Alpine CDA-7893 Question
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=10921
Printed Date: August 14, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Topic: Alpine CDA-7893 Question
Posted By: underground
Subject: Alpine CDA-7893 Question
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 8:39 AM
I bought a Alpine CDA-7893 and have a question. Do I have to run an amp kit (power wire) for this deck or is there somewhere to wire up the memory wire? The wire says "WARNING High current draw Connect directly to fuse block or battery Do not connect behind dashboard" The manual says " Use an extension Battery Lead(20A) and connect it directly to the positive (+) side of vehicle's battery. So could I wire it up to the vehicle's Constant from the ignition switch? If you have any ideas as to how to hook this up I am listening. Thanks in advance.
Replies:
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:17 AM
You cannot use the stock constant you need to run a direct line. No you don’t need an amp install kit. However you will need to run a + cable directly from the battery to the back of the head unit. Now I like to run a 10 gauge wire, you will also need to fuse that cable within 18 inches of the battery with a 20 amp fuse.
Posted By: dragonrage
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 8:43 PM
20A is not very much, I did it fine before by just replacing the radio fuse...
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2009 Pontiac G8 in planning stage
HU: ?
Speakers: ?
Amps: ?
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 9:38 PM
You need to run a direct line from the battery to the head. You cannot just put a larger fuse on the circuit that your radios power harness is connected to.
Posted By: esmith69
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 9:39 PM
Posted By: dragonrage
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 9:43 PM
Well, I suppose it depends on the car. The fuse block will certainly not mind another 10A, but I suppose the wire from the fuse block to the stereo could be pretty thin. You could probably get away with just replacing that....I've put a 30A fuse and run a small amp off of the radio circuit before, hehe, but I ran a larger wire from the fuse block.. (and no, I'm not talking about the same setup in my sig :) ------------- 2009 Pontiac G8 in planning stage
HU: ?
Speakers: ?
Amps: ?
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 9:52 PM
well there is a right way and a wrong way! the wrong way will cost you much more time and money in the long run.
Posted By: dragonrage
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:03 PM
The only right way is not running a wire straight from the battery, that's overkill. But if it's easier than running a better wire from the fuse block, then you could do it. When I did it, the fuse block had a clip for another wire right next to the fuse so I used that and replaced the fuse. It would be neater to just replace the wire from the fuse block to the radio.
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2009 Pontiac G8 in planning stage
HU: ?
Speakers: ?
Amps: ?
Posted By: underground
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:14 PM
I ended up running a 10 gauge wire with a 20 amp fuse like the manual says.Straight off the battery. Thanks for the help guys. Everything works fine.
Posted By: esmith69
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:15 PM
Changed my mind, I WILL comment. Only time I EVER replaced a fuse with one that had a larger rating was when I did a head unit in a taurus with the oval dash, and it kept on blowing the 5 amp "radio" fuse once you had the volume up to about 75%. Even though the factory wire was at least 14-gauge, I know they only put a 5amp fuse in there because with all stock equipment that 5 amp fused wire will just be running the radio control unit, not the amp/tuner. So even though the wire could obviously handle a bigger fuse, there is never a need for them to do so at the factory. Still, I only wanted to step up to a 10amp fuse, but sure enough it did the trick. but I highly recommend that you do not do this unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing. And even if you're 100% sure about everything, it's still not a good habit to get in to.
Posted By: dragonrage
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:18 PM
14ga wire is what, 15A?
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2009 Pontiac G8 in planning stage
HU: ?
Speakers: ?
Amps: ?
Posted By: dragonrage
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:19 PM
and that's for decent length runs (like in a house)
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2009 Pontiac G8 in planning stage
HU: ?
Speakers: ?
Amps: ?
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:23 PM
well
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: March 15, 2003 at 10:27 PM
Sorry for the well hit post on accident. Yes 10 gauge is an over kill all he really needs is 12 but it doesn’t hurt to use a gauge to large. But any ways glad to hear that you got it installed and working properly.
Posted By: ntg84
Date Posted: March 16, 2003 at 5:52 PM
i never upgraded that wire, its been fine for 3 months, but I'm also not powering the internal amp
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