Hi everyone, first time in the forum, would appreciate any advice.
Problem: I'm installing an Alpine 9885 stereo in a 1988 BMW M3. I purchased the stereo from crutchfield and corresponded with them on install attempt. I removed the factory stereo, cut off adapters for 12V constant and ground and removed speaker and other plugs from the back. When I connected all the wires to the new Alpine I had no power in the head unit. By the way, all the cuts and connections were made with the negative lead disconnected from the battery, then tested with it reconnected. I verified that the headunit was good by touching the power leads and ground from the stereo directly to the battery. So, then I tested 12V auxillary and 12V constant with a voltmeter with the key turned in the ignition. The auxillary is showing 10-11V but the constant gives a 0V reading. The fuses were checked in the fuse box and were fine, but were replaced anyway which did not help.
My question is: what is the next logical step that I can take? Obviously the 12V constant was working when I disconnected the factory stereo, so what could I have done? Is the power wired in two sections (from battery to the fuse box and from fuse box to the stereo)? In that case, how do I test the voltage coming into fuse box to make sure that wiring is okay? (I tried sticking the voltmeter probes into the slots but no reading)
Any other obvious connections I should check that I'm missing?
Thanks for any help!
Replies (3)
swez on 12/20/2007 23:04:37
First off... welcome to CK!
Interesting post and you covered everything well and in good detail too. (That helps a lot)
In this case, you may need to run a separate "Constant" power line from the BAT + to this Alpine HU. Also, the HU must be grounded to a chassis ground rather than any harness ground. (Black wire) That usually means the Red wire is ACC/IGN is powered off the factory line and you'll use a separate dedicated power feed , (off the battery) to power this HU via its own power feed line. It should be fused at 10-15 A's as well... Inline fuse)
Got all that?
Also, Crutch offers free harness conversion kits that fit the OEM plugs. Is there a specific reason that lead you to lop off the OEM connectors? (Power and speakers) This is a real time saver, but can be done in other methods when needed. This makes for more work, but read the PS link as it should help figure out the best work-a-round for your install.
Say more please...
Swez
PS Read this tip in the meantime:
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t36
cplkittle on 12/21/2007 03:08:36
Some of the older BMWs did not have a constant wire.
If the 12v switched is purple and the ground is brown, there is no constant.
If the switched is purple with a white stripe, the constant should be red with a white stripe.
If there is no constant, you will need to run a dedicated line to the radio from the battery. Be sure to put a fuse in it the same size as the one on the back of the radio (or in the inline box on some alpines)
conleyman00 on 12/21/2007 21:55:49
Hey guys, thanks for responding. There is a verdict...everything is working but I thought I'd share the outcome if not just for anecdotal reasons.
To answer the question about cutting off the factory adapters: The constant and the illumination wires from the car ran into a connector that was plugged into the factory stereo, but no match or adapter exists on any new HU I could find (or Crutchfield could find). So I cut off that adapter initially. The other cut I made was, I believe, for auxillary 12V (is that what you guys refer to as switched?) and something else, I'd have to pull out the diagram again. Anyway, those 2 adapters I was told I needed to cut off. In addition, BMW uses (or maybe USED) a funky fading setup for the speakers, so I did get a free adapter for the 4-speaker configuration and used that-incidentally, I had to set the fading completely to the right or left based on the wiring (I chose right), so the left speaker wires coming from the new Alpine HU weren't used at all (do any other cars use that kind of setup?). Anyway, I'm not sure if this fits into the exotic category but I was assured there was no other way to do it.
So, the problem was that I cut all the wires first, which seemed natural since I needed to get that factory HU out of the way. For some reason, the master install sheet I got from Crutchfield listed the constant 12V as Rd/Gn (red green) and the illumination as Rd/Gy (red gray). After the whole ordeal last night, I went back this morning with the voltmeter just to check things out again. I got the same result. No power on the Rd/Gn but power on the VT (12V aux) when the car was on. Then I looked down and saw the Rd/Gy from the car, which was still hooked up to the illumination (orange wire) running from the Alpine. For a minute I was convinced that my color blindness had gotten the better of me, but NO, this WAS red gray. I cut the connection anyway hooked up the voltmeter and VOILA, there was the power. So either the tech that put the car together was colorblind and switched the wires or Crutchfield has a drastic mistake on the master sheet. Either way, I guess the lesson is that I should have confirmed that the wires had the correct color code BEFORE I clipped the wires and adapters from the factory stereo.
The other problem that was easily fixed was that the CD and MP3 didn't work but the radio did once I got everything connected properly. I didn't quite follow what the tech said, but the main point was the the blue wire from the alpine which was the power int was connected to the white antenna wire from the car. But this also notifies a built in amplifier in the car to work. So when I switched from tuner to CD or MP3 the amplifier was getting cut out of the loop. I hooked up the blue/white wire instead of the blue which solved the problem.
Anyway, thanks for the advice, I was hoping I didn't have to run a seperate power from the battery because I didn't want to disassemble the interior, too many other things to do at this time of the year.
