power to an uninstalled CD player

[lazytiger]

I took my Alpine CD player out of my old car and am still debating whether to put it in my Vibe. But I have a more immediate concern - I think I might have left a CD in the player. So I'm wondering what's the safest/easiest way to hook up the deck just so I can hit the eject button?

[joatmon]

do you have a wire harness for the Alpine, or just the connector ont he back? if you had something that breaks out the 12V and ground to individual wires, you could probably touch them to the proper battery terminals in the vibe long enough to hit the eject button

[lazytiger]

Yes, I have the original harness for the Alpine. I think I can figure it out - just touch the battery wire (yellow) to the + terminal and the ground wire (black) to the chassis. But is this safe, even for a few seconds? Thanks!

[joatmon]

Assuming that the yellow wire is the +12V supply to the alpine and the black wire is the ground, that's what I would do, but I don't know which color wire does what in that harness. However, (engage (removed) cover) if you try that and something bad happens, I'll be sorry but not responsible

[lazytiger]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »Assuming that the yellow wire is the +12V supply to the alpine and the black wire is the groundI have the schematic for the harness... I definitely know which wire is which. But I'm worried nonetheless. As long as the connection is solid (maybe taping the ground to the chassis and THEN touch the power lead to the battery) it's not really any different than if it was installed in the dash, right?The other (perhaps smarter) option would be taking it to Circuity City.

[Jahntassa]

Circuit city, depending on if you're familiar with the guys there, may or may not easily help you. I would, though, but i'm not in Chicago!And no, it's not any different. I'd wind the red and yellow wires together though, some headunits won't eject unless it's fully "powered up".Just strip back a little bit on the red, yellow, and black wires. twist the yellow and red together, touch that to positive, and then touch black to negative. There might be a 'tiny' spark when it connects, but don't freak out, and it'll be fine. The player might eject automatically as part of the "I'm powering up" procedure, but if not, hit eject.

[cdFxer]

If you come down Central IL way... I can hook it up temp for you! Springfield, Jacksonville, etc Im all over

[omarq]

Some CD-Decks have an emgency eject behind the faceplate... you gotta stick an unwound paperclip into the hole... You're gonna have to look at your owners manual to see...Otherise... i'd just use the battery method... Or if you've got a 12VDC wall adapter (like one for a zip drive or something).. you could use that.

[lazytiger]

Ah... an emergency eject button! Unfortunately, Alpines do not seem to have those. It would make sense for all CD players have one.Fortunately, I'm going to go ahead and attempt to install my Alpine this weekend, so I'm not worried about trying to eject the disc. We'll see how that goes... I've never installed anything before.

[ebslopp]

Take it to a Best Buy. They will charge you $10 or something, but they will get it out without braking your deck. Or you can come to Madison, and I'll do it for free.