BMW Radio Head Unit Installation
Transcription
BMW Radio Head Unit Installation
Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Page 1 of 9 Order Online or Call: 888-280-7799 Porsche Search our site: | BMW | Mercedes | Audi | Volkswagen | Saab | Volvo | Mini View Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help Enter Description or Part Number Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Get FREE Ground Shipping with the purchase of $75 in qualifying parts Wayne R. Dempsey Difficulty Level: 3 Difficulty scale: Adding air to your tires is level one Rebuilding a BMW Motor is level ten This article is one in a series that have been released in conjunction with Wayne's new book, 101 Performance Projects for Your BMW 3 Series. The book contains 272 pages of full color projects detailing everything from performance mods to timing the camshafts. With more than 650+ full-color glossy photos accompanying extensive step-by-step procedures, this book is required reading in any 3 Series owner's collection. The book was released in August 2006, and is available for ordering now. See The Official Book Website for more details. Tech Articles • Clutch Replacement • Time to Rebuild? • Control Arm Replacement • Reading Injection Fault Codes • Transmission Fluid Change • more... Need to buy parts for this project? Click here to order! [click to enlarge] Tech Forums • Technical Questions • Performance Modifications • General Discussion Figure 1 Classifieds • Cars For Sale • Used Parts For Sale Photos • BMW Events • Owner's Gallery Extras Figure 2 • 2002 Sales Literature The good news is that the replacement process is relatively easy, providing you have the right information, and the right parts. First, disconnect the battery. The radio harness has constant voltage supplied to it, and you don't want to accidentally blow any fuses or damage any electrical components. Begin by flipping open the small flap on the OEM head unit (Figure 2). Underneath, you will find a funky 5-sided bolt on the inside (Figure 3). I guess BMW thought it would be more difficult to remove the stereo if the bolt was a non-standard one. Well, my standard hex tool fit right in there, and was able to remove it with no effort involved (Figure 4). If your bolts are more securely tightened, then you may need a specific five-sided tool for the task. After the bolts are loose, you should be able to simply pull the unit out by hand (Figure 5). On the back of the unit, there is a large black connector, and a smaller antenna connector (Figure 6). Remove the antenna connector by simply tugging on it. The large black connector has a retaining strap that needs to be released prior to pulling it out of the radio (Figure 7 and Figure 8). Don't force the connector, or you may break it. • Events Calendar • Chat Room • Free Email • Free Web Pages One of the first projects new BMW owners perform on their car is to remove and replace their stereo head unit. I know that if I buy a car that has a weak stereo unit, it's one of the first things to go. The factory BMW head units (manufactured by Alpine) are best described as barely adequate - the technology is at least 10 years old in most cases, and the units also seem to have a rather high failure rate after many years of use (Figure 1). Figure 3 In order to install your new radio, you will need a BMW cable adapter (Figure 9). This adapter plugs into the factory connector and has leads on it that you can then connect to the leads or connector on your new radio (Figure 10). You can cut the OEM connector off and tap directly into the factory harness, but I strongly caution against this - it's best to use the adapter cable (cost about $10). I put some spade connectors on the ends of the harness adapter, and the connector that plugged into my new radio. The adapter harness is shown on the left in Figure 10, and the new harness that came with the new radio is shown on the right. Figure 4 In general, most wire harnesses are configured according to an industry standards which is shown in the following table: Color Purpose Blue Power Antenna Orange Illumination Black Chassis Ground Red 12 Volt Switched Power Yellow 12 Volt Constant Power Figure 5 http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Green Page 2 of 9 Left Rear Speaker Positive Green/Black Left Rear Speaker Negative Violet Right Rear Speaker Positive Violet/Black Right Rear Speaker Negative White Left Front Speaker Positive Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 White/Black Left Front Speaker Negative Gray Right Front Speaker Positive Gray/Black Right Front Speaker Negative Figure 11 shows the back of the new head unit, with connectors for the harness connector included with the unit, connectors for an external amplifier, and an antenna connector. Plug the harness adapter into the factory connector, and then plug the harness into the back of the head unit and connect all of the spade connectors, as shown in Figure 12. On this particular head unit, I found that the antenna jack on the back of the unit was not compatible with