Holy Fudge

[///Sniper535]

I think my amp has been missing the whole time? Previous owner must of did some crazy work back there.

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs009.snc3/11644_523435206588_209700100_31305622_1625530_n.jp g

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs009.snc3/11644_523435191618_209700100_31305621_6649099_n.jp g

It doesn't look good to me, should I just strip the whole harness with amp out of a junked E34? if so, will the year matter?

[tim eh?]

yikes - I would double check the big red wire in that bundle somewhere just to make sure the duct tape is holding :D (that's a live one...)

I can't see it not being a giant pain...this might be a good time to 'upgrade'

[///Sniper535]

Its been like this for years now, I just now realized it. My radio harness is also mangled up. My door tweeters and front right speakers recently went out. So what should I do ith that mess back there? Will the CD43 not work as well without the amp?

[tim eh?]

Its been like this for years now, I just now realized it. My radio harness is also mangled up. My door tweeters and front right speakers recently went out. So what should I do ith that mess back there? Will the CD43 not work as well without the amp?

So... you have a stock head unit? What is your setup? There's got to be an amp somewhere, even if it's on the head.

I noticed with the stock speakers sharing a ground on each corner funny things can happen if a connection is bad. I once had my whole right front side go dead because I squished the tweeter wire in the door panel while toolong around with the door window.

[BMWCCA1]

So... you have a stock head unit? What is your setup? There's got to be an amp somewhere, even if it's on the head.
All stock head units on these cars have amps built-in. They're often used on BMWs without the hi-fi option as-is with no amp. Not very much power and no EQ, but it will certainly work. Same high-level speaker-outs are used whether the car has a separate amp, or not.

[///Sniper535]

I have a sony aftermarket headunit. has a DSO and EQ feature. I hate the blue and red illumination.

[eaglecomm]

I'm heading in to this territory soon. I have no rear amp either, but the entire system is out. I have sourced everything but an amp.. once I get one, I just need to figure out which color wires go to what (front and rear!). :( Best way to check phase before hooking them up?

[tim eh?]

I have a sony aftermarket headunit. has a DSO and EQ feature. I hate the blue and red illumination.

Well the amp is in the sony... I wonder where the crossovers are then. Your problem could easily be the wiring behind the HU. You have door tweeters and all of your speakers used to work ok?


I'm heading in to this territory soon. I have no rear amp either, but the entire system is out. I have sourced everything but an amp.. once I get one, I just need to figure out which color wires go to what (front and rear!). :( Best way to check phase before hooking them up?

Stock setup is no problem for phase. The connectors are different sizes on the speaker ends, and I don't think it would work at all anyway if you mixed up + and - because the speaker grounds are shared.

http://shark.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e34/


All stock head units on these cars have amps built-in. They're often used on BMWs without the hi-fi option as-is with no amp. Not very much power and no EQ, but it will certainly work. Same high-level speaker-outs are used whether the car has a separate amp, or not.

Wow I thought the stock amp was weak! So where do they put the crossovers in no-amp systems?

[eaglecomm]

Stock setup is no problem for phase. The connectors are different sizes on the speaker ends, and I don't think it would work at all anyway if you mixed up + and - because the speaker grounds are shared.

Yeah, but the PO had an aftermarket setup which means all the wires (speaker ends) were cut off and just have the wire now.. so no size diffs. Will spend some time with the wiring diag and figure it out.

[BMWCCA1]

So where do they put the crossovers in no-amp systems?
I don't know because I've never seen one without the amp in the USA. On the E28 the passive networks (chokes, pretty much) were fitted to the woofer as coils wrapped around the magnet assembly, but that was only on the Hi-Fi package which had just two-ways in each corner.

[///Sniper535]

So what should I do with my wirings when I install the CD43?

[tim eh?]

So what should I do with my wirings when I install the CD43?

I dunno... it might be tricky to rig a cd43 to work with an aftermarket hu. Do you have one already? Might be better to get one to match your hu.

general guideline for eaglecomm...
on mine at least... blue is right, yellow is left and there are only 4 grounds (2 blue and 2 yellow) that have either a brown stripe (fronts) or grey stripe (rears) on them. The big terminal on the speakers is +.

[eaglecomm]

I dunno... it might be tricky to rig a cd43 to work with an aftermarket hu. Do you have one already? Might be better to get one to match your hu.

general guideline for eaglecomm...
on mine at least... blue is right, yellow is left and there are only 4 grounds (2 blue and 2 yellow) that have either a brown stripe (fronts) or grey stripe (rears) on them. The big terminal on the speakers is +.

