Howdy, Well I'm going to be adding a good amount of wire to my car in the form of sensor leads, battery relocation, fuel pump power and controls, new headlight harnesses.... you get the picture. My question is does it matter who I get my wire from as long as its automotive grade? I mean Summit and Painless both sell wire by the spool and I'm sure I can pick up whole spools at a stereo shop but does it matter which I get? I'm thinking probably not that much for the various small sensor leads, trigger wires and such but go for nice oxygen free stuff for the power and ground wires. What's sparky's commentary?
I'd get something specific for car wiring. I'm not sure stereo wire will hold up well to the various exposures a car can give. It won't all be nice and cozy in the passenger compartment.
Yep, Truzi is right . Here is a Automotive Wire/Terminal Supply Co. http://www.terminalsupplyco.com/products/prod_catalog_pdf.asp Steve
even the summit wiring isn't very good but works. its similar to trailer hookup wire at your automotive store and is PVC based (uv hurts it) and it's rated for 105*C if you can find TXL rated (polyethylene based) rated for 125*C lasts a little longer and a little more abrasion resistant. and closer to newer OEM wire or Teflon coated wire is slightly better still. painless wiring is made with Polyethylene insulation http://www.kayjayco.com/catPWireSelect.htm
Great link on the terminal supply place though I wish I could get the whole catelog instead of having to leaf through it. I don't know about the pricing but they have just about every battery and electrical thing I could immagine though I think I'll still buy MAD's primer kit to get it all going and get the design book too. I'll have to price out the good stuff from these guys and from Summit for the Painless stuff so I can run my various lines. What do ya'll think of marine grade stuff for the trunk mount battery stuff or is that overkill and I can make do with the simple double insulated Battery/Welding cable considering this is under the car? Thanks,
Aviation grade stuff is the best. Just for starters try http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/el/index.html
Ooch, that aircraft stuff is about twice what the KayJayCo TXL is which is approximately twice what Summit sells the Painless TXL stuff for. The advantage is though that its sheilded. Think 24AWG wire is heavy enough for automotive grade relays and 5V sensor signals? Using that 10 conductor bundle would make getting the stuff to the trunk much easier than running individual lines but It'd have to support things like Air Ride level and pressure sensors, twin fuel pump trigger lines, starter solenoid trigger wire, remote trunk release trigger, and the rear ABS channel. Thanks,