the one in the factory harness (Figure 13), so I needed an antenna adapter ($7) as well (Figure 14). Plug the adapter into the back of the unit (Figure 15 & Figure 16), and then you should be able to plug the antenna cable into the unit (Figure 17). With the new head unit wired up (Figure 18), reconnect the battery, and turn it on to test it (Figure 19). If all of the speakers, radio, and lights work, then install the radio bracket into the center dashboard. This is the bracket that comes with your new unit, and typically has tabs that you bend into place once you position the bracket. When the bracket is secure (Figure 20), simply slide the radio into its spot on the center dashboard. Be careful though - most of these units are designed to be easy to install, but very difficult to remove, so make sure that everything works before inserting it into the dashboard. Well, there you have it - it's really not too difficult at all. If you would like to see more technical articles like this one, please continue to support Pelican Parts with all your parts needs. If you like what you see here, then please visit our online BMW catalog and help support the collection and creating of new and informative technical articles like this one. Your continued support directly affects the expansion and existence of this site and technical articles like this one. As always, if you have any questions or comments about this helpful article, please drop us a line. Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure15 Figure 16 http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Page 3 of 9 Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 20 Looking for more photos? Click to see bonus pictures for this project. Need to buy parts for this project? Click here to order! Comments and Suggestions: bui August 9, 2011 Luly Comments: Hi, i disconnect the battery cable and i don't had a radio code now it not work, i took to dealer but they could't find the matching code, can you help. thank Comments: I am looking for the name of the part thatb holds the stereo August 9, 2011 Wells_Engineering Comments: I did the installation as described. Everything works, But the volume level is down significantly. Upon further research, it seems the outputs of the original stereo Alpine, in my case are true differential. Meaning the "-" lead of each channel is not ground but is the inverted signal of the "+" lead. So the Harmon/Kardon amp in the trunk is expecting a signal with twice the level you get when one uses the patch cable. I am an engineer specializing in audio and am working on a solution. August 5, 2011 ERIC June 26, 2011 Pete June 7, 2011 RoadRider June 1, 2011 ashlea Mike Wells Comments: I finally figured out the problem with my aftermarket head unit and got that to play by hooking up the power antenna remote/power amp wire to the power antenna on the reciever, but now I want to hook up subwoofers, they are all wired correctly but as soon as I hook up the remote line all sound stops but it continues to play the cd without music coming out, please help? Comments: I had the same issue as the Bui that posted here on May 31, 2011 "Hi folk, Z3 i installed a new stereo power up but had no sound". His question was Is there a external Amp? In my BMW there is. The answer is he need to connect the blue wire power antenna remote/power amp to the power antenna wire on the receiver. The OEM pre-amp needs to be kicked off, so that is why there is no sound Comments: I have read all the comments and nobody says anything about the fact that if you change the sound system in a Bmw good luck plugging the antenna in. Ive never seen a plug like that nore will it plug into any other radio. Thanks BMW. Nobody talks about a converter is there one. That should be the most important issue. after all whats the point if the antenna wont work Comments: i just brought a bmw 318i and there was already an aftermarket cd player in it but i want to swap it for my old cars one. i've tryed everything to get it out but it wont http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation May 31, 2011 Bui May 31, 2011 E36beaner Page 4 of 9 budge and i dont want to snap it or anything how do i get it out. should i take the whole dash off? Comments: Hi folk, Z3 i installed a new stereo power up but had no sound, and i try to check the speakers but seem like it not connected, do they have an external power amp in there?, thank Comments: HEY i just tryed to install my new stereo but theres a problem NO SOUND .??? i wonder if my speakers are damage or did i connect something wrong .? I never had sound before because my stereo was LOCKED.purchased the car 2mnths ago well any suggestions.? I bought the adapters. cables not connected ORANGE,BLUE,BLACK,CONTROL REMOTE ?? May 26, 2011 Chebon May 21, 2011 touchette_9 April 6, 2011 92 bmw 325i sedan Comments: Do you have a parts list and or instructions to install a C43 tape deck into an E30 M3? Comments: I just recently installed a new radio into my 2007 328xi. I have had a ton of issues doing this. Im now running a 4 