Hey guys!

So I've heard this error happens with bypasses or whatever. I mean I'm not necessarily trying to bypass it, I'd just like to be able to not have this message each time I start up the system.

The message I get says something like "The parking brake lead is not properly connected" and I have to hit "OK" to be able to access any radio functions. I've taken the radio out and looked at the wiring, the parking brake is twisted around the "Reverse Gear Signal Input" wire and was electrical taped together. I did not install this radio in the car, I bought the car with the radio pre-installed. I'm not sure why it's set up this way. The mute wire bypass hasn't been done either.

I've tried grounding the parking brake wire (I basically just touched the exposed copper to many metal surfaces that should've been grounded) but it continued to print the message each time. 

I have updated the firmware to whatever the latest is on Pioneer's site as I was trying to get the iPhone 5/6 compatibility for the aux input (my unit needs the phone connected via USB before it allows me to access the iPod channel, don't know if this is normal, but assuming it is)

I'd like this parking brake message to go away. I could attach it to the actual parking brake lead but I'm unsure how to properly do that/access the lead in my specific car (2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1) so ideally I'm looking for another solution.

Another problem I've been experiencing that's less annoying is that whenever I plug my phone into the USB port and plug in the aux, it goes to the iPod channel, then switches to Pandora even if the app isn't open as the active app or even in the background. Also, sometimes I have to unplug the aux and replug it back in for the system to actually play the audio. It'll show on the screen/phone that it's playing the song actively but until I unplug/replug the aux in, it is quiet. The phone detects that it is outputting sound via 3.5mm but the radio doesn't detect the input right away. Maybe this has to do with me plugging my phone in after the car has been started? Not sure.

If you don't want to do the bypass, then install the parking brake wire correctly. Here's the installation manual.

x930bt

Someone else had that problem with Pandora. Here is his fix:

I found a solution, and it's so simple. I removed all apps from the recent used list, and powered off the phone. Hold the power button until the swipe to shutoff appears, then wait a minute. Hit the power button again. After that, it worked like normal, at least for my drive this morning.

 

I have to remember to reboot the iPhone after updates, this is not the first time I have had issues after an update that were solved with a reboot.

If you don't want to do the bypass, then install the parking brake wire correctly. Here's the installation manual.

x930bt

 

Someone else had that problem with Pandora. Here is his fix:

Thanks for the Pandora issue fix.

I'm looking to do whichever is easier. If the bypass is easier, I will do that. I'm not sure how hard it'll be to access the parking brake wire.

Is there a reason why it would say it's improperly connected or whatever when grounded? Maybe I somehow grounded it wrong? I touched it to a metal plate around the shifter (I have an auto, not a manual) and it didn't work. Touched it to metal bolts on the door/frame and it still didn't work.

Is it possible I have the "upgraded" version that requires the pulsing connection or whatever? I've read something about that.

Thanks for the Pandora issue fix.

 

I'm looking to do whichever is easier. If the bypass is easier, I will do that. I'm not sure how hard it'll be to access the parking brake wire.

 

Is there a reason why it would say it's improperly connected or whatever when grounded? Maybe I somehow grounded it wrong? I touched it to a metal plate around the shifter (I have an auto, not a manual) and it didn't work. Touched it to metal bolts on the door/frame and it still didn't work.

 

Is it possible I have the "upgraded" version that requires the pulsing connection or whatever? I've read something about that.

In the installation manual diagram (pg 12) it isn't grounded. It taps off the positive side of the parking brake switch. As far as usefulness, the bypass is much better. You don't have to be parked to do many functions - like enter a destination. Your passenger can do it while you are driving.

In the installation manual diagram (pg 12) it isn't grounded. It taps off the positive side of the parking brake switch. As far as usefulness, the bypass is much better. You don't have to be parked to do many functions - like enter a destination. Your passenger can do it while you are driving.

Ah, that would explain my problem! I kept reading forums and everyone said "Just ground the wire" so I was sitting there grounding it wondering why it didn't properly detect it.

Do you have any recommendations on the bypass? Like for my system (since I updated the firmware) is there a kit I have to buy or can I just use that mute wire bypass thing?

Plenty of info already on how to do this. Google it. AFAIK it's the same as Z110 and there are several Youtube videos. Hardest part is removing the headunit from the dash so you  can get to the harness. While a kit isn't necessary it if you have some patience and luck, you can buy a kit such as this -> Bypass kit Kits usually inclde an extra wire that plugs into the Pioneer power harness. This avoids the difficulty of removing and using an unused wire (usually Mute). Sometimes the wire gets loose or broken in the process.

