Have you made any attempts at utilizing the supposed all software bypass for the parking brake? If so, is it already in your data.zip file?
I have not. That was discovered after I made my changes and I actually have not made any new changes to my unit since I posted my data.zip file since I have been fairly busy at work. Even if I add the line for the software bypass I really will not know if it works because I have done the hardware bypass.
Hey Vorian,
You think you can add the software bypass to your DATA.zip?
I want to try it on my 500bt but this time with the parking brake grounded. If you are too busy, I will give it a shot. Thanks.
Well, i just used winrar and edited the proper line in Vorian's zip. It took about 3 seconds. I haven't succesfully loaded the zip into my F500BT yet, but it shouldn't take long. I just need to actually tear my dash apart to ground that stupid parking break wire.
My educated guess is that grounding the parking break wire allows you to operate all the grayed out functions when the GPS unit is not telling "itself" that you are moving. The software mod simply ups the unit from a 16KPH threshhold to a higher value that trips the threshold for deactivating certain GPS and system functions. Both these together allow you to bypass these safety features.
Again, just a guess.
I have a new question for Vorian, or someone smarter than I on these data.zip hacks:
Can you add a small touchscreen button that turns off the screen on both the navigation view and the ipod view? You can turn the screen off by going to the settings->system settings and then in the lower right there is an option for turning the screen off. To turn it back on, you simply tap the touchscreen anywhere (you all probably know this). I just think it would be convenient to have this option available in more places. During long trips at night, it's better for my vision to have the screen off more than on! I saw how you added a touch screen button to cancel your navigation route, so I figure that it might be possible to add other features as well.
Thanks for your time,
Eric
Well, i just used winrar and edited the proper line in Vorian's zip. It took about 3 seconds. I haven't succesfully loaded the zip into my F500BT yet, but it shouldn't take long. I just need to actually tear my dash apart to ground that stupid parking break wire.
My educated guess is that grounding the parking break wire allows you to operate all the grayed out functions when the GPS unit is not telling "itself" that you are moving. The software mod simply ups the unit from a 16KPH threshhold to a higher value that trips the threshold for deactivating certain GPS and system functions. Both these together allow you to bypass these safety features.
Again, just a guess.
I hope your guess is correct. Do you mind emailing me Vorians zip file with the software bypass? Email it to SSaul27 at gmail dot com. I have easy access to the parking brake wire and can confirm if it does indeed work, saves you the hassle of ripping your dash apart. I know the software bypass alone will not work, I have to lightly depress the brake to activate the grayed out areas.
I just got done adding the software bypass on Vorians DATA.zip. I installed it on my unit (AVIC-F500BT) and grounded the parking brake...guess what... it does NOT WORK!! 
What was your process to edit the zip file? You didn't do any sort of uncompressing and recompressing did you? Which line did you actually edit? You said you succesfully have grounded your parking wire, or that you actually have connecting the parking sense wire to the parking break indicator wire in your vehicle?
-e
PS - we may be getting a little off topic for this thread, if so, I apologize.
Okay, lots of q's to answer here...
What was your process to edit the zip files?
I went to Vorians data.zip opened up the project_config folder and changed this,
[pioneer]
parking_break_speed=16.0
hide_logos=1
to this
[pioneer]
parking_break_speed=216.0
hide_logos=1
then I saved it onto my desktop and transfered the file to the folder where I had changed it intially "project_config". It asked me it would replace the same file and I clicked "yes", and voila! it successfully changed it.
You didnt do any sort of uncompressing and recompressing did you?
I dont think so. I know it was done correctly b/c with the speed limit change I could now access the grayed out navigation settings only when I lightly engaged the parking brake, this is while driving. Before the mod, lightly touching on the parking brake would do nothing while I was driving. And yes this is with the parking brake wire from the unit wired to the parking brake wire of my car.
Which line did you actually edit?
See above post
Dont know what your asking in the last question, its very hard to read. 
This is my setup:
Before the software bypass I had my parking brake wire from the unit connected to the parking brake wire of my car, (this is how its supposed to be installed). After I found about this software bypass I tried the bypass on my unit with the parking brake wire connected. Well that didnt work. Then I was told the software bypass only works if the unit's parking brake wire is grounded. Sooo....I tried this too and it didnt work. Hope that answers your question.
if you still have doubts, I think you should attempt it as well. Then if yours doesnt work we can be certain the software bypass only works for the other units. However, I am pretty sure I did everything correctly and that it will not work on the 500BT. 