channel amp to power the component speakers and completely got rid of the factory amp the car had... the issues that I was having led me to hard wire from the radio harness directly into the wiring harness for the car.. My only issue now is finding somewhere to wire the memory wire into.. Currently Im running as to where I have to turn on and off the radio itself.. very annoying..and it resets every time I turn it off.. please tell me where I can wire the memory wire into.. thks for any help!! Followup from the Pelican Staff: There are two wires that typically need to be wired to power in the car - switched and non-switched. The switched power is linked to the ignition switch and turns the radio off when the key is removed. Both of these power lines should have been connected to your old radio, so you can probably tap the harness there. If not, you'll have to find an alternative source for power-on (like the hazard switch for example). Wayne at Pelican Parts vcordova Comments: What type of spade connectors did you use? March 23, 2011 Followup from the Pelican Staff: Just standard ones you can find at any electronics store. I think you can get these at Radio Shack - I got them at an electronics swapmeet. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Bill March 8, 2011 Comments: What is the best way to install an aftermarket stereo system to a 1995 325i BMW without bypassing the factory amp installed. I read you can use the Metra Integrated harness with the RCA plugs, however the reviews were bad. I do not want to bypass the amp, nor do I want to put another crap BMW OEM radio in my car ever again. Do I have any other choices here? Please help. Followup from the Pelican Staff: I'm not sure how the factory amps were wired - if they simply have RCA inputs, then you can hook it up to your new stereo quite easily. If they are integrated with the wire harness and plug then it might be a bit more difficult. I haven't had an issue with the Metra harnesses - they have worked well for me in the past. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Stainless February 7, 2011 Comments: Hi,This is all great. I recently tried to replace BMW Business CD on my 318i, 2003 model. Everything is working fine except that I cannot get the new stereo to fit within the place of the old one! There seem to be a bracket at the back of the place but I dont want to cut it in case I want to reinstall my BMW cd. Any help please? Followup from the Pelican Staff: Certain models of stereos may require some additional space, particularly if it's an aftermarket one. I would suggest that you seriously consider whether or not you will want to install the old one back in place. If you just want to try out the new one for a while, then I might make the suggestion of wiring it up and letting it hang out of the dash for a bit, until you're 100% committed to it. At that point, then cut the bracket that's in the way. It won't look too cool, but it will leave your options open. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Lyndon January 26, 2011 Comments: Hi, I'm about to do this to my 325i. I've noticed you didn't need the orange wire from the wiring harness. Does the new unit illuminate without it? Also, did you connect the grounding wire to anything at all? Thanks a bunch, I think the installation will go smoothly Followup from the Pelican Staff: Yes, the new unit didn't need a backlight signal from the car, as it was illuminated well all the time, in day and night. - Wayne at Pelican Parts mitch Comments: where did you get the antenna adapter in fig 14? December 27, 2010 Followup from the Pelican Staff: Believe it or not, I think I got that one on Walmart.com, http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Page 5 of 9 but I'm not 100% sure. I think I went back there to try to find another one, and I think they may have stopped carrying it. I'm sure you can find one on Crutchfield.com, but it will probably cost an arm and a leg. - Wayne at Pelican Parts E39M3 Comments: How can we get the adapter cable in figure 9? November 30, 2010 Followup from the Pelican Staff: I'm pretty sure I purchased that at Crutchfield.com they have just about every adapter ever made. They are not cheap, but they have a very complete selection. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Eck November 21, 2010 Eck November 20, 2010 Comments: Ended up being that that attenna lead from the car was comprimised when being removed from the original unit causing the lead to be broken. Tech cut end off and wired adtaptor directly and the problem was solved. Comments: Great stuff on here but I have had no luck in getting the car's attenna to work with the new unit. I have a 1998 BMW 318i. I have tried several different new stereo units, even have HD unit now, can't get good reception, especially poor AM talk radio stations. I have had unit swapped out 6 times now, even had another external attenna mounted to windshield, even have taken to another tech which had the same poor results. They had adaptors to hook up to car's atenna, but now I am told that somehow the amplified attenna built in the car isn't being amplified??? Is there some specific adaptor I need or what is going wrong here? Followup from the Pelican Staff: Did you happen to install some aftermarket HID lamps? Those interfere with the antenna reception on the radios if you don't install a capacitorbased filter on them. I would bench test the radio - take it out, hook up some speakers and connect the 12V to a battery on your workbench and see if the problem is with the car or the radio itself. