E30 OEM Head unit wiring colours

[deepan]

Hi all,

Quick question,

Has anyone got any reliable info on which wires are for what (rear right/rear left/front right/front left)?

Myself and Gursh were wiring in a new kenwood short base head unit that I’d bought to replace my old pioneer motorised screen head unit today and without any labelling or iso connector we’re playing a guessing game as to which wire leads to which component in the car.

Much appreciated

Deepan.

[Brianmoooore]

E30 speaker wires are twisted pairs, but since they were dealer fitted, I think its fairly random which colours were used for any particular speaker, and the route the wires follow to that speaker.
Tickle the bare ends of the wires across a 1.5 volt battery, and listen to where the crackle comes from. If you can see the cone of the speaker, you can check the polarity of the wires as well.

[deepan]

E30 speaker wires are twisted pairs, but since they were dealer fitted, I think its fairly random which colours were used for any particular speaker, and the route the wires follow to that speaker.
Tickle the bare ends of the wires across a 1.5 volt battery, and listen to where the crackle comes from. If you can see the cone of the speaker, you can check the polarity of the wires as well.

Thanks Brian.

I, apparently naively, assumed that speakers were standard equipment and that the colours and locations (kick panels) were again, just part of the normal harness.

Will any 1.5v battery do the job? It doesn’t have to be of any particular size?

Much appreciated
Deepan

[Brianmoooore]

Not even a radio is standard equipment on an E30! These were semi bespoke cars, built (or finished) to the customer's specifications. You could nearly double the price of the car with the options list - you literally got what you paid for. A centre panel exists that doesn't even have a location for a radio.
Any old 1.5 volt battery will do, even one that's nearly flat