestion for eliminating the deck as a possibility.

Since you have had the unit out and seen the wires, what were they connected to? Did the wiring the deck connected to look all factory?

[StereoInstaller1]

AND to clarify what I said...DON'T DISCONNECT ANYTHING, JUST HOOK THE DAMN SPEAKER UP!

Seriously, simply slide the bare wires into the plug on the back of the Alpine to see if you have audio. If it takes your three minutes, you are doing it wrong.

[325isStephen]

yeah the wiring seemed to be factory, otherwise i couldnt see why they would make it so short, the deck barely has enough wire to pull all the way out, i will try to the speaker thing though, although i dont have any spare ones sitting around. I will figure something out

thanks for the help

[ethree]

I'm hoping to get some time to troubleshoot this weekend will post results/findings.

Semi-OT: Will an e36 stock deck fit in an e30?