HELP NEEDED - stereo problem

[ScottMc]

right i need some help i cant get my head round this problem.
I installed my head unit a few weeks ago and everything was working fine until 5 mins ago: I was showing my brother the new head unit and all of a sudden there was no sound - except from the amp powering a sub. so i thought - a wire must hav come out the back of it or something?! nope everything seemed fine but i rewired all the connectors anyway just to be safe - still no sound. then i checked all the fuses - they seemed fine. everything else in the car seems to work fine too. the head unit powers up ok and all the functions work, there is sound being output to the amp from the preouts but nothing seems to be going to the other speakers. i even tried connecting a different head unit up to the car and it had the same problem!
I give up!
anyone any ideas?!

oh its a Kenwood 6080 tape unit with a cd changer.

 

[junglestylz]

Did you remove the wiring from the balance switch on the dash¿

 

[mjbst111]

I had to re-wire all my speakers. I my car had a stock amp that hummed and just sounded horrible with my new head unit. Try hooking up any old speaker right out the back of your new head unit to make sure it still works. Then i'd just re-wire your old speakers. I say that like its a peice of cake, but its really not too fun.

 

[j2azz]

See if your amps are turning on. Sounds like a remote wire trigger problem.
See if the "protect" light stays on, means they aren't getting the 12v trigger to turn on.

It's either that or you lost a ground or 12V source somewhere. Not sure of your exact setup, so I'd have to know more.

 

[equate]

Yeah just check your wires and unplug the amps, run the speakers directly to the HU to see if its a remote problem. e30s have to be one of the most terrible cars to put new systems in...

 

[SpikeX]

Ok, i've had this problem before except in my 1982 320i (E21)
Check all your connections to your speakers, Use if you can male / female connectors, they make the best connections, try to stay away from sauderless connectors (the blue/red tubes u put the wire in and crimp)
Next make sure you have ur ground hooked up properly
then check power connections to the deck -> battery(constant) and deck -> ignition(12V+)

If that still dont work try unhooking your amp from the deck and see if that works. If not maybe its a faulty deck!

Also make sure the connections for your cd changer are proper. That might have to do with it!!!

 

[ScottMc]

ok thanks for the ideas guys
i'm just gonna hav to wire the speakers directly into the back of the head unit i guess and see if they work like that the thing that confused me was that surely if it was one of the speaker wires that was faulty then only one speaker would not work rather than them all! [???1]
the speakers are all wired using the kenwood iso block which is connected to the original? BMW wiring via bullet connectors.
im pretty sure now that it is a problem with the ground somewhere but locating it is going to be a right pain in the arse.
oh and my car didnt come with a balance switch so i guess i can rule that one out!

 

[bichmgnt]

Many times if you have a short in the speaker wires somewhere the stereo will shut down the amplifier portion to prevent damage to the stereo. That might be why you have no sound.

Also, the amplifier in the trunk does have a fuse inside it. The wires from your new stereo are going to this amplifier which feeds the speakers. It might be this that is causing the problem. I took out my amp after putting in a new stereo, amp and speakers and put an XM radio receiver where the old amp was. I took the amp apart to verify which wire was hot and saw that were was a fuse inside. I don't know how much you have to take apart to get to the fuse (it was a while back and I ended up throwing it out long ago) but there is one in there. It could be that is all you need to replace.

But, in the end, you may be better off just wiring in the speakers directly from the new stereo. Do you have the little tweeters mounted on the doors by the mirrors? You'll need a crossover for those or you'll put too much power in and blow them out.

Good luck.

Steve