Car Stereos: Playing stereo without draining battery, automotive battery charger, cadillac sls

Question
Is there a way to play your car without draining your battery? Basically, what I want to do is play music through my car without having to worry about the battery dying on me (like at an outdoor party) and without having to turn the car on every 10 minutes. Is there some kind of way to provide power to the stereo via an extension cord and wall socket? The car in question is a 2000 Cadillac SLS with the 10 speaker factory sound system. I’ll be the first to admit that I do not know a whole lot about car stereos, but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Allen,

Probably the easiest option is to connect an AC-powered automotive battery charger to your vehicle's battery and keep it on while you're using the audio system.  A rechargeable "jump start" system isn't suitable; you'll want a unit with a continuous charging capability.  Something like this should do the trick:

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Fully-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B001BADD1G/ref=s...

If it has a 10-amp to 15-amp charging capacity, that should be ample.  An inexpensive 1-amp trickle charger might not have enough current capacity to keep your battery charged during a long period of using the audio system.

Hope this helps!

Brian