I'd double check that the parking brake wire is properly grounded. If the software bypass works if you engage the parking brake slightly, then it should work when the parking brake wire is grounded. Having the parking brake engaged slightly just grounds the line.
When you ground the parking brake wire, tie it to the negative / black wire that grounds the nav unit. Use a continuity tester or DMM to verify that it is truly grounded.
You need to disconnect the parking brake lead from the actual parking brake wire in your car and just ground it.
Both bypass mods (the mute wire and the software) require that the parking brake lead be grounding in order to work. Do that and you should be good to go.
When you ground the parking brake wire, tie it to the negative / black wire that grounds the nav unit. Use a continuity tester or DMM to verify that it is truly grounded.
The avic 500bt does not have a ground wire. Uhhh...I dont know what a continuity tester or DMM is. I do have a volt meter?
Skicrave do you mean to disconnect the parking brake wire from the car or disconnect the parking brake wire from the unit and ground that? Just want to clarify.
You need to ground the parking brake wire (which means that the unit will see it as being connected to a ground). So disconnect it from where it's connected to the car, and connect it to a ground source instead. That could be another ground wire, a bolt that goes into the skin or chassis of the car, or even directly to the negative terminal of the battery.
Doing that will make the F-Series think the parking brake is engaged (which is half of the bypass process, the other half is the mute wire or software bypass).
And the F500 must have a ground wire, any electrical component that runs on DC power must have a power and ground connection in order for the circuit to be complete. It's almost always the a black wire, so take a look at your install guide.
Stephanie and I are saying the same thing, we just posted at the same time.
Alright, I am going to try and connect it to the negative terminal of my battery, seems this is the most reliable option. Hopefully that will work. I'll post my results when I am done.
Unless that's easy, I wouldn't go through that much work. Virtually any screw, bolt or nut will work, as long as it goes into a metal panel.
IT WORKS!!!!!! 
Stephanie was right, I wasnt grounding it properly. I first connected it to my negative terminal on my battery to be sure and it worked. Then I found another bolt nearby and it worked too!!
I am so happy.!I am such an idot, I should have checked to make sure it was receiving a proper ground, bolts can be decieving.
I need to re-edit some of my posts. Bypass for thie AVIC 500BT involves software mod and properly grounding the parking brake.
Please don't edit anything, leaving the trail of posts the way they are is education for other people following the same path.
Okay, lots of q's to answer here...
Dont know what your asking in the last question, its very hard to read.
This is my setup:
Before the software bypass I had my parking brake wire from the unit connected to the parking brake wire of my car, (this is how its supposed to be installed). After I found about this software bypass I tried the bypass on my unit with the parking brake wire connected. Well that didnt work. Then I was told the software bypass only works if the unit's parking brake wire is grounded. Sooo....I tried this too and it didnt work. Hope that answers your question.
if you still have doubts, I think you should attempt it as well. Then if yours doesnt work we can be certain the software bypass only works for the other units. However, I am pretty sure I did everything correctly and that it will not work on the 500BT.
Wow, I just re-read my "last question" in that post. You are right, it didn't make any sense. I think I was in a rush when I posted.
Reading your later posts, it seems you figured it out! So exciting! I was getting nervous that I would be pulling my dashboard apart to no avail tomorrow. I plan to ground the p-brake wire to a nice bare metal screw bolted hopefully to some bare-metal on the chassis. I also plan to load up the mod'd data.zip file I have already prep'd. I may up the value to a higher number as well (instead of 128). I have a nice fully integrated install in my Mazda 3, so I want to actually be able to use the darn thing!
You need to ground the parking brake wire (which means that the unit will see it as being connected to a ground). So disconnect it from where it's connected to the car, and connect it to a ground source instead. That could be another ground wire, a bolt that goes into the skin or chassis of the car, or even directly to the negative terminal of the battery.
Doing that will make the F-Series think the parking brake is engaged (which is half of the bypass process, the other half is the mute wire or software bypass).
And the F500 must have a ground wire, any electrical component that runs on DC power must have a power and ground connection in order for the circuit to be complete. It's almost always the a black wire, so take a look at your install guide.
Stephanie and I are saying the same thing, we just posted at the same time.
I too, expected a ground wire, but the F500BT does not have a ground wire in the wire harness! You have p-brake wire, amp wire, reverse wire (for rear view camera), +12V wire, and then stereo output and the cig lighter power input. I think I am missing a wire here, but I know I specifically looked for a ground wire and didn't find it.
Wow, I just re-read my "last question" in that post. You are right, it didn't make any sense. I think I was in a rush when I posted.
