What Wire Do I Get To Replace Rancid Crap

[pugbliss 0]

hey all

 

ive decided to start and renew parts of the wiring loom in the engine bay as most of it is either too old to repair or is just old and black/corroded.

 

what amp wire do i use to replace everything with?????

 

eg. starter motor solonoid, lights etc etc

 

cheers

joe

[brianthemagical 1]

try a search. i think it goes on the diamiter rarther than the rating.

[pugbliss 0]

ok does anyone know off hand some of the diameters of the wire

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

ok does anyone know off hand some of the diameters of the wire

Hi suggest you look at vehicle products site to supply.

Basicall ordinary O/E cable (i.e what the car was originally wired with) is rated by it's cross-sectional area.

that is : 1 mm2 - 8.75 amps, 2 mm2 - 17.5 amps, 3 mm2 - 27.5 amps

If you use thinwall cable (the current favourite - sorry about that) these are higher rated and as a rough guage you can halve the cable cross section for the same current.

Hope this is of use.

regards

Dave

[M_R_205 5 1 Cars]

i was advised to always use sligtly thicker than normal less cirrent drop and less chance of overheating etc...

[pugbliss 0]

so what sort of stuff shall i used to replace the starter wire???? then do i just use a size for all the rest of the brown multiplug stuff??????????

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

so what sort of stuff shall i used to replace the starter wire???? then do i just use a size for all the rest of the brown multiplug stuff??????????

hi,

I'm not certain which cable you mean by "starter Cable",however a cranking engine can pull around 100 amps from cold.With regard to the brown plug - it all depends on how many circuits are fed from any one fuse in the fuse board.No sub-circuit can draw more current than the fuse is rated at (otherwise the fuse will blow. Thus the each item(s) which is fed from a fuse must be wired with cable capable of taking the full load current.(or if more than 1 item per circuit then the sum of all the switched on currents must not exceed the fuse rating.

e.g

2 x 55watt driving lamps will draw 2x55/12 = 12.2 amps, so cable must be able to take this.agree in prinicipal about using slighly larger cable but attendant with this is the physical limit on connectors etc.

You should ,therefore look at the wiring diagrams to assess each individual sub-circuit.This is of course great in theory and if you have the time so why don't you just mike the existing cable and replace with like for like.

regards

Dave

[pugbliss 0]

dch....

 

the starter cable im on about is the blue one coming from the brown multi plug going to the starter motor.

As to replacing the wire like for like well that is what i want to do (sorry if i didnt explain it propoly) but dont know the size/amp of what is already there.

[Banjo 1]

The thin blue wire to the starter is only for the solinoid 2 mm2 will be plenty. As for the rest 1mm for the guages and 1.5mm for the lights/horn etc should be fine, be sure to get good earths too.

Ben

[M_R_205 5 1 Cars]

so what sort of stuff shall i used to replace the starter wire???? then do i just use a size for all the rest of the brown multiplug stuff??????????

 

 

as for the big wire from the battery to the starter/alternator go for full size battery cable its about 5mm total as it will use a mass of ams on cranking charging, dch recons about 100, fans etc go for about 2.5mm

[dch1950 37 1 Cars]

as for the big wire from the battery to the starter/alternator go for full size battery cable its about 5mm total as it will use a mass of ams on cranking charging, dch recons about 100, fans etc go for about 2.5mm

Hi eveyone,

thanks for the practical input about REAL sizes.No circuit ever burnt the cable by using a cable that was slightly overrated so all should be well.It is only at the larger cable cross sections that voltage drop along long cables becomes significant and has to be takem into account (by using interposing relays).

wish you well with UR project and really do recommend Vehicle Wiring Products

regards

Dave