Can you hear that?

[boboli57]

I installed a new stereo head unit last night into my '92 525.

Using Crutchfield, I was advised to connect the head unit to an adapter, PAC OEM2, then to the BMW wiring harness, then to the factory wiring.

All works okay, though it was a tight fit getting everything inside. The only problem now is that the volume is not very loud at all.

Anyone have any ideas? The rest of the system is stock (speakers and amp.). The factory head unit that I removed could produce a lot more sound. With the new head unit turned up so I can hear music over the highway traffic, the system sounds like it's straining to produce the highs and lows.

Any ideas and thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[DanDombrowski]

Check to make sure the amp in the trunk is turning on. I did the same thing you did with my sony head unit, except I used Circuit City's wiring harness adapters. Well...it turns out that they wired the "power antenna switch" on the head unit to the "turn on the trunk amp" wire in my BMW. Basically, when the radio was on, it told the 'power antenna' to go up, and the amp was on, and everything was all fun and games. But when I went to put on a CD, well, the head unit didn't need the power antenna for that, and turned off the amp in the trunk. It drove me NUTS trying to figure that one out. I returned the head unit even, and that got me even more mad....so basically, I'm wondering if their wiring is correct and if its turning on your trunk amplifier at all. In my case, when the amp was off, NO sound was played, but who knows, I'm just throwing out suggestions. You may want to try to wire a pair of speakers directly from the output wires of the radio and see if it makes any difference.

Hope this helps.


I installed a new stereo head unit last night into my '92 525.

Using Crutchfield, I was advised to connect the head unit to an adapter, PAC OEM2, then to the BMW wiring harness, then to the factory wiring.

All works okay, though it was a tight fit getting everything inside. The only problem now is that the volume is not very loud at all.

Anyone have any ideas? The rest of the system is stock (speakers and amp.). The factory head unit that I removed could produce a lot more sound. With the new head unit turned up so I can hear music over the highway traffic, the system sounds like it's straining to produce the highs and lows.

Any ideas and thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jplacson]

Could also be loose wires. Or maybe the adapter is wired wrong?

[Unregistered]

Check to make sure the amp in the trunk is turning on. I did the same thing you did with my sony head unit, except I used Circuit City's wiring harness adapters. Well...it turns out that they wired the "power antenna switch" on the head unit to the "turn on the trunk amp" wire in my BMW. Basically, when the radio was on, it told the 'power antenna' to go up, and the amp was on, and everything was all fun and games. But when I went to put on a CD, well, the head unit didn't need the power antenna for that, and turned off the amp in the trunk. It drove me NUTS trying to figure that one out. I returned the head unit even, and that got me even more mad....so basically, I'm wondering if their wiring is correct and if its turning on your trunk amplifier at all. In my case, when the amp was off, NO sound was played, but who knows, I'm just throwing out suggestions. You may want to try to wire a pair of speakers directly from the output wires of the radio and see if it makes any difference.

Hope this helps.

Well, I actually solved that problem... I wasn't gettign any sound at first either and figured the amp was getting any power. Rather than connecting it to the power antenna line from the head unit, I oonnect the amplifier power line to switched power (red cable).

So, any time the ignition is turned on, the amp gets power. But there is still a noticeable difference between CD and FM radio output.

Any other thoughts???

[jplacson]

yes, FM has a constant volume level... CDs have a much wider dynamic range, and CDs are not mastered the same way. Some radio heads offer a volume balancing feature so that volumes from different sources can be leveled off.