Enabling the Nav system to work while moving

[skimaniaz]

I have been reading away online and over at ford-trucks.com BeerStalker had a good post about disabling to VSS wire as needed. One of the links went to a PDF with a pinout on the back of the unit and a few other links talked about installing a switch. Has anyone got the unit to work completely while the vehicle is moving? Wondering if there is a better way or if this is a good way?

 

 

PDF of pinouts: http://www.discountcarstereo.com/pdf/frd04-aux.pdf (page 3)

 

Some other links that explained the switch

 

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/01/h...navigation.html

http://www.hackszine.com/blog/archive/2008...lockout_on.html

[akirby]

Or you could just put in your destinations before you leave. Or pull over and stop.

 

Seriously - how often do you need to put in a new destination while you're moving?

[mano1192]

when installing aftermarket nav units you permenatly ground the wire thats suposed to go to the parking break. Same situation here.

 

HTH

[akirby]

when installing aftermarket nav units you permenatly ground the wire thats suposed to go to the parking break. Same situation here.

 

HTH

 

What's a parking break?

[skimaniaz]

Or you could just put in your destinations before you leave. Or pull over and stop.

 

Seriously - how often do you need to put in a new destination while you're moving?

 

 

Sorry, didn't realize this was one of those forums.

[fakesnake]

Sorry, didn't realize this was one of those forums.

 

I hope that people know that this isn't one of those Forums and that this is the exact area of the Forum that this level of informed discussion is supposed to be discussed. Otherwise why have a forum except to have everyone say yeah I left it stock and boy am is it perfect just the way it is.

 

I have the Ford Nav and I have a Garmin for my other car. Programming while driving is child's play. Programming while underway is locked out of the Ford system because of potential litigation. I don't like to sit on the side of the road every time I want to program my Nav and also when I want

to look for music on Sirius. I actually resent this feature a great deal. So if you find a way please post a reply and forget about the Nav-nannies.

[akirby]

I didn't say you shouldn't do it, I was simply pointing out that it's a minor inconvenience with an easy workaround for 99% of drivers.

 

And if you think it's safe for the driver to enter an address while driving then please let me know where you live so I can avoid driving in that area. Now having the passenger do it is entirely different but right now there's no way to tell the difference.

 

The ultimate solution is probably voice recognition which is either already available or coming soon on some vehicles.

[Grey]

My wife usually drives. I want the option of programming the GPS while moving from the passenger seat.

 

While moving, we frequently want to find local POIs, and ocassionally revise our destination.

 

Once you accept responsibility, the Ford system should permit "Navigator" use of the GPS features.

 

Just my opinion, nothing humble about it.

[Lex Talionis]

Now, what would be cool is if they could do it such that if the car senses a person in the passenger seat, like it does with air bags, it unlocked the ability to program the GPS while moving... sure, nothing stops the driver from reaching over and doing it.. but hey, seems they would kind of have liability covered then.

 

I mean heck.. we are all adults.. it is kind of absurd you cannot do it on a built in GPS but every after market Tom Tom and what not - which are designed to be in your car and exactly how they market them - can be tweaked while driving.

 

for them to blame it on riskiness of behavior and thus liability is a crock... you can take all kinds of other much much much higher risks while driving your car.. what happens if you bought a Ford without the Sync, but need to use your phone for example & don't have an ear piece.. but heaven forbid you try to tweak your GPS.. what's next, a limiter to speed at 85 as no where in the USA can you drive faster anyway so why not stop our ability to do that risky move as well. why have a Ford showing a top end speed of what... 120 mph. People are not dying programming GPS, but they are rocketing their cars down the road at 100+ mph so how they justify one limiter and use the liability clause and not another is just corporate BS.

 

Yes, I can drive, listen to music and/or talk on the phone or with a person in the car and/or even tweak a GPS all at the same time. God gave us multi-tasking ability, I use mine.