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Julian October 23, 2010 Comments: Can anyone shed some light of how to do this project? i am purchasing a clarion mp3, radio & cd player Comments: I am about to embark on a task of changing the radio on my old 316 i 1994, i have my doubts , especially after reading all these different problems people have encountered while making this attempt. Julian October 23, 2010 Followup from the Pelican Staff: I wouldn't sweat it - it's actually a pretty easy project if you following the wiring diagrams carefully and take your time. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Jeremy S October 23, 2010 Comments: My E34 install into my 95 525i went without a hitch, electrically. The local source I bought the harness from said I needed no install "kit", but there is clearly no way the factory setup will hold the radio in. Crutchfield has no direct fit items for my car. How does the radio get secured in the dash? The radio works fine, but is not secured in the dash. There was no bracket included with the radio, not sure if there is supposed to be one. What should I do? Certainly there has to be some sort of bracket to use. Followup from the Pelican Staff: I'm not sure, you'll probably have to fabricate some type of custom bracket out of some sheet metal. - Wayne at Pelican Parts negroponto October 21, 2010 Comments: I´m trying to put this radio on an E30, the plug wire has an orange wire /ilumination dash. I connected all the wires, the radio works, but the orange one is disconnected, Where I have to connect the orange wire? Followup from the Pelican Staff: You can connect that to one of the wires that power one of the light bulbs behind the dash. That is so that you can see the buttons / dials on the radio at night. - Wayne at Pelican Parts double m October 5, 2010 Comments: Hey, I broke the retaining clip getting it off and when I plugged my stock stereo back in it will not power on? the security light flashes but that is it. I dont think the broken retaining clip has anything to do with it? Any ideas about what the problem could be. Followup from the Pelican Staff: The retaining clip shoulnd't have anything to do with it. I'm not sure what year you have, but the radio is probably waiting for you to enter the security code into it. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Jeremiah S September 26, 2010 Comments: How different is this install on an E34 1995 525i? I don't see the harness listed on your site, will I still need it? Followup from the Pelican Staff: It should be very similar. We don't currently sell this harness, but I will look into adding it. You can buy it at a stereo shop like Crutchfield - they have an impressive stock of them. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Rinkle August 28, 2010 Comments: Hi Wayne, How do you suggest I run an IPOD adapter cable from the back of the unit? Not sure how or where to snake it throught the dash. Followup from the Pelican Staff: I would simply poke a hole in the storage compartment http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Page 6 of 9 below (you can see it here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36Radio/pic5.jpg). This is what I did recently when installing one on my Boxster. - Wayne at Pelican Parts kimbo July 25, 2010 Comments: Wayne super! I know understand perfectly that what I'm doing wrong is that I have been afraid to pull the slider up hard enough for it to disengage. Boy your explanation with the pictures are super and have totally clarified the concept. You are super and a credit to your site and company. Thanks a million there are many others out there with the same problem. Regards Kimbo Followup from the Pelican Staff: No sweat. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Wayne at Pelican Parts July 25, 2010 kimbo July 24, 2010 Comments: kimbo, you are over thinking this way too much. See the photo I just attached. The connector has two pieces green arrow is one, yellow arrows show the other that slide in and out together. When unplugged, as shown, the connector piece with the little picture on it can slide up and down freely. You take your screwdriver and you pull up as you have shown with in your own pick - pull on it with some force! The "cams" in the slider piece shown by the yellow arrows have cam followers located in the receptacle on the radio shown by the purple arrows. As you pull up the slider piece, it will force the connector away from the back of the radio. You just need to pull up on that piece, exactly