cd player tripping? radio works but cd dose not ?

[s52head]

i have my 91 318is alpine radio acting strange.

radio works fine but when I switch it to cd mode it dosent play sound?

my wiring is a mess.

is it a wiring issue or something else.

I tried my friends alpine yesterday and two other ones and those didn't work either

[DesktopDave]

I wouldn't figure it's a wiring issue, unless you have a remote CD changer with a disconnected/broken wire or the wrong hardware. Many of those old head units are on their way out. and the CD (or tape ) seems to be the first part to fail.

IIRC some BMW-branded head units were made by Pioneer & Alpine, but don't work with non-BMW-branded magazines. There are also wiring differences between the pre-IBus Pioneer & Alpine units - although the CD-changer cable is the same you can't mix & match them.