Will my car stereo drain the battery if it is hooked directly to the battery for power?”
The radio is driven by the accessory circuit, which also powers your cigarette lighter outlet. If that circuit is working, then tapping into it would be pretty much the same as patching the original wiring. if you are intent on keeping the radio driven directly from the battery, it will be all right so long as you have the circuit fused correctly. Detachable faceplate radios are powered off when the faceplate is removed, so it any any other circuit – like a relay pickup for an amplifier – that it powers will not draw any current to drain the battery. You can get an inline fuse connector for the car at any auto parts or car stereo store. It will look like this: Find out from your existing fuse block what size fuse you need for the radio.