[akirby]

Now, what would be cool is if they could do it such that if the car senses a person in the passenger seat, like it does with air bags, it unlocked the ability to program the GPS while moving... sure, nothing stops the driver from reaching over and doing it.. but hey, seems they would kind of have liability covered then.

 

I mean heck.. we are all adults.. it is kind of absurd you cannot do it on a built in GPS but every after market Tom Tom and what not - which are designed to be in your car and exactly how they market them - can be tweaked while driving.

 

for them to blame it on riskiness of behavior and thus liability is a crock... you can take all kinds of other much much much higher risks while driving your car.. what happens if you bought a Ford without the Sync, but need to use your phone for example & don't have an ear piece.. but heaven forbid you try to tweak your GPS.. what's next, a limiter to speed at 85 as no where in the USA can you drive faster anyway so why not stop our ability to do that risky move as well. why have a Ford showing a top end speed of what... 120 mph. People are not dying programming GPS, but they are rocketing their cars down the road at 100+ mph so how they justify one limiter and use the liability clause and not another is just corporate BS.

 

Yes, I can drive, listen to music and/or talk on the phone or with a person in the car and/or even tweak a GPS all at the same time. God gave us multi-tasking ability, I use mine.

 

A - just because you can multi-task doesn't mean the average person can. And I'm not saying you can, either, just pointing out that nobody is immune to being distracted while driving.

 

B - there is absolutely no other reason for Ford to do this EXCEPT to avoid potential liability in the event of an accident. They're not the only one - most other mfrs do the same thing, for the same reason. Why is a portable GPS different? Because it's not MADE to be used in a moving vehicle (necessarily).

 

Personally, I feel that having a warning on the startup screen that says not to operate the nav system manually while driving would be enough. Unfortunately, many juries do not and the vehicle mfrs stand to lose millions in a lawsuit.

 

For reference, a bunch of underage, drunk teenagers ran off the road in an Explorer without wearing seatbelts and flipped it. One of the front seat occupants (don't remember if it was the driver or not) was thrown through the door glass (ejected) and died. His family sued Ford on the basis that had Ford used laminated glass in the doors instead of safety glass, the occupant would not have been ejected. Never mind that every mfr in the U.S. used safety glass at the time (and probably still do). Never mind that they were drunk, underaged, not wearing seatbelts and ran off the road. The jury gave the family a multi-million dollar settlement. I don't remember if it was overturned or not.

 

That's why we have these ridiculous rules and warnings on products and restrictions on what you can do or not do.

[Lex Talionis]

That's why we have these ridiculous rules and warnings on products and restrictions on what you can do or not do.

 

we can agree on that point.

 

and yes, my claim of multi-tasking ability was no joke. why, at the very moment I am writing this I am also listening to a satellite radio, eating, texting a buddy, coding a project, reading an email and surfing the internets. amazingly honed skillz after 30 years practice.

[fraychild]

Well, how about we all stick to the topic at hand - This thread wasn't originally built to discuss the advantages or disatvantages of bypassing/disabling the safety feature - So let's stay on track here and keep it informative shall we?

From my experience, Aftermarket Navigations usually require that you ground the parking brake wire - for many Pioneer Units you can get that kind of information at www.AVIC411.com - But for Factory installed systems, since you don't always have a "parking brake wire" to work with, they usually rely on the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) wire to determine whether the car is in motion - You'll find this to be true in Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep cars. Also, in some others, such as the Toyotas/Scions, cutting the VSS wire from the stock harness will allow full control of the system while driving; in which case the navigation system of the vehicle is then guided solely by the GPS antenna...

I can't express how much I mess around with my AVIC-D2 while driving, I would've hated the unit if I didn't bypass it...

I'm not sure about the Ford Edge - but if anyone has that information, it would be greatly appreciated if it was shared -

[akirby]

I can't express how much I mess around with my AVIC-D2 while driving, I would've hated the unit if I didn't bypass it...

 

And you don't think that's dangerous?

[Lex Talionis]

I can't express how much I mess around with my AVIC-D2 while driving, I would've hated the unit if I didn't bypass it...