Problem: I'm installing an Alpine 9885 stereo in a 1988 BMW M3. I purchased the stereo from crutchfield and corresponded with them on install attempt. I removed the factory stereo, cut off adapters for 12V constant and ground and removed speaker and other plugs from the back. When I connected all the wires to the new Alpine I had no power in the head unit. By the way, all the cuts and connections were made with the negative lead disconnected from the battery, then tested with it reconnected. I verified that the headunit was good by touching the power leads and ground from the stereo directly to the battery. So, then I tested 12V auxillary and 12V constant with a voltmeter with the key turned in the ignition. The auxillary is showing 10-11V but the constant gives a 0V reading. The fuses were checked in the fuse box and were fine, but were replaced anyway which did not help.
My question is: what is the next logical step that I can take? Obviously the 12V constant was working when I disconnected the factory stereo, so what could I have done? Is the power wired in two sections (from battery to the fuse box and from fuse box to the stereo)? In that case, how do I test the voltage coming into fuse box to make sure that wiring is okay? (I tried sticking the voltmeter probes into the slots but no reading)
Any other obvious connections I should check that I'm missing?
Thanks for any help!
Replies (3)
swez on 12/20/2007 23:04:37
First off... welcome to CK!
Interesting post and you covered everything well and in good detail too. (That helps a lot)
In this case, you may need to run a separate "Constant" power line from the BAT + to this Alpine HU. Also, the HU must be grounded to a chassis ground rather than any harness ground. (Black wire) That usually means the Red wire is ACC/IGN is powered off the factory line and you'll use a separate dedicated power feed , (off the battery) to power this HU via its own power feed line. It should be fused at 10-15 A's as well... Inline fuse)
Got all that?
Also, Crutch offers free harness conversion kits that fit the OEM plugs. Is there a specific reason that lead you to lop off the OEM connectors? (Power and speakers) This is a real time saver, but can be done in other methods when needed. This makes for more work, but read the PS link as it should help figure out the best work-a-round for your install.
Say more please...
Swez
PS Read this tip in the meantime:
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t36
cplkittle on 12/21/2007 03:08:36
Some of the older BMWs did not have a constant wire.
If the 12v switched is purple and the ground is brown, there is no constant.
If the switched is purple with a white stripe, the constant should be red with a white stripe.
If there is no constant, you will need to run a dedicated line to the radio from the battery. Be sure to put a fuse in it the same size as the one on the back of the radio (or in the inline box on some alpines)
conleyman00 on 12/21/2007 21:55:49
Hey guys, thanks for responding. There is a verdict...everything is working but I thought I'd share the outcome if not just for anecdotal reasons.
To answer the question about cutting off the factory adapters: The constant and the illumination wires from the car ran into a connector that was plugged into the factory stereo, but no match or adapter exists on any new HU I could find (or Crutchfield could find). So I cut off that adapter initially. The other cut I made was, I believe, for auxillary 12V (is that what you guys refer to as switched?) and something else, I'd have to pull out the diagram again. Anyway, those 2 adapters I was told I needed to cut off. In addition, BMW uses (or maybe USED) a funky fading setup for the speakers, so I did get a free adapter for the 4-speaker configuration and used that-incidentally, I had to set the fading completely to the right or left based on the wiring (I chose right), so the left speaker wires coming from the new Alpine HU weren't used at all (do any other cars use that kind of setup?). Anyway, I'm not sure if this fits into the exotic category but I was assured there was no other way to do it.
So, the problem was that I cut all the wires first, which seemed natural since I needed to get that factory HU out of the way. For some reason, the master install sheet I got from Crutchfield listed the constant 12V as Rd/Gn (red green) and the illumination as Rd/Gy (red gray). After the whole ordeal last night, I went back this morning with the voltmeter just to check things out again. I got the same result. No power on the Rd/Gn but power on the VT (12V aux) when the car was on. Then I looked down and saw the Rd/Gy from the car, which was still hooked up to the illumination (orange wire) running from the Alpine. For a minute I was convinced that my color blindness had gotten the better of me, but NO, this WAS red gray. I cut the connection anyway hooked up the voltmeter and VOILA, there was the power. So either the tech that put the car together was colorblind and switched the wires or Crutchfield has a drastic mistake on the master sheet. Either way, I guess the lesson is that I should have confirmed that the wires had the correct color code BEFORE I clipped the wires and adapters from the factory stereo.
The other problem that was easily fixed was that the CD and MP3 didn't work but the radio did once I got everything connected properly. I didn't quite follow what the tech said, but the main point was the the blue wire from the alpine which was the power int was connected to the white antenna wire from the car. But this also notifies a built in amplifier in the car to work. So when I switched from tuner to CD or MP3 the amplifier was getting cut out of the loop. I hooked up the blue/white wire instead of the blue which solved the problem.
Anyway, thanks for the advice, I was hoping I didn't have to run a seperate power from the battery because I didn't want to disassemble the interior, too many other things to do at this time of the year.
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