Maybe I shouldve waited before i got my 2nd deck before posting this, but i figured what the hell cuz this place is so great with answering questions...
but anyways, i have a single din DVD/CD/AM/FM tuner already installed in the car. im gonna add a single din flip out LCD. i was just thinking how i would power this thing up, since my other deck is already hooked up to the stock harness. can i tap into the stereo power, as well as other wires that may need to be hooked up (like dimmer)? i assume i have to find a new grounding point. that sucks cuz im gonna have to find another grounding point to bypass the parking brake lockout. thanks in advance!
First, you can hook your power right along with your other deck. Second, I wouldnt hook up dimmer to ethier of your decks. If something was to go wrong with ethier of them it could short out your lights. Third, you should ground evreything together it prevents ground loops and bad sound. Just find a nice of metal and ground evreything there.
you should be fine with hooking up the dimmer/illumination wires to the harness, but if you don't need the feature don't hook it up as they can be more trouble than they're worth. You can probably also hook up to the same switched +12 volt wire. As for the constant power, you might want to think about running another wire, maybe even a fused wire to the battery. It all depends on how much power your dvd and your monitor use, and how much power the fuse for the radio's harness is rated for. If your head unit draws nearly all of the power that the radio harness can provide without blowing the fuse, then you'll need to find another place to get the power from.
And yes use the same grounding point for multiple components to prevent ground loops and such
thanks for the tip. i always thought i needed to find separate grounds for some reason. that helps me out. i need the dimmer hooked up to the deck so i can see what buttons do what at night. but i think i'll jus leave the LCD deck alone and jus connect power and ground.
you guys are too quick! thanks again