I'm not sure about the Ford Edge - but if anyone has that information, it would be greatly appreciated if it was shared -

 

I would love to have this info as well if it is possible. I would mod it in a heart beat if I could disable that feature and open the nav to use while driving.

[NYEdge]

I would also love to have access to the navigation while driving.

 

One thing that annoys me is that when you arrive to your destination the screen does not show the address you input.

I go to see potential customers all day long and I have to check my paperwork for the house number.

My Tom-Tom shows the street name and bldg. number upon arrival.

[akirby]

I would also love to have access to the navigation while driving.

 

One thing that annoys me is that when you arrive to your destination the screen does not show the address you input.

I go to see potential customers all day long and I have to check my paperwork for the house number.

My Tom-Tom shows the street name and bldg. number upon arrival.

 

The new Nav system in the MKS, 2009 Escape and I'm sure many other 09/10 models allows you to input a destination by voice command while moving. THAT is the safe way to do it, not by allowing you to type in an address while driving at the same time.

 

What functions (other than typing in a new address) do you need to do while moving that you can't?

[Lex Talionis]

One thing that annoys me is that when you arrive to your destination the screen does not show the address you input.

 

don't hold me to this for sure.. but I thought when you hit that "time to destination" button below the scale arrows it showed ETA and location details? or is it just ETA?

[NYEdge]

don't hold me to this for sure.. but I thought when you hit that "time to destination" button below the scale arrows it showed ETA and location details? or is it just ETA?

 

Your right Lex.

 

I just went outside to try it, and it does display the street address.

I'll just hit that upon arriving at the destination to remind me of the house number.

 

Thanks, I'm not one for reading user manuals, but they might actually help sometimes. :P

[mano1192]

Here is the solution to your question.

 

All navigation system have a wire that is connected to the parking brake, or senses when the car is in park. This should be easy to test, the wire should go to ground(or 12v) when you put the car in park. There are 2 work arounds for this.

 

1) Install a rocker switch inline with that wire and the other end to ground. Simply flip the switch and the vehicle thinks its in park fully enabling all GPS features. This is what I have done on hundreds of aftermarket and stock nav systems.

 

2) You can permanently ground the brake wire. I would strongly advise against this as many of the newer head units know about this old trick and require a sequence to unlock. This wont be the case with a stock system, but not advisable.

 

Keep in mind that the parking wire on the ford unit may actually be triggered on a 12v signal and not ground, I am just writing on personal experience and have not installed a switch on a factory ford edge unit yet. Please test your wires and verify you have the correct wire. Also good practice is to install a fuse inline if the signal is a 12v wire.

 

I have a rocker switch on my aftermarket kenwood nav unit in my 08' edge and its great to have the ability for the co-pilot to input a address when moving. I for one dont believe a machine should be telling me when I can or cant do something, but please don't be inputting while driving, it is VERY dangerous, be safe!

[akirby]

but please don't be inputting while driving, it is VERY dangerous, be safe!

 

Some people don't seem to understand that....

 

I can't express how much I mess around with my AVIC-D2 while driving, I would've hated the unit if I didn't bypass it...

[Lex Talionis]

but please don't be inputting while driving, it is VERY dangerous, be safe!

 

Some people seem to think it is infinitely more dangerous than all the other things you do in the car while driving, and have been doing for years. Often, those people also seem to think that the only person who would use this ability would be the driver, often over looking a very capable passenger.

[Lex Talionis]

Here is the solution to your question.

 

All navigation system have a wire that is connected to the parking brake, or senses when the car is in park. This should be easy to test, the wire should go to ground(or 12v) when you put the car in park. There are 2 work arounds for this.

 

1) Install a rocker switch inline with that wire and the other end to ground. Simply flip the switch and the vehicle thinks its in park fully enabling all GPS features. This is what I have done on hundreds of aftermarket and stock nav systems.

 

2) You can permanently ground the brake wire. I would strongly advise against this as many of the newer head units know about this old trick and require a sequence to unlock. This wont be the case with a stock system, but not advisable.

