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E30 Stereo Wiring for Dummies

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    #16
    Ok, so I'll retake my thread here for a sec. I got all the stereo going. I used the stock wiring mostly.

    New headunit. Front speakers I wired into the headunit and it's small(ish) amp. It's an Alpine 9085 or something. (friend gave me it)

    For the rear speakers, I wired them into a Sony 504X amp. I added a Rockford Fosgate Punch P1 sub as well, to round out the bass a little, though it's not turned up very loud.

    I have a tiny issue though with my turn signals. I have the headunit wired into the hazard lights cuz that's the only 12V constant I could find close to the headunit. However, now my turn signals don't work, not through the hazards or the turn switch on the steering wheel, whether the stereo is on or off.

    I have checked the fuses and nothing is blown.

    Any ideas?

    ALSO:
    When I turn up the stereo to 11 the amp stops working and the sub and rear two speakers stop playing, though the front two keep going. Turning the stereo off and starting it again turns the amp on again.
    REMEMBER: Be safe and have fun is Rule Number 1.

    The Epic Unbuild of Clint Eastwood

    Comment


      #17
      First: why ddi you go and find your own power source? The stock wiring works perfectly to power your stereo. Go undo whatever you did and use the stock wire.

      2nd: how did you wire that sony? If you set it up properly, you would have run the front speakers and the woofer off the amp, and the deck would power the rear speakers.

      Get very specific on what wire, where you connected it, and add some pictures.

      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


        #18
        I tested all the sources in the stereo wiring harness, and I was told that red green (i think) was 12V constant, but when I wired it to that one, nothing turned on. When I looked on the internet again I saw one forum where the guy used the 12V constant of the hazards cuz he said you have to go hunting for one. It all worked once I plugged it in there.

        And ok, I'll rewire the amp to the front and sub and deck to rear. The amp has it's own power and ground and is connected to the headunit only by the remote on thing.

        I'll go take some pictures later as I'm just off to work.
        REMEMBER: Be safe and have fun is Rule Number 1.

        The Epic Unbuild of Clint Eastwood

        Comment


          #19
          OK:

          Car Deck
          Red/Green (fuse 21) Yellow (constant power)
          Violet/Grey (fuse 12) Red (switched power)
          Brown or BR/BK Black (Ground)
          Grey/Red (from light switch) Orange (dimmer)
          White (yes there are 2)Blue (antenna remote)
          White (still 2) Blue/white (amp remote)

          Now, I told you to get me some detail on your amp install. If you wanna fix that issue, do as I tell you and we can get your shit 100%. Pics would help too, but that Sony is a decent amp, there is absolutely something wrong with your install.

          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


            #20
            The things going to or coming from the amp are these.

            RCA cables
            Power cable direct from battery (30A fuse)
            Ground to negative battery terminal
            Remote On from headunit

            Sub is wired into one channel
            Rear speakers are each wired into their own channels.

            Amp is mounted into the back of a wood Bassworx (sp?) box, with the sub cut into the front.
            The sub faces out, with the back of the box near the ski pass hole in the trunk. The box is held down with brackets to stop it from moving at all. All the wires are expertly soldiered and heat shrinked and tucked/wrapped out of the way.

            I not going to be able to rewire the headunit constant like you said, until probably tomorrow. I'll let you know if that fixes everything once I'm done.
            REMEMBER: Be safe and have fun is Rule Number 1.

            The Epic Unbuild of Clint Eastwood

            Comment


              #21
              Im gonna listen to the guy with the username "stereoinstaller1" with 15k posts lol
              this helped me out alot thanks!
              Originally posted by e30lov
              sweet a mk4 jetta, haven't seen one of them for about 14 seconds
              Adventures of an E30

              Comment


                #22
                can someone take a picture of the 8 speaker wires I'm supposed to have? I can't figure out where they're hiding, the 4 speakerwires that I have don't pull out.

                Comment


                  #23
                  Originally posted by graffeedy5 View Post
                  can someone take a picture of the 8 speaker wires I'm supposed to have? I can't figure out where they're hiding, the 4 speakerwires that I have don't pull out.
                  as I said before:

                  1. POST what CAR you have, and what level stereo.

                  2. IF you have an indash fader, you will only see either 2 or 4 wires. You MUST unwrap your fader harness to get to the main wires, all you see is the input to the fader.

                  3. ONLY a late model (no fader) car without premium sound will have 8 wires.

                  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


                    #24
                    Originally posted by mRodiek View Post
                    Im gonna listen to the guy with the username "stereoinstaller1" with 15k posts lol
                    this helped me out alot thanks!
                    15K posts means you spend WAY too much time on the PC.

                    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


                      #25
                      Originally posted by StereoInstaller1 View Post
                      as I said before:

                      1. POST what CAR you have, and what level stereo.

                      2. IF you have an indash fader, you will only see either 2 or 4 wires. You MUST unwrap your fader harness to get to the main wires, all you see is the input to the fader.

                      3. ONLY a late model (no fader) car without premium sound will have 8 wires.
                      87 325e p/o put 4 alpine speakers in it. Coming out of the oe headunit was 4 wires. I followed them back as far as I could and they end up in a bundle with the power, ground, and antenna wires.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Originally posted by graffeedy5 View Post
                        87 325e p/o put 4 alpine speakers in it. Coming out of the oe headunit was 4 wires. I followed them back as far as I could and they end up in a bundle with the power, ground, and antenna wires.
                        OK, so now you need to follow them to the fader. Unwrap about a foot of harness, which you will only get out after you disconnect the fader.

                        You should find a splice with brown wires, after which you will find the speaker wires as twisted pairs.

                        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


                          #27
                          This is going to sound like a really dumb question, but I've never done car audio before. What is the fader?

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Horizontal roller "knob" in the dash directly above the radio. Controls front to rear "fade" (both left and right simultaneously) and has a 10 pin (?) plug. Ended generally in '90, but I have seen it on '90s as well.

                            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


                              #29
                              Originally posted by StereoInstaller1 View Post
                              OK:

                              Car Deck
                              Red/Green (fuse 21) Yellow (constant power)
                              Violet/Grey (fuse 12) Red (switched power)
                              Brown or BR/BK Black (Ground)
                              Grey/Red (from light switch) Orange (dimmer)
                              White (yes there are 2)Blue (antenna remote)
                              White (still 2) Blue/white (amp remote)

                              Ok so I hooked mine up just like this. Nothing turns on until I turn on my head lights. Seems the constant is only on when the lights are one. Also my OBC is now off. Need some help!

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Originally posted by R32toE30 View Post
                                Ok so I hooked mine up just like this. Nothing turns on until I turn on my head lights. Seems the constant is only on when the lights are one. Also my OBC is now off. Need some help!
                                NVM, I found a different constant. Then removed the stock amp. Sounds amazing!

                                Comment

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