Where to connect the parking brake wire? (stereo focus)
Content
Your stereo may be grounded by the parking brake wire. It will let you watch videos, enjoy seamless Bluetooth connection and many more features. Before I worked in the automotive industry, I connected a lot of parking brake wires and dealt with many car brands, so I feel like I can give you a detailed guide on the subject.
As a rule, it is not difficult to connect the parking brake wire to the stereo system.
- Examine the stereo harness and locate the green wire (ground).
- Cut the wire and strip its terminal (insulating coating) with a wire stripper.
- Take a length of connecting wire and strip the insulation about ½ inch from both ends. Go ahead and wind the two exposed terminals together.
- Now run the wire through the middle of the dash to the parking brake cable. Strip the insulating coating of the brake wire and coil the two wires together.
- Fix the twisted terminal in the wire cap.
- Finally, check your stereo.
Before we begin, keep in mind that the bypass wiring is different from what we are about to learn. The bypass is mainly for touch screen stereos where you can watch movies. Our goal will be to connect the parking brake wire to the stereo.
Dashboard video regarding parking brake wire
You need to connect the wire to the parking brake wire if your stereo is equipped with a video monitor or touch screen. The wire will serve as a switch to switch the video monitor after the parking brake is applied.
The switch wire (connected to the parking brake) is located in various places in the vehicles. The make and model of the vehicle determines the location of the switch wire. However, in general, the wire is often located near the handbrake.
Some cars have a handbrake between the front seats. In this case, you will have to move the center console to get to the wire. If your vehicle has a foot operated parking brake, run the stereo wire to the pedal under the dash.
Stereo touch screen or video monitor
The touch stereo screen (video monitor) is located on the dashboard of the car. The touch screen interface displays all relevant information at a glance. You can easily and quickly control your stereo system with the touch screen receiver.
How to connect
You will need the following tools to connect the parking brake to your stereo:
- Connecting wires
- Pliers
- Harness for stereo system (included with stereo system)
- stripper
- Wire caps
- Adhesive tape
Procedure:
- Cut off a few feet of standard wire depending on how far your parking brakes are from the stereo. You can use pliers for this.
- Locate the green cable on the stereo wiring harness and cut it off.. Using a wire stripper, remove about ½ inch of the wire's insulating sheath - the green cable from the bundle and the wire you just cut. (1)
- Wind the two wires together and place the terminal in the wire cap.. Twist the bare terminals of the two wires together and insert the twisted end into the wire cap.
- Route the wire down the dash and into the parking brake section.. You can use the strap to secure the wire. Locate the parking brake wires. Connect the parking brake wire terminals and twist the cable connected to the green wire on the stereo to the brake wire. You can use adhesive tape to secure the connection.
- Connection testing. Now you can go back to the stereo on the deck and test Bluetooth, video, etc. (2)
Take a look at some of our articles below.
- How to check the wiring harness with a multimeter
- How to cut wire without wire cutters
- How to connect ground wires to each other
Recommendations
(1) insulating coating - https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/
insulating coating
(2) Bluetooth — https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/bluetooth.htm
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