closing a circuit programatically if ground can't be interrupted

Question

I need to be able to "push" a button on a control panel using python and an arduino board.

My problem here is that the button in question, when depressed, sends 16 vdc to an outgoing wire that disappears into the bowels of a very large machine. Isolating the ground that completes the button's circuit is infeasible at best although it has continuity to the machine's frame so it could still be joined to an arduino's ground.

This is a problem for me because, with my limited knowledge of electronics, I'm only familiar with methods involving closing the ground using an NPN transistor or an optocoupler connected to an arduino's pin.

If I can share the ground but have no way of turning it off is it still possible to connect the break in the positive wire just as the button does manually with either NPN/PNP transistors, an optocoupler or a combination of both?

I ask because I have several boxes with dozens of types of these but no suitable relays.

Not expecting a schematic but if someone could fill in some of the holes in my knowledge or maybe point me to some appropriate Google search terms I'd be very appreciative.

Answer 1

I would use a relay for this application. The Arduino would operate the relay, probably with the aid of an NPN transistor, and the relay contacts would be connected in parallel with the switch.

The relay provides galvanic isolation, and the contacts won't care whether they are switching AC or DC, or what polarity DC, or what voltages the contacts are relative to the Arduino ground. (Assuming the contacts have an appropriate rating for the current they are switching.)