No sound... Is the amp bad?

[m_souders]

Hello all. I'm a new owner of a '98 318ti, and I couldn't be happier.

But, I am unable to make any of the speakers make sound. I just bought the car recently, and I have no knowledge of what the previous owner did to the sound system, save for the Sony Xplod headunit in it now. It has the premium sound package.

None of the wires appear to have been butchered. The connections work all the way to the amp. I have assumed that all ten of the speakers still work, which leaves the stock amp. I have tested (and confirmed) sound signals from the HU with a small speaker with two wire leads, and for power to the amp with a voltmeter.

I've worked on car audio before, but I'm totally stumped with this one... Has my stock amp gone bad? Are there any aftermarket amps that would work with the premium sound package?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[1996 318ti NY]

is the amp turnon wire connected aka antenna power and such? usually the blue wire on the h/u looks for a wiring diagram of the wires in the car i had one fro ma mechanic but i lost it lol if you think it isnt il try and find it and tell you what to connect where.

[graymae]

hey guys, i have the same problem with my 96 ti. i ran wires straight from the head unit to each speaker so i know they work, i also tested every possible connection with the power antenna and the car's white wire. Is there a way to check the amp itself or u just gotta replace it and c what happens?

[1996 318ti NY]

look for the blue wire on the headunit its an amp turnon wire you need to connect that to the white wire or antenna wire i forgot which but thats how mine works.

[graymae]

i tried both the blue wire on the head unit with the white wire of the amp and still no sound. I really think the amp is shot.

[hotmilk400]

the first thing u MUST do is to find a wire diagram, and if u really cant find one, let us know. i have them for every year, but alot of them are incorrect (like a few wires not going to the right area)

anyway, u need to get a diagram of the amp so u can test the wires right before the wires connect to the amp

test the power wires, the ground and the wire the remotly turns it on. it might be something as simple as a fuse, or a wires that got discounted somehow. its better then just replacing things.

anyway, if there IS power going to your amp, then your amp is shot. u can ALWAYS find a used one from someone. alot of people just use a real amp, or disconnect it and use the radio's power to power the speakers. if it is a 98 that u are having trouble with, i could probally just give ya mine.

you could deffiently buy an aftermarket 4 channel amp to replace it. use a crossover to protect your door tweeters, and then u are set.

if u take that path, get a good amp, LOW WATTAGE, under 85 watts per channel, but class AB or something of HIGH QUALITY!!!

use the front speakers connection and connect that to 2 crossovers, then to ALL the front speakers. pair up the door speakers as tweeters on the -6db setting on the crossover, and the kickers in the front as the sub setting on the crossover.

on the rear speakers connection on the amp, just rerun the to the rear speakers.

you will be fine ohms wise because the speaks are MADE to be set up like that, u just need a high quality amp because you want LOW LOW LOW WATTAGE. my amp is LOUD AS ALL HECK, and is only 35 watts per channel. but it is also a crossfire amp and ran me about $350 new. wattage is NOT A RATING OF LOUDNESS.. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW LOUD A SPEAKER WILL BE!!! NOTHING>> EVER! AND IF SOMEONE TELLS U DIFFERNT, KILL THEM =]

wattage ONLY tells you how much POWER is sent to a speaker, so you know how to size up the speaker, or know what size amp you need. when u want to look at how LOUD something is, ANYTHING IS, u MUST look at the DB rating. if you want loud, u need more then 90 for average, and 95 - 100 for loud high quality items.



if ya need help,let me know


want proof? look below =]
thats an older picture, and i remove the 15 inch loud speaker now, but that is a $400 sub in that box, and a total of a $1500 sound system =]

[lysergicsurfer]

How is your rear shock mount showing like that?

[graymae]

thanks for the info. If you have a wire diagram for a 96 ti that would be helpful. I do hope its something as simple as a fuse or so, i would like to check the amp and wires again to be absolutely sure. Like the subs u got there.

[m_souders]

The diagram I used can be found at http://www.dtmpower.net/forum/genera...r-diagram.html

It seems that there are three sets of wires pertaining to the HU, one from the back of HU itself, the spliced connector to that black 16-pin junction "box", and the set from the harness in the dash.

As far as the speaker and power connections are concerned, they are all correct. The only wires from my HU not connected are ORG/WHT, BLU, BLU/WHT, and LIGHT BLU.

It appears that the orange/white wire is for illumination/dimmer. The light blue (from the HU) is for telephone mute. That leaves the blue (marked AMP REM MAX 0.1A), and blue/white (AMP REM MAx 0.3A)

There is a white wire on the dash harness, and it changes to light blue at the junction box. The light blue doesn't appear to have been stripped or otherwise used.

Which wire from the HU connects to the light blue (or white) wire in the harness?

And to hotmilk400:

I only plan to have a modest system, as I will take the car with me to Lehigh University. You may know that South Bethlehem isn't the nicest of cities, and the last thing I need is to find my Bimmer with its dash kicked in.
On a lighter note, I may need to take you up on your amp offer if mine doesn't work. If it is indeed the 10-channel Alpine (last Part No. digits 024, not 022) I'd like to have it and would pay for shipping. I'll send you a PM if I need it.

[m_souders]

I connected the white wire from the harness to the blue/white tracer on my HU. Lo and behold, my system produced sound in all four corners! It appears that my amp is still good, it's just that I didn't connect ALL of the wires...

Thanks for the offer, hotmilk400. And good luck, graymae!

[hotmilk400]

How is your rear shock mount showing like that?

i took that picture when i was working on it, so i had the rear panel removed so i can see the wires for the speakers (most people didnt notice that.. haha.. good eye)