Wire - need the good stuff

[skipdup]

I find myself doing quite a bit of wiring on all my vehicles. I usually end up using the wire from my local parts store, but question how good that wire is. I'd bet it's the cheapest available??? I've noticed the insulation melts quite easily while soldering connectors - not sure if that's a valid indicator or not.

I figure, at minimum, I should have a 100 ft. roll of black, white, blue and yellow 14 gauge wire - as well as a roll of red, white and black 12 gauge.

Does anyone have any experience with wire? I wouldn't mind spending extra $'s if I knew there was a benefit. Of course, I want the best for my 930!

Also, I'm about to re-wire my headlights, so VERY good wire is a strong priority for me now.

Advise, opinions and experience greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Skip

[ChrisBennet]

Brown wire is also a must - it is the color used for grounds in a Porsche.
-Chris

[RoninLB]

I use marine wire.

[RickM]

Believe it or not I have purchased spools of wire from JC Whitney at reasonable prices and have been very happy. Most used for Auto harnesses for accessories.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ProductDisplay/s-10101/p-1071/c-10101

Harbor Freight may be another source.

[Bill Verburg]

The best wire has multiple fine strands and is fully tinned for corrosion resistance.

The biggest issue w/ insulation in automotive use is gasolline and oil resistance, w/ heat a tertiary issue

[Wil Ferch]

ditto on Bill's advice.....insulation jackets also come in various qualities.

Wil

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by RickM

have been very happy. .

Hey Rick.. for entertainment walk into a marine store with a piece of your wire and compare them side by side.

[RickM]

Originally posted by RoninLB
Hey Rick.. for entertainment walk into a marine store with a piece of your wire and compare them side by side.

Ron, do you honestly thing that' enough to entertain me?

Seriously I'm sure it's good stuff.

I can see being picky about harsh environment resistance or audio requirements but for headlights and general wiring I'm fine with the stuff I have. I'd be more concerned with proper guage selection.

Also, I don't feel insulation that is easily melted by a soldering iron necessarily a sign of quality.

[Bill Verburg]

I wasn't going to push a brand but as long as ron brought it up we use the Ancor wire exclusively, including in the diesel compartments

[rbcsaver]

I would recommend a supplier that I recently used. Actually, received the info from this site when I was organizing stuff for my headlight/relay re-wire. It is automotive grade stuff, very reasonable and in many P colors, such as brown for the earth
wires. As I recall min was 100ft. They also have the necessities such relays, fitments, etc. No interest, just a satisfied customer. www.waytekwire.com/
regards,
Steve

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by RickM

Ron, do you honestly thing that' enough to entertain me?

Rick.. it'll be a "Holie mackerel Andy!"

[RickM]

Heh heh...Gosh darn, Barn, told ya so....

[david914]

Ditto on the marine grade wire. Unfortunately, you probably won't find brown wire at a marine supply store, but you can find red, black, white, yellow, et al. That's enough to redo your entire headlight circuit. I got all of my wire at West Marine. Good stuff.

[ChrisBennet]

I got some wire from Eagle Day. They have german (style?) automotive wire in the funky colors our cars use i.e. black w/violet stripe, red w/white, etc.
-Chris

[slater]

Unfortunately, you probably won't find brown wire at a marine supply store

A couple years ago when I was managing a West Marine, and we carried brown wire. If they don't have it in stock you can order it from them. It is a lot cheaper if you order a spool, too. I still get all my wire at West Marine. Ancor wire is fuel, oil, and heat resistant. It's also made of many small strands of tinned copper.

[North Coast Cab]

I happen to be in the wire and cable business so this thread hits home.
Standard automotive wire is Type G or general purpose. It's about the cheapest wire you can get. The standing dictates the flexibility and resistance to breakage over time. Most insulation used on comon household and automotive wire is plastic or pvc. For a higher temperature application you may find silicone, SRML type wire, or teflon, FEP type wire. For common electrical construction you will find type THHN which is a pvc insulated wire with a nylon jacket for mechanical protection. For control wiring you will find an MTW, machine tool wire, type which is a rubber based compound. This would be more resistant to moisture including oil and typically comes in a high strand count for more flexibility. Tinned or solver plated copper conductors provide additional heat and corrosion resistant properties.
That said, for 99% of automotive application I would recommend the type G which is available in small spools at most auto parts stores and Radio Shack. I've got a mix of products in my car because I have access to them, but for the most part they're not necessary. And yes, you can probably buy larger spools at a significant saving per foot.

I also sent some wire to Pelican Fuzzbeaner to use to power all the batteries for his electric 924 project.

John

[skipdup]

Thanks. As usual, a wealth of information. Can't tell you all how much I value this advise.

Is 14 gauge generally good 'nuf for most stuff. Seems like unless it's powering a thirsty device, it would be a good "everything else" choice - with thirsty usually receiving 12 gauge (or higher).

Should I plan on 12 or 10 gauge for my headlights? Seems like 12 would be sufficient.

Also, I notice that West Marines states that Ancor is AWG & is 6-12% larger than SAE. Should this be a consideration? Or, is the increase too small to make a difference?

Unfortunately, you probably won't find brown wire at a marine supply store

fyi... Brown is available from their on-line store.

Thanks again!
Skip

[North Coast Cab]

Skip,
Personally I'd match the gauge size to whatever you are working on. You can replace an entire piece with a larger gauge, but you don't want to splice in a different size. I would guess most accessory wires are either 16 or 14awg. As for the "larger" sizing it's probably just a thicker insulation, increasing from say 80mil to 100mil. It provides minimal electrical benifit but does help provide additional mechanical protection. If you've ever seen Monster Cable it is essentially what they did. I'm not saying it's not better, I'm saying it's a very small incremental increase.

John

[}{arlequin]

who sells, or what brand is the wire that is in a fabric (?) sleeve? I think it also has plastic insulation (it must) but on top of that is a braided sheath, makes it look like climbing rope...

i've seen some restored vintage cars w/ that kind of wiring

[Superman]

Marine wire, like Ron says.