Speaker probs

[bmwman1973]

Can anyone tell me why the rear roof speakers in my 540i auto touring 1995 uk model are not working...I have just bought it....i have checked sound coming from the rear of the head unit and we have sound here, the original wiring is present at the head unit end and speaker end , all stereo settings have been checked and front speakers work correctly....any ideas?? i'm thinking there may be a connecter plug somewhere half way between the two which may have been disconnected, this is a guess, is there one or anything else before I start ripping my interior out and tracing wireing or running new cables???

[pingu]

I've got a similar UK model (except mine is saloon rather than estate). On mine, I think there was a connector for each rear parcel shelf speaker behind the rear seat back (i.e. between the rear seat back foam and the metal panel of the boot). Note that mine had an Alpine head unit and an amplifier fitted, which may not have been stock BMW (so it's possible that the connectors were only there behind the rear seat back due to the installation of the Alpine stuff). Let me know if you want tips for removing the rear seat back - it's quite easy but not obvious.

[pingu]

Something else you could try is measuring the resistance of each of the rear speakers from the BMW audio connector at the head unit end - you can expect about 3 to 4 ohms. If you get much higher than that (e.g. above 100 ohms) then the speakers or the wiring is open circuit; much lower than that (e.g. under 1 ohm) and you've probably got a short.

[bmwman1973]

Something else you could try is measuring the resistance of each of the rear speakers from the BMW audio connector at the head unit end - you can expect about 3 to 4 ohms. If you get much higher than that (e.g. above 100 ohms) then the speakers or the wiring is open circuit; much lower than that (e.g. under 1 ohm) and you've probably got a short.
many thaks ,will take a look in daylight and let you know...........

[bmwman1973]

Found the problem....someone has removed the cd changer as all the cables are hanging around in the rear......found the speaker cables chopped so it looks like they had the rear speakers amped as the power lead is also there for the amp ......