Alpine IVA-W200 Help Needed

[wharriso]

Hello all! My new Alpine W200 arrived yesterday. I have all the wires soldered to the Metra wiring harness. I thought I would have this thing running today but I ran into a problem:

The yellow/blue and yellow/black wires are supposed to connect to parking brake lead and foot brake lead, respectively. I know there has been a lot of talk on the board about bypassing these wires but I just want to hook them up correctly. I have spent many hours searching here, other places online AND under the car but I'm really not sure what wires to tap into or where. I would hate to connect to the worng wire, that could be a disaster!

Has anyone done this? Any advice?

 

[wharriso]

Okay, I see the switches for both the parking brake and the foot brake but the parking brake switch has these tiny wires that look too fragile to tap, it actually looks like they must be going to a relay somewhere. The foot brake switch appears to have larger wires but they are taped up really tightly. Is it normal to tap these at the switch?

 

[bigandbadranger]

most people bypass them so u can watch the dvd player anytime. i believ there ground but u mite want to check that out for yourself

 

[jluv]

You can't just ground them. That works with some units, but not the W200.

I don't know anyone who has ever installed it the way it instructs regarding the foot brake and parking brake wiring. I have installed this unit twice, and used the PAC-TR7 bypass module. It's cheap, very simple, and works like a charm. I would highly suggest going that route.

If you install it using the parking and foot brake, you will have very little functionality/access to the menu while driving. In fact, you have to go through a routine each time you park to have full use of the unit.

Great head unit, btw. I've got one with all the goodies added.

 

[wharriso]

Thanks guys! I really didn't feel like touching those wires, especially the ones on that footbrake microswitch. I did go ahead and order the TR7 this weekend, I think it was 22 bucks. I installed anyway with the yellow/blue and yellow/black wires rolled up in a bunch. It works pretty well, but I'll need that bypass to turn on the subwoofer and set the clock. I ordered the Sirius and iPod adapters which work fantastic! I don't need the overpriced GPS but has anyone tried the bluetooth adapter? Reviews on it are kinda lousy.

 

[nvrenufedge]

You shouldn't need the PTR7 for subwoofer or clock setup. I have it also. The first time I installed it into my Ranger I hooked those two wires to toggle switches. Now it is in my Explorer with the PTR7. Alot easier!

 

[wharriso]

You shouldn't need the PTR7 for subwoofer or clock setup. I have it also. The first time I installed it into my Ranger I hooked those two wires to toggle switches. Now it is in my Explorer with the PTR7. Alot easier!

What did the other end of the switch go to? Ground?

 

[jluv]

Unfortunately, you can't do Sirius and Bluetooth together through the W200. Luckily, when the W205 and new Blackbird come out, you'll be able to use the Blackbird's built-in blue tooth module to have it work through the head unit. Hopefully they will have everything out in May like they are saying (doubtful though).

 

[nvrenufedge]

What did the other end of the switch go to? Ground?

The yellow/blue went back up to the deck ground. The yellow/black went up to the deck acc power wire.

The only thing that sucked about it. I had to do a combo on the switches to get video everytime I started the truck.

 

[wharriso]

The yellow/blue went back up to the deck ground. The yellow/black went up to the deck acc power wire.

The only thing that sucked about it. I had to do a combo on the switches to get video everytime I started the truck.

Well, the PAC TR-7 showed up today. I'll probably wait till this weekend to install it. Thanks!