Head Unit Wiring Issue? 2000 528i E39

[Lakai33]

Ready for the cliche intro--> Im sure most of you have heard or seen this. I did my searching, days of searching.

Problem: Head unit powered on but then shut off shortly after, so I could not test if sound works.

Back Story:Anyways, I have attempted to install a new head unit, Power Acoustik PD-712(not my choice, it was given to me). Just in case you want to know, I had the cassette tape oem. I did my research and got my wiring harness, connected all the wires I could. Ended up with having leftover the pink(brake) and orange/black(reverse). I also did not hook up the FM/AM antenna as I never use it, I don't even know the radio stations around here. And didn't connect anything with the RCA connector as I don't have any connections up front, though I do have a sub with built in amp, that seems to come up front with a blue wire that I also connected to the harness.

Aftermath: After giving up for the night, my battery was dead, I did disconnect/reconnect a couple times testing to make sure the wiring was correct. Which led to head unit coming on for a minute then shutting off.

Questions: 1. So, do I have to have the remaining wires hooked up, pink and orange/black? 2. Do you think it was my battery that did not have enough charge to power the head unit? 3. Should I give up and take it somewhere to get 'professionally' done? (I don't usually trust 'mechanics' to work on my car) 4. Is there anything else you would like to know?

Thanks for reading and hopefully someone can help me out, I would greatly appreciate it.

[DennisCooper]

Hi,

1. Check, double check, and then re-check all your wiring.
2. The PD712 might be faulty.
3. I'd say find a reputable local installer and have them do the work

Cheers, Dennis!

[Lakai33]

Well Im pretty sure I solved it. Just needed some patience I suppose. My battery was pretty much dead as it sat for a week before, and I kept disconnecting it to install the head unit. So after I charged it up, hooked up the head unit and seems to be working fine.

So next question, Is there any possible way to keep the steering controls so I can at least control the volume. Also Im going to be making a backing for it, dont know technical term, so theres not an empty space, any tips on what I should use. Thanks.

[willie498]

Well Im pretty sure I solved it. Just needed some patience I suppose. My battery was pretty much dead as it sat for a week before, and I kept disconnecting it to install the head unit. So after I charged it up, hooked up the head unit and seems to be working fine.

So next question, Is there any possible way to keep the steering controls so I can at least control the volume. Also Im going to be making a backing for it, dont know technical term, so theres not an empty space, any tips on what I should use. Thanks.

You can't keep the steering wheel controls, the only unit that supports that is the Dynavin units. There's alot of spacers that fit and fill up the free space, I would take a quick look around eBay to see what you find.

[//m320is]

You can't keep the steering wheel controls, the only unit that supports that is the Dynavin units. There's alot of spacers that fit and fill up the free space, I would take a quick look around eBay to see what you find.

Incorrect. Most aftermarket head units support steering wheel controls.

OP, if your deck does support it, it will require a steering wheel control module. Metra, PAC, etc make these modules.