as you have the screwdriver positioned in the photo that you posted. I'm at a loss as to how to make it any clearer? Comments: Wayne take a look at this Pic. Is this the way? I think from looking at this more that you are not supposed to pry up this clip but disengage the two ends on each side of the connector which seem to be holding it to the radio. sorry could not upload a PDF Followup from the Pelican Staff: See my response / photo above. Also, if you pull up and just remove the slider piece, then you can simply yank the connector out of the back of the radio. It might be stuck in there pretty good. - Wayne at Pelican Parts kimbo July 24, 2010 Comments: Thanks wayne I will give it another try. But when I pry on the connector there is a clip that moves upward towards the top of the radio but the connector remains solidly attached to the radio. Maybe this clip does not to be pried upwards but the connector itself? Followup from the Pelican Staff: Moving the clip up is supposed to push out the connector - it's obviously slipping. Pull up on the clip and then you should be able to pull out the connector. As you have noticed, it's not the greatest design. - Wayne at Pelican Parts kimbo July 24, 2010 Comments: I have no idea of what you are saying! The conector has a clip that it instructs you to pry upwards via a diagram on the connector. then the only way out has to be a pull away from the radio since the plug engages in a receptacle on the radio with pins that would not allow any sideway movements to disconnect. Please elaborate or maybe eprovide a diagram from someone who has done it before. I see many users complaining that they also can't get this plug out! Thanks. Followup from the Pelican Staff: Yes, that's correct. Pull up on that part of the connector, and then that part will lift up towards the top of the radio. Then, you can pull the connector out of the back of the radio (towards the front of the car, if the radio is mounted in the car). - Wayne at Pelican Parts kimbo July 24, 2010 Comments: can you give more details on how to remove the black connector that has a retaining strap? I have an E46 and the black connector won't budge but I have not found that retaining strap. I can move a clip upward to disclose a fuse but that is all. Maybe you can follow up with a photo. I hate to break this connector like someone already did. Thanks! Followup from the Pelican Staff: Slide the outer retainer left or right, perpendicular to the radio. After playing with it for a little bit, it will be obviously. Don't pull - push and slide. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Ramon July 2, 2010 Comments: Hi recently my battery disconnect bmw e36 325i and now I have problems with the radio to enter the security code and does nothing can help me I have to do is make some order Followup from the Pelican Staff: It's probably the wrong code. Sometimes the radios were replaced at the factory when they were broken. I would pull the radio, get the serial number, and then see if you can get the code from your local BMW dealer. - Wayne at Pelican Parts JZ March 23, 2010 El Diablo March 2, 2010 Comments: I got a sony CDXGT340 for my 97 BMW Z3. when I put the bracket in the slot on my dash, it feels a little loose, after I bent all the tabs. is this normal? what can I do? Comments: I have a 99 323IS with the HK Harman Kardon. I was having the same issues of NO SOUND even though it was all wired correctly. Very frustrating. After searching and searching, I figured it out. The Scosche adapter I got leads you to believe that the solid blue wire on their harness is for the power antenna. Wrong. Simply hook this wire to the remote power onbluewhite wire on the new headunit to activate the factory amp. Your welcome!!!!! http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Augusta323is February 11, 2010 enzo January 9, 2010 Abba January 7, 2010 marki January 4, 2010 808e36 January 2, 2010 JETninja Page 7 of 9 Comments: I have a 99 323IS and pulled the factory unit out, unplugged everything fine. I have a sony head unit i'm putting back in that fits perfectly that I removed from my other car. I got the BWM connecting harness and the plug from my sony that wires into it red, yellow, black and blue/white... connected my 4 wires from each plug and hooked in the 4 RCA jacks for the HK amp I have... turn it on, nothing happens, no power or anything??? No i'm at a loss considering I hooked up the 4 wires and the two connectors. any help would be appreciated : Comments: Ivan - did you ever figure out you issue with the Alpine radio? I just installed an alpine CDA-9886 in my 318TI and SAME THING-only fm comes through the speakeres. When I test it on the bench everything works perfectly though!.... Comments: In this article, you suggest the use of a bmw calbe adapter figure 9. Where can I get one of those? Comments: hi i have undone the two hex screws and pulled but factory unit will not come out. need help please. Comments: What about a connection to retained acc. power for cars that have it? Where can that be