Help with or options to Jensen AV system

[Furthermore]

We have a 2014 Solera on a Sprinter chassis. It came with a Jensen VM9726BT AV package. The touchscreen function is not intuitive, at least not to us. The current issue is we can't play a DVD because the system thinks the parking brake is not on. I called the dealer we bought the RV from and the service guy suggested getting rid of the Jensen. I called Jensen and the rep said she never heard of the problem and to try a system reset, which we did to no avail. Any one else have this problem and have a solution? Anyone support the "get rid of the Jensen" approach and find happiness with a different AV system (radio, DVD, GPS, Bluetooth?) We have no intention of signing up with Sirius and would prefer that not be a constant presence on the screen.

[JLeising]

Not familiar with the Jensen, but on the Magnadyne our coach came with - and on the Kenwood I replaced it with - the parking brake lockout sensed from a wire that connected to the parking brake switch. Can't remember which, but either leaving this wire disconnected, or connecting it to ground eliminated the lockout.
So - problem may be the wire is broken, shorted to ground, or the parking brake switch may be defective.

I did replace the Magnadyne with a Kenwood that does not have GPS, and added a standalone GPS. Much happier with the Kenwood and the Garmin.

[DaveJordan]

I've posted the VM9726BT Operating Instructions here (I hope you can get them...):

Forest River Forums - Downloads - Jensen VM9726BT Operating Instructions

I've also posted the VM9726BT Installation Guide here:

Forest River Forums - Downloads - Jensen VM9726BT Installation Guide

According to page 21 of the Operating Instructions:

Parking Brake Inhibit
• When the pink “Parking” wire is connected to the vehicle Parking Brake circuit, the front TFT monitor will display video when the Parking Brake is engaged. (When the pink wire is grounded via the Parking Brake circuit, video will be displayed.)

So...it looks like you can avoid the whole parking brake thing by connecting the appropriate "pink wire" to ground. (Note that the Installation Guide is mighty thin, but does include a diagram of the back-of-the-unit connections, including the parking brake...)

Good luck!
Dave

[bcunning]

We replaced our Jensen with a Pioneer AVH-X490BS and we are very happy with it - much better than the Jensen.



I can't remember now what went wrong with the Jensen but my frustration led to giving up on it.



The pioneer was a perfect fit - had it installed by a local business that did sound systems for vehicles.

[bcunning]

Regarding GPS - we much preferred the Garmin and got the one designed for RV use with features like using the height of your RV to avoid routes with underpasses that are too low. Much better than the Jensen feature.

[KayleysMom]

We have a Pioneer in dash radio/dvd/cd player in our 2017 Forester 2861DS. We have to engage the parking brake, release it, then engage it AGAIN before the dvd will play. Maybe give that a try.

[Photo Lab]

The reason behind the parking brake lockout is a very basic safety issue, namely keeping you from watching a movie while attempting to drive. RVs of course have a very different situation in that the dash unit is used to furnish audio/video to the TVs while parked. The "pink wire" solution sounds like the best available treatment.

On occasion, the manufacturers/designers of electronics don't actually deserve the negatives...but on other occasions, they do.

[lacamastraveler]

"Anyone support the "get rid of the Jensen" approach and find happiness with a different AV system (radio, DVD, GPS, Bluetooth?) We have no intention of signing up with Sirius and would prefer that not be a constant presence on the screen.[/QUOTE]

The Jensen is a very poor quality system. You didn't mention if you use the navigation function of your Jensen (I didn't because Garmin is so much better) so I replace my Jensen with the Pioneer AVH-601X. It does have Sirrus radio but I know you can find models without.

I wouldn't spend much time trying to fix the Jensen.

[KatanaPilot]

Here is a post I made early last year replacing the Jensen DVD/NAV unit with a much more capable Kenwood.

It has a built in Garmin Nav system and a much better user interface - although even the Kenwood has a steep learning curve.

It was an expensive mod, but it's only money...

[Tombsy]

Parking brake bypasses are cheap, but I would never condone watching while driving lol.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/BestBypass-...4AAOSwtfhYq0dW