 

Keep in mind that the parking wire on the ford unit may actually be triggered on a 12v signal and not ground, I am just writing on personal experience and have not installed a switch on a factory ford edge unit yet. Please test your wires and verify you have the correct wire. Also good practice is to install a fuse inline if the signal is a 12v wire.

 

I have a rocker switch on my aftermarket kenwood nav unit in my 08' edge and its great to have the ability for the co-pilot to input a address when moving. I for one dont believe a machine should be telling me when I can or cant do something, but please don't be inputting while driving, it is VERY dangerous, be safe!

 

thanks for the info on this and to see someone has done it on some car. My one question, as per option #1, the one I would personally do as I have already rewired other functions in my car with rocker switches (my inside lights you can read elsewhere) is what other system is affected by this ground? That is, I wonder if the backup sensors or computer diagnostic system some or other function or feature would be adversely affected if the ground were left open? Am I correctly assuming part of the point of the toggle is not just to be able to select it to be open or closed ground, but that it would be flipped while driving (versus right from start) to disengage the ground and free up the nav? As I wonder what would happen if you left the circuit open, toggle on, for other features or sensors or computer diagnostics?

[akirby]

I just don't understand why you would need to enter a NEW address while moving so often that this becomes an issue. Don't you have the address before you start? Given that you can store multiple addresses and select them as destinations while you're moving - I just don't see the NEED to do this more than once in a blue moon. Or is it just a case of being lazy and not putting the address in before you leave?

[Lex Talionis]

I just do not understand why it is such an issue for you? Why you even care and constantly jab at people that want the feature? I HAVE needed to do this very thing on 2 occasions I could think of when plans changed at the last minute from where we were suppose to go (here they are so you can understand how it might happen: once to a restaurant we planned to meet friends at only to find out in mid drive they were closed, so we all decided to meet at one they knew of in the same general area before we went to the Padres game and another time when we were meeting some friends on a short road trip and the Park and Ride we planned to meet at was closed for construction so we picked a new destination to meet at in an area I did not know). I then called Goggle 411 (a killer free service), got the new addresses, and then had to negotiate a sketchy freeway pull over while my chick input it and we resumed. In both instances, meeting time mattered as we had a tight schedule to keep.

 

So whether you see a need or not or have had it happens... whatever... others do.. it should really just be left at that. Good Lord, people are adults and can make decisions. The mere fact that other nav systems and stand alone nav systems allow you do it on the fly all make this such a moot point as it can be done safely, it is tiring to debate the safety of it or not. Everyone knows that at this stage. But so is drinking & eating, adjusting radio & putting in a CD, talking on cell phone, laughing with friend in the car, watching for turn offs and signs for your destination, putting on makeup for heavens sake... blah blah blah

[akirby]

So whether you see a need or not or have had it happens... whatever... others do.. it should really just be left at that. Good Lord, people are adults and can make decisions. The mere fact that other nav systems and stand alone nav systems allow you do it on the fly all make this such a moot point as it can be done safely, it is tiring to debate the safety of it or not. Everyone knows that at this stage. But so is drinking & eating, adjusting radio & putting in a CD, talking on cell phone, laughing with friend in the car, watching for turn offs and signs for your destination, putting on makeup for heavens sake... blah blah blah

 

Why do I care? Because some idiot who's trying to type in an address might just cross the center line and hit me or my family head on. And typing in an address takes your eyes off the road much longer than most other distractions. You can't prevent a driver from eating, reading or otherwise not paying attention to the road, but this is one feature that can be controlled.

 

I understand it's a nice feature for the passenger to use - unfortunately they can't reliably tell whether it's the passenger or driver using it. There is only one mfr that offers this feature from the factory according to Ford - all others use the same type of safety lockout.

 

My point is that it's such a trivial inconvenience to pull over to the side of the road or get off the interstate once or twice a year compared to depending on drivers to be mature and responsible and not take their eyes off the road. We let 16 year olds drive now - would you trust one not to be playing with their nav system?