Is it safe to tap into the power wire for my deck to run a police scanner?

[Glock23 10+ year member]

I want to know if it'd be safe and ok to splice into my wire harness for my deck and add a power wire that can power my police scanner?

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[wu501 10+ year member]

run a separate fused power wire to either your battery or fuse box.

 

[Glock23 10+ year member]

ty

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

might want to check local laws, in some states unless you are a fire fighter/policeman etc. its illegal to have one in your car or on you

 

[Fusion_FREAK 10+ year member]

I would personally wire it into an ignition power source.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

I would personally wire it into an ignition power source.

x2

Share an ignition/acc fuse with the police scanner.

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

I would make a new wire run from your batt. and fuse it with a switch

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

In IL it is not illegal to have a scanner. You should determine how many watts/amps the scanner is rated for. Looking up the model specs online should give this info. This will allow you to determine if you can splice into an existing power wire or if you'll have to run a new one.

Also keep in mind that if you run RCAs/amps, you could possibly induce ground loop noise if you ground the scanner poorly.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

if it does draw a lot of power and needs its own dedicated power wire you can always use a relay to hook it up to an ignition fuse so it's still only on when the car is...