Appearance Hoods, spoilers, custom mods, accessories, etc.

Current draw VS. correct wire guage

Old Dec 19, 2002 | 01:41 PM
  #1  
Joe Bellman's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 372
From: Indy
Current draw VS. correct wire guage

This is good information to know when upgrading your headlights or adding on any electric device to your car. The table will apply to home devices too.
I have done some searching and found the following for current being used and what gauge wire to use.

First use this formula:
watts of device divided by volts of source = amps (current being drawn) W / VDC = I
exp: 55watt bulb divided by 12volts (battery) = 4.6 amps
Most people say add 20% for safety......4.6 + 20% = 5.5 amps

Then use this chart to determine wire gauge size
(from Reference Data For Radio Engineers)

Guage of wire---------Max Current
20---------------------7.5
18---------------------10
16---------------------13
14---------------------17
12---------------------23
10---------------------33
8-----------------------46
6-----------------------60
4-----------------------80
2-----------------------100
1-----------------------125
0-----------------------150

Last edited by Joe Bellman; Apr 7, 2007 at 10:19 PM.
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
dbusch22
Forced Induction
6
Oct 31, 2016 11:09 AM
robcarnut
General 1967-2002 F-Body Tech
8
Mar 20, 2015 03:40 PM
sloppytot
Parts For Sale
0
Feb 25, 2015 08:30 PM
NewsBot
2010 - 2015 Camaro News, Sightings, Pictures, and Multimedia
0
Jan 29, 2015 07:10 PM
chevroletfreak
LT1 Based Engine Tech
202
Jul 4, 2005 05:00 PM


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:13 AM.