What guage wire to use?

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Forum Name: General Discussion
Forum Discription: General Mobile Electronics Questions and Answers
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=26080
Printed Date: May 24, 2024 at 5:36 AM

Topic: What guage wire to use?

Posted By: SVrider
Subject: What guage wire to use?
Date Posted: February 08, 2004 at 6:28 PM

Hi I am new here and I have a question.

I am installing an air horn on my motorcycle, and I want to know what gauge wire to use. The compressors ratings are as follows:

12VDC, 10 watts, 8 ohms
The relay that is used is a 40 amp
The fuse that needs to be used is a 30 amp

The power wire going to the compressor is going to be about 2 feet in length.

Another question, what type fuse should I use? There is not a fuse supplied, so I don't know what will work well. Is an inline fuse going to work for what I need?

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it. posted_image

-------------
-Chris
2001 Suzuki SV650

Replies:

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 08, 2004 at 7:05 PM

yes an inline fuse will work as long as you place it right at the source of voltage (battery,etc).
The guage of the wire can be 12 guage this should work fine for what you need! On a side note that horn will never draw 30 amps!! But if it is recomended by the manufacturer than do it. I would use a smaller value fuse and then see if it blows if not leave it maybe a 15 or 20 tops.

Posted By: SVrider
Date Posted: February 08, 2004 at 7:09 PM

Why does it matter where the fuse goes?

How much current is going to going through the wire? I tried figuring it out, but I kept getting different numbers when I tried different variations of V=IR

What is the Eq for watts?

Can you tell that I know nothing about electricity? posted_image

-------------
-Chris
2001 Suzuki SV650

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 08, 2004 at 7:21 PM

The fuse should always be close to the source of volatage because of shorts if the wire shorted on metal the wire would start to burn from the source if the fuse is close it can stop the burn before it is farther down the wire.(basically trust me and place the fuse near the battery so u and your car will be happy)
With the figures u gave it would have about 1 amp of current flowing through it. But its better to have bigger than needed than have too small so use 14 guage wire for the horns. Im sure that they will never draw more than 10 amps. The current draw will change though at times and this is the reason why you need more is to operate the compressor at startup- the current may be around 10-20 amps but once going it will be much less. When a motor starts up it draws a substantial amount of current as compared to when it is running.

What is the Eq for watts?

power is the equvilant of watts

Can you tell that I know nothing about electricity?

You sound like you want to learn this stuff better that sounds good to me!

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 08, 2004 at 7:22 PM

oh by the way a 14 guage wire will handle 35 amps at the distance of 2 feet u mentioned!

Posted By: SVrider
Date Posted: February 08, 2004 at 8:01 PM

Thankyou for the quick replies, I was just wondering about the fuse placement. I wasn't trying to disagree.

By "Eq for watts" I meant Equation, I should have been more specific.

I think it is P=IV, but I am not sure

14 guage sounds great, Do I need to solder it or will spade and slot connections be good enough?

-------------
-Chris
2001 Suzuki SV650

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 08, 2004 at 8:16 PM

Soldering is always best, Then you will have no problems if you have a sodering iron then go right ahead and solder.Butt connectors will do as long as they are done corect. For all the ohms law use the calcualtors they have on this site in the basic menu on the top left corner. Yes 14 guage sounds great and it will not be to thick (easier to work with)

By the way I did not think u were did not believe me about the fuse ,

Posted By: SVrider
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 1:57 PM

I am installing the air horn on my motorcycle. Its a safety device so all you cagers out there don't run me over posted_image

This is my bike. Its in the modification process -aka Winter posted_image

-------------
-Chris
2001 Suzuki SV650

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 4:52 PM

wow nice back if u guys can help me out with my question it'd be grreeeat check it out at the car audio forum

its under "help install amp"

or somthint like that

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 4:53 PM

i meant bike hhehehe wrong i'm a fob sorry

wut is the highest amount of guage wire ?

i wanna buy the thickest one there is

12 guage speaker wire?

