Just talked to Euro MotorSpeed about an adapter for my 07
Cayman S
(base radio) and getting a
Pioneer
unit wired using their harness. He explained I'll probably want to install a parking brake bypass so I can operate the unit while driving. I have never heard of such an issue! He said they're sold on eBay and
Amazon
specific to the head unit manufacturer. I'm guessing most everyone installs this bypass. So my question is how easy is it to install this thing? How is it done?
The instructions are available on
amazon
, like he said, specific to the model # HU you are installing.
Depending on what unit you go with, you might want to find out specifically what won't you be able to use while you're driving. If it's just DVD playback, who cares? Are you really going to watch a dvd while driving?
(Generally, for safety, DVD playback, and possibly some other features are not allowed unless the parking brake is on, which is why some people people would install this bypass)
Any DIN that enables video playback/other entertainment has a parking brake 'sensor' that connects to your parking break to determine if it's on or not (meaning you're not moving if it's on.) They have to do this to be legal, some of the Chinese ones don't. Anyway.
All you need to do in order to defeat it is connect that cable to a ground and your head unit will think the ebrake is engaged. To do it the right way you'd have to figure out which cable in the center console is the parking brake engaged line. It's probably in the 987 wiring diagram in the files section but I've never bothered.
On many units, it isn't as simple as to just ground the PB sensor wire. Some even use speed sensors (VSS) and even
GPS
to tell if you're cheating. For my
Pioneer
you just need to
plug
a wire into the harness and ground it along with the PB wire. Those "kits" are usually a wire and some instructions. For my unit, we just remove an unused wire from the harness and use it in the new location.
On
Pioneer
NAVs, you can't do much more than play audio or make/answer a call. You can't enter a destination for the
GPS
or query POI data. You can't change many settings or pair BT.
If you're getting a
Pioneer
unit, be sure to check-out AVIC411.com for all sorts of info.
The "watching a video while driving" concern makes perfect sense. Since whatever unit I purchase won't have DVD, 4G, or navigation, do I even need to worry about this parking brake bypass? Or does this safety feature extend to functions of the head unit's audio controls (volume, bass, tuner adjust, etc.)?
Typically those aren't blocked. Maybe some more involved setting menus - like blue tooth pairing. General audio stuff should be OK. You should be able to switch audio sources and select songs (like from an
iPod
or SD)
