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Broke my subwoofer harness cord - how to fix wiring?

1K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  Grande D 
#1 · (Edited)
The audio in my car was unclear at times, so I went to BMW and they said that my car (e46 330ci) needed new amplifiers (both the sub amp and the main amp). I went ahead and bought the parts and started by replacing the sub amp in the trunk.

When removing the subwoofer, I accidentally forgot to unhook the main cord (the one with the wiring harness at the end) from the top of the sub amp assembly (I didn't even know it was attached there). As a result, as the subwoofer came down, the cord got yanked and I think it got detached from whatever it was connected to. I tried checking the power leads with a multimiter and got nothing. The subwoofer doesn't work at all as a result :(

I'm planning on removing the trunk lining and looking for the other end of the cord. Does anyone happen to know what the cord with the sub amp harness is connected to on the other end? Does it go straight to the main amp, or is it routed through somewhere else?

Thanks in advance!
 
#4 · (Edited)
So, if I understand your statement, you are saying that you think you pulled the other end of the harness from whatever it's plugged in to?
I'm trying to be sure that you are not saying that the harness into the subwoofer was the one that you think you broke...?
EDIT: It's 100% unlikely that you pulled the other end of the harness out of whatever else it's plugged into. You probably couldn't do it if you tried. It would take an enormous amount of brute strength to rip those wires out as a harness....
 
#6 · (Edited)
Nah. You didn't hurt that harness. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about. No way you pulled hard enough to pull it out of anything. Maybe damaged the wire a little or something. Other than that, you're good. :thumbsup:

EDIT: Unless there's a harness on the other side of that hole that somehow came unplugged. Again, highly unlikely. A good way to check is to yank on the harness real good. If it comes out, track down where it needs to go and plug it back in. ;)

EDIT 2: And did you test with the new amp prior to "breaking" it? Are all other connections plugged in to the amp?
 
#8 · (Edited)
Maybe. If you set your multimeter to the ohm setting and put it to the subwoofer terminals, it should read a low ohm load (2 or 4. It won't be exactly, but in that area you're fine). Put the positive on one terminal and the negative on the other.
Again, I still think you should yank really good on the the harness. If it's disconnected, it WILL come out...
 
#11 ·
So I tested everything again today and this time, I did get a voltage reading from the harness. Not sure why I didn't yesterday, as I made multiple attempts.

Next, I picked up the sub+amp assembly and heard a rattle, and upon closer examination I found out that something was loose inside the amp itself. I opened it up and sure enough, this coil fell off:

Electronics Technology


I replaced the old amp with a new one and all is well!

Thanks for all the replies. Turns out that the cord itself is built like a tank, so if your sub isn't working, it's most likely the amp ;)
 
#12 ·
So I tested everything again today and this time, I did get a voltage reading from the harness. Not sure why I didn't yesterday, as I made multiple attempts.

Next, I picked up the sub+amp assembly and heard a rattle, and upon closer examination I found out that something was loose inside the amp itself. I opened it up and sure enough, this coil fell off:

View attachment 501020

I replaced the old amp with a new one and all is well!

Thanks for all the replies. Turns out that the cord itself is built like a tank, so if your sub isn't working, it's most likely the amp ;)
Yeah, usually damaging the harness itself takes an act of God. Lolol.
Glad you figured it out. Thanks for the update! :D
 
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