Installing new stereo

[Junglistjed]

How do i do this? the car currently has an old pioneer that just slides in and automatically turns on.. meaning there is no wiring to plug my new HU into..

any help would be appreciated as i need my music! cheers

[Junglistjed]

thats exactly it mate!

[Sanchez]

Might be original, got any pics.

You'll need to get the cage out to sort the wiring.

The cage has metal tabs you need to bend out the way.

[Junglistjed]

Of the stereo? will have to get some tomorrow bud.. its a pioneer cassette player, has a handle so you can pull it straight out.. is there a wiring loom or will i have to cut into wires?

[Junglistjed]

Will do when i pick the car up later, will i need the cage for a new HU? or can it be thrown?

[Junglistjed]

The headunit as a Pioneer Digital Synthesizer KEH-4090

[jimbom30cab]

resale value if its special.

or you could always pop it back in when you sell the car and keep the new radio ??

[Junglistjed]

I will keep it , any idea's if its the original or not? also the HU im installing is a pioneer if that makes a difference?

[Junglistjed]

ttt

[Junglistjed]

Pictures of the wiring -

[Junglistjed]

anyone got a clue? got an hour or so tomorrow morning to have a crack at it so any advice would be appreciated

[e30mreg318i]

have a look at this - http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/E30_ICE

If you want to run a high power head unit (4x50w) then it would be a good idea to run a power cable direct from the battery, put a suitable fuse near to the battery as well as one before the head unit, use cabling that will handle 20 amps, earth to the the vehicle chassis, this will be alot better than the standard wiring look Bmw used all those years ago when the head unit only needed 10 amps. Hope this helps.

[Junglistjed]

too much hassle for a HU for me mate, would like to put an adapter in and be done with it haha

[e30mreg318i]

using the power feed from the screw blocks find which is permanent, earth and switched (ignition) and get a standard connector lead, chop the the end off and connect into screw blocks, you can then join the bullet connectors which are speakers with some other bullet connectors using a crimping tool to the adapter loom. Only problem doing it this way is that you will find when you turn the stereo up loud you might find the stereo turns off. Its really not much more work to do the job properly, you just need to find some where to get you power lead from the battery through the bulk head safely.

[Junglistjed]

is there no grommets? i drilled a hole in my previous cars bulkhead to feed a power cable through

[e30mreg318i]

there are grommets, or you can drill through and install a grommet, see you want to put a sub in the boot, you could put a 325i wiring loom so you can have a battery in the boot for your sub amp and run a power lead from that battery back to the head unit on the opposite side to your low input lead/ speaker leads. It all depends what you want from your system. What speakers front/ rear and how do you intend to get the bass through into the cockpit?

[Junglistjed]

I would use an existing grommet tbh, and as for the battery in the boot would i need to connect it to the alternator? and how does a 325i loom come into play?

Will hopefully be getting some hertz hsk 130's for upfront and im not sure about the bass problem.. i want to do as little alterations as possible

[Junglistjed]

also, front speakers are priority to be honest, sub can come whenever but i definitely want an upgrade up front

[e30mreg318i]

you can buy a 325i battery relocation kit on here, someone usually has one for sale. Yes connect to the alternator. Does your car have a rear centre arm rest in the rear seat? if so behind this on the firewall you will find a panel spot welded that would have been removed if your car had a ski option ticked on the build. You could carefully remove this and use this to get the bass into the cabin. If this is not an option then has your rear shelf got speakers fitted? if so remove them and leave the grill for the bass to get through that way, wont sound as good though as the air is restricted. I am planning my install in my 325i coupe at the moment and my amps need 130 amps per hour!

[Junglistjed]

thanks for the advice mate, ill have a look into it tomorrow morning have you had any experience fitting components? speakers are obviously located in panels and not the actual door.. so where do i put the crossover? want a set of front components in before i go onto the sub! ;)

[e30mreg318i]

I used to compete in spl 20 years ago, recorded 140.5db. Im building a powerful system but going for sound quality as opposed to all out volume, been collecting audio equipment for a couple of years, got a nice collection of vibe speakers and amps, my aim is to make it look oem and hide all the good stuff. Are you putting your front speakers in the kick wells? have you seen if they will fit as the mounting depth isn't that great? another problem is screwing them into the factory holes, not all 5 1/4 speakers line up with the holes. door build is the way forward for sound quality, with I.C.E. its the usual case of you get out what you put in. Put the crossover behind centre console and connect to factory wiring or run new cabling. Ask away, happy to help if I can.

[Junglistjed]

I havent checked to be fair mate, the hertz speakers have pretty large magnets so that could be a problem.. could i not just leave the kick panels off? i want to keep it oem but i am a lover of bass and good sounding music so an upgrade is a must! don't want to do too much fabrication though bud

[e30mreg318i]

you can fit mdf speaker rings if your magnets are too deep, leave the grills off or cut them so the speaker grill sticks through the kick panel. You can buy speaker builds that fit to the door cards, all depends on budget and aim.

[Junglistjed]

The components will cost me around £100 and i know they are top quality so i definitely want them, where sells the mdf speaker rings? i reckon ill need some.. and then ill just leave the kick panels off

what would be the best way to power the speakers? through the HU?

[zd3bx]

My stereo wiring was also a mess, but I managed to sort it out.

Here's the post > http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... 41#2591541

[Junglistjed]

great post mate, so were the two items you needed the ISO block and connector block?

[Sanchez]

I wouldnt worry about the extra blocks but it would fit and ISO block into the e30.

I would buy this and your wiring will be nice and tidy.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Male-ISO-plug ... 19e21bddc8


Wires required are

Permanent Power 12v
Ignition power 12v
Earth
Electric aerial feed
Amp feed if required


Then the 4 speakers positive and negative
Purple
Green
White
Grey

[Junglistjed]

Did some chopping and this is what im left with>

I assume this is where i connect my new HU's wires? e.g. brown to the HU ground, red to the HU ignition live? (not sure what the white wire on the left is)




And i assume that these are the speaker wires?



cheers guys

[Junglistjed]

also the HU is a pioneer, so should i be buying this instead?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIONEER-NEW-S ... 51acca9879

[Sanchez]

also the HU is a pioneer, so should i be buying this instead?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIONEER-NEW-S ... 51acca9879

Only if it didnt come with one already. Thats a HU to ISO connnector for Pioneer HU's.

[Sanchez]

Looking at what was attached ide say left to right is.

Amp remote(blue)
Gap
12V Power supply(red)
Earth(black)

But could be completely wrong cause who knows the person that wired it in the first place.

Do you have a multimeter? Would make life much simpler.

[Junglistjed]

I wouldnt worry about the extra blocks but it would fit and ISO block into the e30.

I would buy this and your wiring will be nice and tidy.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Male-ISO-plug ... 19e21bddc8


Wires required are

Permanent Power 12v
Ignition power 12v
Earth
Electric aerial feed
Amp feed if required


Then the 4 speakers positive and negative
Purple
Green
White
Grey

What would the item you linked do mate?