tapped from? Comments: Ok, this was great but I got the same no sound issue. Installed a JVC HU into my sons E36 318is Turns out the HU had a Blue/White Remote Turn on, the Metra Harness was solid Blue and properly connects to the BMW White Turn on wire on the other side. So I connected the JVC Blue/White to the Harness Blue and it rocking.... This should help anyone... http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=13772225#post13772225 December 29, 2009 Nick90 December 15, 2009 Thanks for the Tech article Pelican! Love them! Comments: i have a question about picture #6 it has two conectors what happens to the other conector? do you have another harnes that conects to it or is it left blank Followup from the Pelican Staff: That connector was blank on my car. I believe that's there for connecting to an external amplifier, which my car did not have. - Wayne at Pelican Parts hunter December 15, 2009 Hunter December 10, 2009 Comments: Wayne, thanks for the input. My problem is the 5908 head unit that has a channel out. Since the harness only has +'s and a common ground so how can I hook up a new unit that has + and - leads? Comments: I have a CM5908 BMW radio that does not have a harness. It only has FR, FL + and RR+ and RL+ and a common grounds attached at the back. it all goes down to a amp in the trunk. The amp works fine, the head unit has a channel out.... How does one hook up a newer head unit to this common ground nightmare? [email protected] Followup from the Pelican Staff: I'm guessing that on your new unit, you figure out which lead for each speaker is the common ground and then run all four together to the amp. But I'm not sure. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Rick December 6, 2009 Comments: Wayne, I cannot get the U-shaped retaining strap on the large black connector to release. The back of the strap has a diagram showing to pry it up with a screwdriver and then lift the strap off. I pried the strap up to what feels like a release point. There are two pins-and-tracks on each side of the strap. I can slide the strap back and forth on the pinsand-tracks, but only a quarter-inch or so. Something prevents further movement, but I can find no release lever as you mention. What do I need to do? Followup from the Pelican Staff: You'll have to send me a picture, maybe the plug on yours is different than the one I'm familiar with. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Chris December 2, 2009 Comments: Like you said about figure 7 and 8 about not forcing the connector or youll break it.. yeah well i broke it, where can i get a replacement? Followup from the Pelican Staff: It's part of the wire harness. I would call a BMW wrecking yard - shouldn't be more than $10, and you can probably remove each pin and replace it into the new connector. - Wayne at Pelican Parts rickolus November 27, 2009 Pernell325i November 2, 2009 Comments: I just bought a new stereo for my 95 325i and the harness that came with the stereo has no orange wire. Also i cant seem to find the cd changer plug-in on the car. Comments: I just installed a new stereo on my 325i and everything works but no sound, i checked all the wires and it is all done fine, everything works but i have no sound at all.... anyone can help? Followup from the Pelican Staff: It's probably the speakers that are mis-wired, or the stereo is wired up for an amp that is missing. Try taking some speakers from a small stereo in the house and connecting the wires to the back of the car head unit to see if you're getting any sound out direct from the terminals. Sometimes too a new stereo might be set at default from the factory to only power an external amp and not the speaker terminals. Wayne at Pelican Parts http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Nick90 October 20, 2009 Lubey September 23, 2009 scott September 23, 2009 scott September 22, 2009 Page 8 of 9 Comments: do any of yall know if this could be done when you have the HK system i hate my unit and i want to replace it for a new one thanks Comments: Ztod I am 100% sure i know what your problem is, as i had the same thing happen to me last night. You need to connect the blue wire from your Harness to the blue wire from the head unit. Try it. My blue wire on the harness said "power antenna" and the blue wire from the head unit was for the Amp or something, but thats the only way my speakers would work. Everything else was working fine but no sound, and this is the solution! Comments: I tried connecting 2 lines to the positive side of the speaker and lines to the negitive side but I got a distorted signel. I also tried different I also tried to connect the second pair but all I got was highs. I'm thinking that only seperates work with this set up and my best option would have been to replace the driver in the factory Nokia speaker. Comments: Do any of the units for 94 e36 have factory crossovers or factory installed external amplifiers? My factory external speakers had leads made especially for tweeters. I have installed new Kenwood rear speakers but they