radio shorted need help - BMW Forum

salp · 10-19-2012, 04:04 PM

Hello everyone,

My first post on this forum. I bought a 1998 323is a couple days ago. My problem is that the radio shorted out. The person I bought the car from had a aftermarket head unit in and had loose wires in the back. I changed the 10a fuse under the hood, taped all the wiring, still wouldnt work, so I replaced head unit and still not working. Is there another fuse somewhere?

Lord Vader · 10-20-2012, 01:44 AM

Taped all the wiring? Which wiring? Dont use tape.

The factory amp and 6 disc changer are in the trunk. The amp on the drivers side. Check the wiring loom going into the truck as it is a common occurence to fray and short out with time.

salp · 10-20-2012, 02:25 PM

Yes, I retaped it. I know it should have heat shrink tubing. I pulled it out and noticed some bare wires back there. Im not sure if it have a sub back there but ill check it out. It only blew one fuse and I replaced that one but am now getting no power to radio and am not blowing a fuse either. Is there a fuse another fuse besides the one under the hood?

salp · 10-20-2012, 02:26 PM

Also, I dont think there is a cd changer back there.

salp · 10-20-2012, 08:20 PM

I did find the amp in the trunk. I did not see a separate fuse or cd changer back there.

Lord Vader · 10-21-2012, 05:43 AM

Their isnt an additional fuse to the amp as far as i know, but the way the system works, when you remove one component the rest doesnt work. When i removed my CD changer to change my shocks out, the radio would not come on. No power, nothing. Check ALL the wiring, including the wiring loom going into the trunk. Make sure all the connectors are secured properly.

salp · 10-21-2012, 12:59 PM

Found the problem. It blew a couple fuses, not just the radio fuse. Thanks for your help. I just unplugged the headunit completely, I think I want the cd43. Will that work best with the stock speakers and amp? I want it to look stock.

Lord Vader · 10-23-2012, 01:39 AM

The CD43 Business unit with the in dash CD player? Or standard CD43 with the 6 disc in the trunk?

Mine is a CD43 with the 6 disc. A factory headunit is allways the best. I wont replace mine for that reason. However if you want a CD43 BU then expect to pay $300-400+. They are not made anymore, and are hard to find. They are quite popular because you can hook up the DICE media interface to run an iPod/iPhone through the stock headunit and still retain the CD player.

salp · 10-23-2012, 12:06 PM

yup, thats the one I want, but probably won't get because of price. The aftermarket kenwood is working fine now, minus the antenna sounding crappy. I need to find a 12v source to connect the antenna wire in the harness to. Got that working today, but now have a problem with the passenger window not working. It was fine parked the car for an hour or so, got back in and suddenly it won't work. I'm thinking that is probably the switch. Ill have to test that by switching the switches.