ho. ly. crap.

[cmflossin]

well i finally picked up an e30 a few weeks ago. it came with an old busted alpine headunit in it. it didn't work, so i called up crutchfield & in less than 24 hours, a new kenwood was sitting here. so i go to get started and what do i find behind the alpine?




so yeah. that's a little intimidating. so here's my thoughts... if i just cut off everything below my index finer in this pic...

... will i still have what i need to power the head unit? i've decided to say screw the speaker wiring and just run a 4-way amp for the speakers. so i don't care about wiring the speakers to the head unit. do all of those colors look correct? what is that one rouge white wire that isn't in the bundle with the rest of them? thanks in advance...

[kronus]

All you need is a ground, a +12 constant, a +12 switched, the illumination wire, and an amp on wire, if you're going to run an amp and new speaker wire. It looks like you have all those there in the pic with your fingers.

I have no idea what the rest of that shit is, but I can guarantee to you that it has no need to be there.

[Van Westervelt]

For the love of all that is holy, do not just go cutting wires! That is the easiest way to get a short.

The yellow and blue wires that are stranded and wrapped together are your speaker wires. They are usually wound in pairs per speaker, as they are. Brown is BMW's Neg(-) or ground. The red with green is one of the 12 (+) ones. Dont recall if it is switched or constant. And the purple and grey is the illumination. Believe the whiteish wire in the cluster is the ant power.

Get a cheap volt meter and learn how to use it. This is a perfect opportunity.

[Slow16vJetta]

For the love of all that is holy, do not just go cutting wires! That is the easiest way to get a short.

Get a cheap volt meter and learn how to use it. This is a perfect opportunity.

x2 Do it right the first time, that way your wont be kicking yourself in the ass later..

[StereoInstaller1]

What year/model is your car? There are quite a few differences between them.

If you have the fatory amp, you can use the wires from the amp to run your 4 speakers.

You would have 2 white wires if you have a factory amp, generally tied together behind the deck. One is power antenna, the other is amp remote.

That is really not that big of a mess. I have seen far far worse.

Luke

[cmflossin]

thanks for the advice guys. its an 89 325is. with premium. i guess i'll grab a volt meter and start digging...

[StereoInstaller1]

Decide first if you are gonna use an amp or not.

[cmflossin]

yeah. i think i'm just going to grab an aftermarket 4x50ish amp and use that for the speakers. if i can get the head unit powered up with the constant, switching, ground, & antenna... it will be easiest to just run the rca's to an amp and then to the speakers.

[AndrewBird]

Here is a wiring diagram for your car:

http://wedophones.com/Manuals/BMW/1989%20BMW%20325i%20-%20325is%20Electrical%20Troubleshooting%20Manual.pdf

[StereoInstaller1]

Yes, it is. Power and ground from the battery, 4 speakers from the amp, leave the speaker wires alone behind the deck.

[StereoInstaller1]

Oh yeah...if your deck as separate wires for power antenna and amp remote, make sure you get them right.

[ldsbeaker]

Wow, I wish I had taken a picture of the mess inside my E28's dash.
No butt connectors, just twisted together, then sealed with electrical tape. Then, get this, on one of the electric tape splices, the ROLL OF TAPE was left attached.
Unbelievable.

[daniel]

Wow, I wish I had taken a picture of the mess inside my E28's dash.
No butt connectors, just twisted together, then sealed with electrical tape. Then, get this, on one of the electric tape splices, the ROLL OF TAPE was left attached.
Unbelievable.

[archemedes]

Wow, I wish I had taken a picture of the mess inside my E28's dash.
No butt connectors, just twisted together, then sealed with electrical tape. Then, get this, on one of the electric tape splices, the ROLL OF TAPE was left attached.
Unbelievable.

no butt connectors is fine (I was taught not to use them as they fail way too often solder is the best way, but there is a twist method also that I have seen in competition vehicles when I was judging) but the tape roll, now that is lazy

[regnu]

Here is a wiring diagram for your car:

http://wedophones.com/Manuals/BMW/19...g%20Manual.pdf

:bow: