Ok, I just wanted to start by saying hello to everyone and let you know that you have all been helpful with past posts. But now I have a problem with mine. I bought a panasonic ghost face stereo to install in the bmw. I am taking the old factory stereo out and replacing it because the display is shot. The factory stereo WAS working before my husband pulled it out. I had installed one of the stereos before in the past so I knew that I could just by the pre-wired harnesses for my car and that it would be a sinch to replace. Ok to make a long story short, my husband put the new stereo in and there is power but the face plate does not work. I tried the face plate on our old stereo and it works fine but the unit is bad? I am returning that right now for a warranty exchange. My problem, however lies with the factory stereo now because when I reinstalled that it does not work and once again it is getting power because the security light on it is blinking. I popped the hood and checked alll fuses including the one in the back of the stereo and now I have nothing! I am totally clueless as to where the problem could be! Can someone please help me and give me some suggestions??? Anything would help at this point!
Yes, everything fit correctly and I had to buy 2 harnesses, one for the car and one for the stereo that plugged into each other. What I am not understanding is why the old stereo wont work now. I wanted to reinstall that since I have to wait for my new one to come back.
AprilandTom ... I have a '98 328i and was curious if the installation of an head unit is difficult to do. I'm new to it, should I just have it done professionally?
__________________ 98' BMW 328i - Jet Black, Black Leather, Alpine CDA-9831 HU
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It is not hard to do at all. If you are replacing the factory stereo with a new stereo just go to circuit city and buy the wiring harnesses. You might want to drive the vehicle down there just to make sure that they give you the right antenna and wiring harnesses. Most likely you will have to do what I did and get two harnesses. One that fits the BMW wiring harness to a connector and then one that fits the connector and then fits into the stereo that you are installing. It is really simple. It takes about 10 minutes. Oh and just a tip the wiring harness on the bmw is funky. You have to slide the case that is covering the harness to one side. If you look at the case from the side you will see the little things that it slides on and you can see what direction it goes from there and then you just pull it off once it is slid open.
Ok I have an update. Ironically the display read code this morning. I guess it has been saying code this whole time and I could not read the display since it is out and that is the whole reason for replacing the stereo. So now my question is this, does anyone know what the 6-digit reset "code" is for my stereo. I think that I am going to call my dealer here in town and see if they have any answers for me.
I have yet another update. Word of advice to those of you that ever get the code message on your stereo. Don't do anything. I thought that you could just guess and put in a code and I was wrong. I talked to my dealer and he said that I have to call the service department with the serial number from the back of the stereo and they will give me the code. I have not done that yet though but he did ask me what I had done since the code message and I told him that after I tried a code that it said "code wait" and he said that now the stereo is in "protect" mode because it thinks it was stolen. So now I have to leave the ignition key on for an hour before I can enter the code to reset it. So that is where I am at right now. Just a little FYI for those of you that might have this same problem someday.
Just a little more FYI, you can also disconnect the battery to circumvent the hour wait time.
And yes, to reinstall the factory unit you have to have the code, which can only be obtained by giving the dealer the serial number. This number should be listed in the owners manual, if the car still has it.
__________________ <span style='color:gray'><span style='font-family:Courier'>1995 e36 3 Series RIP
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ghead 
I popped the hood and checked alll fuses including the one in the back of the stereo and now I have nothing! I am totally clueless as to where the problem could be! Can someone please help me and give me some suggestions??? Anything would help at this point!
Linear Mode