18 guage ?

its for my 1000 watt sony amp to my two 10" sony subs?

thanx

Posted By: SVrider
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 5:45 PM

the thickest you can buy is 0000 which is 1/2" thick. You can probably get wider, but it would be tough to find

I would recommend 4 gauge, but thats just a guess

This is what my bike looks like when is not in pieces
posted_image

-------------
-Chris
2001 Suzuki SV650

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 6:23 PM

4 guage would work fine !!! you sure dont need o guage! You have a 1000 watt amp are you running it mono??even if you are 4 guage is plenty no more it would be useless unless u plan on adding more amps later?? Even still 4 guage is an excelent choice of wire it can handle a lot of current especially in short runs.

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 7:31 PM

oh wait did you mean speaker wire?? 12 guage would be great then> good luck posted_image

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 11:39 PM

yeah speaker wire from the amp to the speaker

i'm not sure wut kind of speaker wire i'm i currently using but i would like to purchase the best one there is so that more power can be delivered to my subs

thanx plz reply a.s.a.p

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 11:41 PM

mobiletoys2002 wrote:

4 guage would work fine !!! you sure dont need o guage! You have a 1000 watt amp are you running it mono??even if you are 4 guage is plenty no more it would be useless unless u plan on adding more amps later?? Even still 4 guage is an excelent choice of wire it can handle a lot of current especially in short runs.

no i am not running it mono

im trying to connect it to 2 subs

yeah thanx i'll try to see if i can get a 4 guage speaker wire.

do u have a picture or an example of how thick or wut it looks like?

or color it usually comes in?

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 09, 2004 at 11:52 PM

do u know the different type of ways to wire up my speaker wires?

from the amp to the subs?

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 12:22 AM

4 guage speaker wirei s not even posible
i thought you meant power wire 12 guage is fine besides that sony does not even push a true 1000 watts!!

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 3:14 AM

i know it doesn't but i wanna make it push as much as possible

i only know that fosgate pushes wat it saids any ways

12 guage? remeber this is for speaker wire not power wire.

so wat is a good guage that will give enough power ?

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 8:15 AM

12 guage for speaker wire is enough prety much the bigest you will fit in it anyways!!! 12 guage is good for 1000 watts of true rms power!

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 8:18 AM

although you need a properly sized power wire from the batteryand a good ground connection to ensure clean full power output!! If the wire is to thin you can have any size speaker wire and it wont do a thing!

Posted By: SVrider
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 8:36 PM

The air horn is complete. It took me longer than it should have, but it came out great. Its super loud and all the wiring was heat shrinked and the connections dabbed in dielectric compound. The headlight doesn't dim when its sounded either, which is a plus.

I mounted the compressor and relay in the tail and ran all the wires and tubing next to the existing wires. I also bolted the ignitor box down, something I should have done when I put the undertail on.

Heres is the tail section of the bike and the compressor is on the far side, under where the seat latch mechanism is.
posted_image

From the back of the bike.
posted_image

From the side, looking back to the tail
posted_image

From the right side of the bike, with the fuse panel lifted up. My wiring is the red stuff with a little orange.
posted_image

Hoes and wire routing. The air hose is the clear one.
posted_image

Thanks for all your help guys!

-------------
-Chris
2001 Suzuki SV650

Posted By: SVrider
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 8:40 PM

The horn itself, very loud
posted_image

My work area, I used every tool, except the soldering iron. I need more practice before I start doing real stuff.
posted_image

-------------
-Chris
2001 Suzuki SV650

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 10:31 PM

ya thanx i'll get a 12 guage wire for my speakers

thanx alot main

oh yeah the 1000 watt amp is like blowing the top of my trunk off. god damn that sh*t is strong

theres no messing around wen ur putting alot of rms and sh*t like that

wow thanx alot for ur helps

Posted By: mobiletoys2002
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 10:38 PM

Thats great to hear guys the bike looks great and bang bang the 12 guage will work great with that amp!! posted_image

Posted By: BangBang
Date Posted: February 10, 2004 at 10:41 PM

yeah thanx mr mobiletoys2002

if u know where i can buy more audio sounds let me know

something that i can afford lolz i work for under 6.75 well yeahhah ahhaha thanx though

cya around

Posted By: jgold47
Date Posted: February 14, 2004 at 5:33 PM

0000>>>>>0/4 four aught

600 amps at like 10 feet...you use it for welding....I was acutally using some 0/2 for a battery ground (found some at supply store with battery terminals for hooking welders to 12v batterys...)...god that sh*t is thick,....