seem to play flat with very little highs. I am still using the factory head unit Followup from the Pelican Staff: I do believe there were various sound upgrade options available for the E36 - I think it's in the factory wiring diagrams and there's a spot for them in the trunk. But I haven't owned a car with any of those options, so I'm not 100% sure. If you had four leads per speaker, then I would agree with you that yes, there is a likelihood that there is a crossover / filter installed that may be muffling the highs. Try connecting just the lines for the tweeters, or you might be able to connect both sets of wires together? The amplifier might not like this though... - Wayne at Pelican Parts ivan September 22, 2009 Comments: i installed a new alpine stereo to my e36 318, it plays radio just fine, it reads cd's and ipod but for some reason wont play them through the speakers. Followup from the Pelican Staff: No clue on this one, I would suspect it's some type of setting on the Alpine that is sending the CD & iPod signal to an external amplifier that doesn't exist? - Wayne at Pelican Parts Ztod September 19, 2009 Comments: I followed this procedure, and hooked up all the wires correctly, head unit powers up and plays cd's but not a sound comes out of the speakers, checked the cars stereo fuses and they are good. What could cause this? Followup from the Pelican Staff: I'm guessing that you have the speakers hooked up incorrectly? First, triple-check the manual that came with the stereo. Then, if that doesn't work - if you have an old stereo speaker from an old house stereo system, attach the wires to the connectors on the back of the plug and see if you can find the right terminals. That's what I would do. - Wayne at Pelican Parts mstaytru247 September 16, 2009 Comments: Previous owner 03/94 M3 installed an alpine radio by tapping into the OEM wiring harness. All the speakers are also aftermarket and are connected to an amp with audio cables as well as a remote sensor. What wires on the OEM harness are for the power antenna, Constant power, switched power, ground, illumination. The taps are there I just do not know what to connect to what without buying the BMW adapter harness as well as a new radio harness PO butcherd the current one but the radio did work prior to me unistalling a hard wired Parrot GPS which also ran through an AUX plug on the aftermarket radio. Followup from the Pelican Staff: Hi there. The pinouts for this are right here on this page, please scroll up. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Michhael September 4, 2009 Comments: Is there a wiring hareness that I can purchase that will let me connect and input auxilary jack to my dash so I can plug my iPod into it and use the AUX on my BMW OEM radio? I have a 1996 E36. Followup from the Pelican Staff: If your factory radio has the input ability for an AUX source, then you should be able to tap into the wire harness and then tap that into an iPod headphone jack. I can't recall if the stock Alpines in that year BMW had AUX inputs. I'm thinking that they probably did not. There's a company out there that makes a CDChanger / iPod adapter for these radios that emulates a CD changer and lets you plug in the iPod. I think it's made by a company called DICE Electronics: http://diceelectronics.com/ Wayne at Pelican Parts dsh0687 July 13, 2009 Comments: I cannot get the adapter to release from the EO unit. It will not budge. Am i doing something wrong? is there a trick to releasing it? Followup from the Pelican Staff: There's a little lever you need to pry out and pull down, and the connector will release. - Wayne at Pelican Parts Stixx May 20, 2009 Comments: Just recently bought a used 325i. I noticed that there are only 2 wires for rear speakers instead of 4. A yellow/black LRear and light blue/brown R rear for my rear speakers. is this common with other 325i's ? I have an aftermarket radio-kenwood Followup from the Pelican Staff: Yes, that's typical. You only really need two wires per speaker (four total for the rear of the car). - Wayne at Pelican Parts Write a Comment: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011 Pelican Technical Article: BMW Radio Head Unit Installation Page 9 of 9 Comments: (2,500 characters max) Your nickname: Email Optional - so that we can notify you when a staff member responds to your question. Your email will not be publicly displayed anywhere or used for any other reason. Your email: Upload a Photo: Browse... * I have read and agree to abide by the Comment Submission Guidelines. Submit Got more questions? Join us in our BMW Technical Forum Message Board, and ask a question to one of our many automotive experts. Search our site: Enter Description or Part Number View Cart & CheckOut | Project List | Order Status | Help Recommend this page to a friend... [Home] [Customer [Contact Service] [Shopping Cart] [Privacy Statement] Us] [About Us] [Shipping ] [Map to our Location] Copyright © 2008 Pelican Parts Inc. http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Radio/E36-Radio.htm 8/21/2011