Hello, i recently installed a jensen dvd player unit in my o3 audi a4. I was wondering if their is a way to by pass the parking switch and tap it off to another circuit? Please help.
Posts: 2931
Joined: 7/18/2006 From: six zero seven, NY Status: offline
It's easy. The peach wire (the one for the parking switch) needs to be run directly to ground. Put a switch inline on it though, so you can break that connection. Mine's located under the driver's side of the dash. The e-brake light (the circuit you're tapping into) is a ground-complete circuit (power is always applied to the light, but when you pull the e-brake lever, you apply the ground that completes the circuit). By running this wire to ground, and putting a switch on it, you give yourself the ability to apply the ground by flipping the switch.
Run the wire to ground from the headunit (I grounded it on a bolt in the fusebox area), and leave the switch closed (activated), so the head unit sees the ground. When you put in a DVD and the blue lawyer screen comes up, flip the switch to break the ground, wait 3-4 seconds, and then flip the switch again to reapply the ground. This is the same as having the handbrake pulled, releasing it, and then pulling the lever again (which would leave you immobile while you watch the movie, as was intended), except that you can now drive away with your movie playing.
Posts: 2931
Joined: 7/18/2006 From: six zero seven, NY Status: offline
Just to clarify - make sure that if you ground the peach wire into the stereo's harness ground, put the switch on the peach wire between the head unit and the tap into the stereo ground wire - you need to be able to break the ground on the peach wire but keep the black stereo ground intact the whole time.
Printable Version
parking switch bypass? - 
