What gauge wire to use?
12-10-2014, 03:04 PM
#3
It really depends on the amp draw of your lights and the length of wire you need to run. The higher the amp draw and the longer the wire, the thicker gauge of wire you'll need to use.
The lights you have probably gave you a wattage (i.e. 6 watt or 10 watt LED). You can calculate amps by dividing watts by voltage (amps=watts/voltage). For example, if those happen to be 10 watt LEDs, then you'd divide 10 watts by 13.8 volts (normally used for 12v auto applications). 10/13.8 = .724 amps. Round up from there to be on the safe side and that is your amp draw. Then use the calculator to calculate how thick of wire you need.
Don't forget to protect the circuit with a properly sized fuse near the battery. You could also add in a relay which changes things up a bit, and aren't normally needed for low-amp draw application like LEDs. Again, I'm assuming those are LEDs you have there. If those aren't LEDs, then they may potentially draw quite a bit more power and you'll need to pay closer attention to proper sized wire, a switch capable of handling the load, and possible use of a relay. I always err towards the side of caution though. My dad would just grab whatever wire he happened to have lying around and wire it up without a second thought.
Other folks with far more education can probably give you more information, but the short answer is 16 gauge should be safe for those lights assuming they're LEDs.
Here is a calculator...
Wire Size Calculator | GTSparkplugs
Last edited by smittycm; 12-10-2014 at 03:07 PM.
12-10-2014, 03:15 PM
#4
JK Newbie
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Phenix city, al
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
16 gauge is probably fine for almost all low amp draw applications in an automobile, so assuming those are LED's I'm sure 16 will be fine. It really depends on the amp draw of your lights and the length of wire you need to run. The higher the amp draw and the longer the wire, the thicker gauge of wire you'll need to use. The lights you have probably gave you a wattage (i.e. 6 watt or 10 watt LED). You can calculate amps by dividing watts by voltage (amps=watts/voltage). For example, if those happen to be 10 watt LEDs, then you'd divide 10 watts by 13.8 volts (normally used for 12v auto applications). 10/13.8 = .724 amps. Round up from there to be on the safe side and that is your amp draw. Then use the calculator to calculate how thick of wire you need. Don't forget to protect the circuit with a properly sized fuse near the battery. You could also add in a relay which changes things up a bit, and aren't normally needed for low-amp draw application like LEDs. Again, I'm assuming those are LEDs you have there. If those aren't LEDs, then they may potentially draw quite a bit more power and you'll need to pay closer attention to proper sized wire, a switch capable of handling the load, and possible use of a relay. I always err towards the side of caution though. My dad would just grab whatever wire he happened to have lying around and wire it up without a second thought. Other folks with far more education can probably give you more information, but the short answer is 16 gauge should be safe for those lights assuming they're LEDs. Here is a calculator... Wire Size Calculator | GTSparkplugs
12-10-2014, 03:30 PM
#5
haha... my bad. I'm just long-winded. In the end, I agreed that 16 is more than fine. Probably could have left well enough alone in this case. I'm just bored at work and have to keep typing to make it look like I'm busy. 
12-10-2014, 04:29 PM
#6
JK Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks guys. Here is the ebay post. They are 4.5w led lights. I want to get some nice braided wire for these to make it a clean install. Im also thinking about hooking them up to a key fob remote. Thanks
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=111394286833
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=111394286833