Fantastiche.. thanks.

[Ross]

Since you have an aftermarket head unityou don't want the factory amp anyway, you will only overdrive the inputs.
I have the amp for sale if you decide to return it to the original configuration.

[///Sniper535]

My goal is to have the CD43 unit soon and I feel like it ill have problems withoutthe amp.

[tim eh?]

My goal is to have the CD43 unit soon and I feel like it ill have problems withoutthe amp.

The cd43 connects to the hu, not the amp.

[///Sniper535]

I know, i was just wondering how the sound will be affected.

[Rick L]

Sorry to be off the subject but noticed you painted your window trim black. I was wondering if you used trim paint to paint the chrome windows trims? If so, how well do they work and does it chip easily?

Thanks...


I think my amp has been missing the whole time? Previous owner must of did some crazy work back there.

It doesn't look good to me, should I just strip the whole harness with amp out of a junked E34? if so, will the year matter?

[///Sniper535]

Sorry to be off the subject but noticed you painted your window trim black. I was wondering if you used trim paint to paint the chrome windows trims? If so, how well do they work and does it chip easily?

Thanks...

I used paint but it needs to be done well for it not to chip. Sand, primer, paint(2 coats), and clear coat (2 coats) seem to give the best result.

[tim eh?]

I know, i was just wondering how the sound will be affected.

If you can hook it up it will sound as good or better than the radio or tape or cd in the hu. The signal from the hu ought to be the same.

[Rick L]

I thought all 90's or newer BMW have amp in the driver's side rear trunk and head unit doesn't have amp built in?


All stock head units on these cars have amps built-in. They're often used on BMWs without the hi-fi option as-is with no amp. Not very much power and no EQ, but it will certainly work. Same high-level speaker-outs are used whether the car has a separate amp, or not.

[Rick L]

You can probably color match them. Do you still have the existing wiring harness?


I'm heading in to this territory soon. I have no rear amp either, but the entire system is out. I have sourced everything but an amp.. once I get one, I just need to figure out which color wires go to what (front and rear!). :( Best way to check phase before hooking them up?

[///Sniper535]

You can probably color match them. Do you still have the existing wiring harness?

I pulled an amp from a 90' E34. Matching the colors will be fun. I already wired the factory harness back in. How come the there are only 6 wires for the speakers coming out of the dash and into the radio?

[Rick L]

Are you sure it is not 8 wires? Connector 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13. How many speakers do you have in your E34? 8 or 10 speakers? Click this link below for E34 wiring diagram. Radio wire diagram starts at PDF page 434.

http://www.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e34/



I pulled an amp from a 90' E34. Matching the colors will be fun. I already wired the factory harness back in. How come the there are only 6 wires for the speakers coming out of the dash and into the radio?

[///Sniper535]

Are you sure it is not 8 wires? Connector 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13. How many speakers do you have in your E34? 8 or 10 speakers? Click this link below for E34 wiring diagram. Radio wire diagram starts at PDF page 434.

http://www.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e34/

There were 2 sets of 3 wires twirled together.

yellow/red, yellow/black, brown/orange

and

blue/red, blue/black, brown/orange

a few of the diagrams for the radio harness say pin 8 and 11 are not used.

Anyways, i rewired my factory amp(which took me an hour with all the wires) with my current C33 radio and it sounds great compared to the aftermarket setup I had before. All the speakers work again except my door tweeters. Do they have a tendency to fail after a while?

[Ross]

Got you covered again

[///Sniper535]

Got you covered again

Do they work? If so how much? I went to the junk yard expecting to find more than one set. All of them were already taken!!!

[Rick L]

Not sure. But I would think they would be more reliable than midrange or woofers. Maybe they are not connected correctly? If you have multimeter, you can check to see if your speakers are blown or not. Check for any resistance. If not, your speaker coil is fried.



There were 2 sets of 3 wires twirled together.

yellow/red, yellow/black, brown/orange

and

blue/red, blue/black, brown/orange

a few of the diagrams for the radio harness say pin 8 and 11 are not used.

Anyways, i rewired my factory amp(which took me an hour with all the wires) with my current C33 radio and it sounds great compared to the aftermarket setup I had before. All the speakers work again except my door tweeters. Do they have a tendency to fail after a while?