E Brake Access

[Sisco360]

I need some help accessing my ebrake in a 00' 323. i just bought a tv tuner deck and it requires that i need to hok it up to the negative wire of the ebrake in order to work. Does anyone know ho to do this or simply bypass it all together???

 

[Big Daddy]

I did not know the ebrake had any wires attached to it? Why would you have to splice i nto that wire (should it exist) anyway. Negative is negative? If they are using that for a ground wire just ground the unit to anything metal.

 

[Sisco360]

The reason why they are making me do this is because the tv deck will not work unless the car is parked and the ebrake is up. Therefore i need to attach a wire to the negative treminal of the ebrake to allow the tv to work.

 

[Average Jae]

shouldn't there be a way around that? i mean, its not a dealer install, why would you want to have to put on the e brakes to watch tv? there's gotta be a better way to complete the circuit. imo

btw, welcome to the board James.

 

[Big Daddy]

Ok so that makes sense, but who parks, applies the brake and watches TV? I agree with Jason, find a way around that "liability" motivated design.

 

[Sisco360]

Ok so that makes sense, but who parks, applies the brake and watches TV? I agree with Jason, find a way around that "liability" motivated design.

I totally agree also. I think that I might of found a way to do so. So in the future if you decide to buy one, there is a sensor in the e-brake that connects when pulled. When pulled it activates the light on the dash and that annoying sound when you forget and move with it on. Now this is the plan that i can up with. Make a wire connection to both terminals when they are not connected (ebrake not pulled) and this will complete the circuit, then attach the wire to that. This should work and the end result should bethat I will be able to watch while riding. Who knows though.... I'm no electrician. [kick]

 

[WSUBeember]

I didn't know they came with an Ebrake... I thought they were parking brakes.

 

[bmwrocks]

It seems to me that the wire to the tuner is looking for some voltage to be applied to it. If they are asking that you connect it to the negative terminal of the sensor, then a voltage is likely going to be there when the sensor is closed (brake applied). Can you check the voltage at that terminal with the brake on and off? Then simply connect the tuner wire to a spot where that voltage exists when the brake is off? That "spot" may be the positive terminal of the sensor!!!!

Check the voltage to ground at the negative terminal with the brake applied and the positive terminal with the brake released. If they are the same, connect it to the positive terminal and your tuner will be tricked into thinking the brake is always applied!!!

I didn't understand how you were going to wire it, so maybe what you said will work.

 

[Kirby]

I took a look at my Bentley manual for my E36 (don't have an E46 manual - yet). On virtually all years and models of the E36, the parking brake switch is grounded on one side at the parking brake, the wire to the computer or indicator light "floats". When you apply the parking brake, the switch closes and shorts the circuit to ground. This is a pretty typical electrical design - closing a switch that grounds a wire connected to an indicator light or computer module.

I would guess 99.999999% that the E46 is identical. In that case, you can just connect the wire from your video to any good chassis ground and it will enable your video system all the time.

 

[Sisco360]

Thanks, that was helpful. I will try that. All I have to do is wait for the damn thing to come in.