Plenty of info already on how to do this. Google it. AFAIK it's the same as Z110 and there are several Youtube videos. Hardest part is removing the headunit from the dash so you  can get to the harness. While a kit isn't necessary it if you have some patience and luck, you can buy a kit such as this -> Bypass kit Kits usually inclde an extra wire that plugs into the Pioneer power harness. This avoids the difficulty of removing and using an unused wire (usually Mute). Sometimes the wire gets loose or broken in the process.

I'm just worried that bypassing it would cause the "Improper connection of Parking Brake lead" message thing. Reading the reviews, someone asked if it would get rid of that annoying message that happens each time it turns on, two people say it doesn't. That's my main problem with it. I guess I'll just have to properly connect it to get rid of that message. I've googled the bypasses multiple times and it shows how to do it, but I can't find one that shows the message not popping up. I'll continue searching to try and figure out if it'll go away with the bypass.

First off, I've never seem a bigger bunch of idiots than the the people who answer questions on Amazon. They usually contradict each other. I bet the morons who said they still had the message either did it wrong or they were talking about the "nag screen" message (which is a totally different message and this doesn't fix).

2nd - If you read the actual reviews, most give it 5 stars. And some of the dissenting reviews complained it wasn't necessary or was overpriced for what it is (both correct). However it's only $13 so it isn't a big risk. I chose the "free" method and just moved the mute wire. Or you could just wire the PB sensor wire correctly and live with it. It's up to you.

First off, I've never seem a bigger bunch of idiots than the the people who answer questions on Amazon. They usually contradict each other. I bet the morons who said they still had the message either did it wrong or they were talking about the "nag screen" message (which is a totally different message and this doesn't fix).

2nd - If you read the actual reviews, most give it 5 stars. And some of the dissenting reviews complained it wasn't necessary or was overpriced for what it is (both correct). However it's only $13 so it isn't a big risk. I chose the "free" method and just moved the mute wire. Or you could just wire the PB sensor wire correctly and live with it. It's up to you.

Okay, thank you so much for your help so far. I was worried that the bypass wouldn't get rid of the brake message, as even in a 5 star review he says that the parking brake message will pop up once a month or so.

I'll try either the kit or getting the same gauge of wire (as it looks like the kit only includes a wire, pin, and instructions) first, if that doesn't work I'll just connect the parking brake wire. My main concern is just getting rid of this message, but the extra features I would get by doing the bypass will be worth it if I can in fact get rid of it.

Thanks again

First off, I've never seem a bigger bunch of idiots than the the people who answer questions on Amazon. They usually contradict each other. I bet the morons who said they still had the message either did it wrong or they were talking about the "nag screen" message (which is a totally different message and this doesn't fix).

2nd - If you read the actual reviews, most give it 5 stars. And some of the dissenting reviews complained it wasn't necessary or was overpriced for what it is (both correct). However it's only $13 so it isn't a big risk. I chose the "free" method and just moved the mute wire. Or you could just wire the PB sensor wire correctly and live with it. It's up to you.

Just did the mute wire bypass. I was worried that doing it might cause issues or something as I've read things about if you updated the X930BT this wouldn't be possible, people claiming all you had to do was ground the parking brake wire (without specifying that you had to do the mute wire switch as well) and then people complaining about the message even with the bypass. As you've brought up, these people were probably talking about the nav message, not the parking brake one, or they installed it improperly.

I asked someone for help to make sure I wasn't messing up, so together we got the mute wire out and back in the other slot. We then bridged it with the parking brake wire, undid it from the reverse wire it was previously connected to, and grounded that on the radio mounting bracket as that made the message go away.

After starting and stopping the car a few times, we confirmed the message has gone away and we tested the entering an address while driving as well as accessing bluetooth settings (I don't think this was possible before) and both of those seem to work. 

Thanks for working me through this, it's my first car as well as my first advanced radio that I've used/tried anything like this on. I was worried that I was either going to screw something up while doing it or do something that wouldn't have worked/may have caused other issues.

Excellent. As with anything, there's a million ways to screw something up an one way to do it right. One intermittent problem that has happened more than once - when inserting the moved Mute wire - sometimes it doesn't seat all the way. So that results in intermittent error messages. That may account for some of those "I get it once a month" cases.

Excellent. As with anything, there's a million ways to screw something up an one way to do it right. One intermittent problem that has happened more than once - when inserting the moved Mute wire - sometimes it doesn't seat all the way. So that results in intermittent error messages. That may account for some of those "I get it once a month" cases.

That would make sense. We jammed the wire in and made sure it "locked" in. Don't think it'll be coming out.

I just wish there wasn't so much misinformation on the internet or information that could be relevant but they don't specify how to check (as in "if you updated" rather than "if you're on firmware/maps x.x, you can't do this")