If you, like me, tinker with your vehicle, sooner or later you are probably going to install something electrical and you may find that you want to make sure that the wiring work that you do is of high enough quality to not burst into flames.

First: use fuses! And remember, fuses are there to protect wires, not to protect the stuff at the end of the wires. So size the fuse according to the max current of the wire in question. Or rather, use a fuse that is slightly less amperage than the wire can handle.

Second: Use wire capable of carrying the current that you need for the gizmo on the other end. Remember that if you are using the car chassis or body for your ground, you've still got to figure the distance from the battery. A good rule of thumb is to measure the distance of your + wire, then double it.

Third: use this chart to help figure the correct wire size.

Mostly I posted this wiring information so that later, when I want to find the wiring chart again, I can search my own site for 12V WIRE CAPACITY and hopefully find this link again. But I hope that it is helpful to someone else as well.

Labels: landcruiser