Reading your later posts, it seems you figured it out! So exciting! I was getting nervous that I would be pulling my dashboard apart to no avail tomorrow. I plan to ground the p-brake wire to a nice bare metal screw bolted hopefully to some bare-metal on the chassis. I also plan to load up the mod'd data.zip file I have already prep'd. I may up the value to a higher number as well (instead of 128). I have a nice fully integrated install in my Mazda 3, so I want to actually be able to use the darn thing!
Yeah, it was a pretty gratifying moment. But rest assured and dont worry it does work. Its so convenient to be able to access the settings, like screen brightness, etc.. I didnt really do it for the videos.
Maybe the ground for the 500BT is connect to the ground of the cig/car holder.
I too, expected a ground wire, but the F500BT does not have a ground wire in the wire harness! You have p-brake wire, amp wire, reverse wire (for rear view camera), +12V wire, and then stereo output and the cig lighter power input. I think I am missing a wire here, but I know I specifically looked for a ground wire and didn't find it.
Ah, the ground wire is in the cigarette adapter. They don't honestly expect people to plug that thing in to their 12v power port, right? Surely you're going to hardwire it to make the install as clean as possible?
I too, expected a ground wire, but the F500BT does not have a ground wire in the wire harness! You have p-brake wire, amp wire, reverse wire (for rear view camera), +12V wire, and then stereo output and the cig lighter power input. I think I am missing a wire here, but I know I specifically looked for a ground wire and didn't find it.
Ah, the ground wire is in the cigarette adapter. They don't honestly expect people to plug that thing in to their 12v power port, right? Surely you're going to hardwire it to make the install as clean as possible?
Actually they do, but you can make it looks as clean as possible by using a female cig adapter. Just splice it into the car cig adapter. Thats what I did and I place it inside the center console to hide it. Worked out great!
I too, expected a ground wire, but the F500BT does not have a ground wire in the wire harness! You have p-brake wire, amp wire, reverse wire (for rear view camera), +12V wire, and then stereo output and the cig lighter power input. I think I am missing a wire here, but I know I specifically looked for a ground wire and didn't find it.
Ah, the ground wire is in the cigarette adapter. They don't honestly expect people to plug that thing in to their 12v power port, right? Surely you're going to hardwire it to make the install as clean as possible?
Actually they do, but you can make it looks as clean as possible by using a female cig adapter. Just splice it into the car cig adapter. Thats what I did and I place it inside the center console to hide it. Worked out great!
Pancho is right, they expect you to use the cig-lighter for power. I think the +12V is just a trigger for something else. I am not using it. It's a weird setup for the F500BT. It's like they make this option with the huge tangle of a wire harness for embedding the nav unit, but the harness itself doesn't facilitate a super clean install. I am also annoyed by how cheap the stereo wire is - it's very thin. As another negative, the wire harness doesn't provide a line level output, but rather is tied to the independent "volume" on the unit. I thought it would be similar to an ipod, where you have a stereo jack for amplified output, and then the "dock" - or wire harness - providing line-level output. Luckily, i am routing the power and stereo to the hookups inside my arm-rest storage in my Mazda 3, which makes a cleaner install.
A big plus though; because the F500BT has a battery, the unit doesn't fully shutdown when you turn the ignition off. The next time you start up your car, it only takes a few seconds for the unit to power up, and maybe 10-20 for the ipod to resume playing. From my understanding of the F700BT, F900BT, and F90BT, you have to wait for a full boot cycle?
Well, i just grounded the p-brake wire, and uploaded a slightly mod'd "Vorian DATA.ZIP" file. And.............
BAM...everything works! Complete bypass complete. This makes me super happy! Fully installed AVIC-F500BT. Looking good.
Oh yeah, Vorian's ZIP file is such a better way to display info on the nav screen. Love the new default view when you aren't actually using the turn-by-turn, and I love the stop/cancel route button straight on the home screen. I also like being able to tap the street address to go to the route functions.
Thanks for the hard work Vorian (and others who have helped). Any chance that you caught my previous question regarding an on screen option for shutting the LCD off?
-E
Glad to hear yours worked Wyatt! Hopefully newbees with the avic 500bt will read our success and be able to bypass through the software since the hardware mod is non-existant in this unit. We really have to be greatful for such an informative forum with excellent hackers!!
is this skin made my vorian/stephanie 2.0 compliant?
is this skin made my vorian/stephanie 2.0 compliant?
The pieces I lifted out of them are. Granted, I didn't take there data.zips wholesale, but the components I "borrowed" work fine.
--Mav