rreimund
04-25-2007, 01:54 PM
Hey guys..
For the record, I'm not a complete n00b when it comes to installing stereos in cars. I've done three of them in previous vehicles ranging from an early 90s Saab to a 1992 Golf to a 2001 Golf. I've always ordered from crutchfield - not because they are the cheapest but because the extras they send are worth the premium. Not to mention their tech support (though until now I'd never had to use it).
So.. I get stereo along with an intermediate harness (PAC OEM-2) that allows me to interface the new aftermarket head unit with the factory amplifier and a factory 13-pin harness to plug the factory harness into. Here's the rub though. I have an early E34 with no 13-pin plug. I just have a number of different wires coming in, and attaching with at least a half dozen connectors to various points on the stereo. You board veterans probably know what I'm talking about.
Now, after much frustration trying to accurately identify everything in the car and which wire from the aftermarket headunit should go where, etc. I finally get good sound out of the stereo, and the fade/balance work correctly (they had been reversed at various points, etc. I thought I was done, I put everything back in the dash, pushed in the new stereo and buttoned everything up. BUT... here's the funky issue:
When the radio is on, and I park the car, as soon as I turn off the ignition - the radio stays on, and the wipers start going. I've never had a problem with my wipers, and the switch operates normally when the ignition is on. Stereo also operates normally.. It's just that the wipers start going when it's turned off. The only way to stop the wipers is to turn off the radio. Once it's turned off, the wipers stop in mid-stream wherever they are on the windshield. After that point I cannot turn the radio back on nor can I turn on the wipers without putting the key back in the ignition and turning it to the Accessory on position. When I do this, I can turn on the radio if I desire, and the wipers will return to their normal parked position on their own.
Now then - any ideas as to where to look, and what I may have tapped into that I shouldn't have?
- Rick
One other thing... When I first hooked everything up, I attached all of the negative wires coming from the speakers (FL, FR, RL, and RR) together and attached to the ground. When I operated the stereo at high volumes, it would clip.. I then realized that I had two wires that I hadn't done anything with. They had been attached to a screw on the back of the chassis of the factory unit - they were brown with orange stripe and were apparently grounded to the chassis. I decided to also ground those to the negatives and the ground wire from the aftermarket harness. Once I did that, no clipping and the sound was much better. Could either of those have anything to do with wipers? - Sorry for the long post.
For the record, I'm not a complete n00b when it comes to installing stereos in cars. I've done three of them in previous vehicles ranging from an early 90s Saab to a 1992 Golf to a 2001 Golf. I've always ordered from crutchfield - not because they are the cheapest but because the extras they send are worth the premium. Not to mention their tech support (though until now I'd never had to use it).
So.. I get stereo along with an intermediate harness (PAC OEM-2) that allows me to interface the new aftermarket head unit with the factory amplifier and a factory 13-pin harness to plug the factory harness into. Here's the rub though. I have an early E34 with no 13-pin plug. I just have a number of different wires coming in, and attaching with at least a half dozen connectors to various points on the stereo. You board veterans probably know what I'm talking about.
Now, after much frustration trying to accurately identify everything in the car and which wire from the aftermarket headunit should go where, etc. I finally get good sound out of the stereo, and the fade/balance work correctly (they had been reversed at various points, etc. I thought I was done, I put everything back in the dash, pushed in the new stereo and buttoned everything up. BUT... here's the funky issue:
When the radio is on, and I park the car, as soon as I turn off the ignition - the radio stays on, and the wipers start going. I've never had a problem with my wipers, and the switch operates normally when the ignition is on. Stereo also operates normally.. It's just that the wipers start going when it's turned off. The only way to stop the wipers is to turn off the radio. Once it's turned off, the wipers stop in mid-stream wherever they are on the windshield. After that point I cannot turn the radio back on nor can I turn on the wipers without putting the key back in the ignition and turning it to the Accessory on position. When I do this, I can turn on the radio if I desire, and the wipers will return to their normal parked position on their own.
Now then - any ideas as to where to look, and what I may have tapped into that I shouldn't have?
- Rick
One other thing... When I first hooked everything up, I attached all of the negative wires coming from the speakers (FL, FR, RL, and RR) together and attached to the ground. When I operated the stereo at high volumes, it would clip.. I then realized that I had two wires that I hadn't done anything with. They had been attached to a screw on the back of the chassis of the factory unit - they were brown with orange stripe and were apparently grounded to the chassis. I decided to also ground those to the negatives and the ground wire from the aftermarket harness. Once I did that, no clipping and the sound was much better. Could either of those have anything to do with wipers? - Sorry for the long post.