I am in the process of re-wiring all of Papa Smurf...well at least most of him. And I need to make sure I have the right gauge wire before I get started. I've already ripped out most of the non-essential wires, and want to replace a lot of the wires I already have, and insert a bunch of weather-pack connectors to make working on it much easier.

so, here's basically what's left:

Ignition
brake lights
gauges
fuel pump
accessories (cool suit, radio, etc)
signal wires (oil temp, oil pressure, tach)

Can I use 14 gauge wire on most of these, except the main power/ignition? What should I use for that?

thanks

If i'm not mistaken, the Haynes wiring diagrams (or the current flow diagrams) have the wire gauge printed on them.

Andy

Yes, they do. However, the diagrams call out area in square mm, which is the European convention, rather than wire gage, which is the US convention. You'll need to find a chart to convert between the two.

This page http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-cross-section.htm has all the cross section to AWG conversions down towards the end of the page.

Neil,
wow this is great. Gotta bookmark this page.
OK, so if I'm reading this right, if the wire on the Hayes manual says 1.0, that translates to a 17 gauge, I should be fine with 16 gauge wire there.

Thin wires get hot faster. I would use the 14 gauge. it should be good for 20 amps at 12 volts. use 16 only for the gauges.

on papa you should use 10 gauge to prevent it from spontainiously combusting when you park it next to huey

Rich