After posting this post in the E30 section, I quickly discovered that this is a much better place to post... Anyways.. I have just purchased a FANTASTIC 325ix from 1988 and have loved it so far. Except for one thing... The stereo! The car came with a totally toasted Sony that was working fine, and sounded fine. When I decided to change the stereo, I pulled it out and stripped all the wires back soldered them and nothing. So I go onto various forums and try and find out whats goin on and oh goodness it only got worse. Turns out I have a Premium Sound System and absolutely nothing about the wiring is standard. I have the power to the new head unit working and that is it. I found a great diagram as well for premium sound system owners out there and all the colors I have are in accordance to the diagram. Alright, here is what I have done and also what still needs fixing... Done: - Wires stripped back from fader - Identification of 12v Constant and 12v Accessory and successful powering of the new headunit - Identification of some of the speaker wires? Need Help: - What wire goes where when it comes to speakers, I have learned that there was only positives but will that even work with a modern headunit like the one I am trying to put in? - What is with the 2-3 ground wires (brown) Should I connect the headunit negatives to these or just tie them up and out of the way? - How do I know if the amp is working? I am getting absolutely no sound so perhaps a amp fuse is blown or something? I REALLY don't want to have to rewire the car. But If I can be convinced it is the only way, I might do it. I'm getting pretty frustrated at this point. Thanks to anyone that can help...
So I got all the wires connected and I finally had sound! However there were some more problems... 1. At somewhat high volumes, a large crackle occurs at Bass level frequencies. 2. There is a large amount of static that changes in volume and pitch in accordance to engine revs 3. When I tried to attach all the Headunit speaker negatives to a ground, it killed the sound entirely. So in full disclosure, I was trying to attach a cheap (awful) headunit I bought from Walmart for $20 and I am fairly certain that this is the source of at least some of the problems. However, I also suspect issues with the ground system. Thanks for the continued help. EVERYTHING ELSE YOU MENTIONED WORKED BEAUTIFULLY AND THE AMP NOW TURNS ON, GREAT!
