DIY wiring

I am looking to rewire some things like headlights, tailights and such and under hood in my 1949 Pontiac. From what I have been seeing 14 gauge is size to go with, am I correct in that thinking? I am also looking at cloth covered for looks but not sure yet. Found a place to get 14 gauge cloth for $40 for 100 feet which seems good price. Just looking for some info. It is currently 6 volt but eventually be converted to 12v when I do my engine swap in the next 6 months to 10 years.

 

The wire gauge is going to depend on the current that it has to carry. There are a lot of ways to determine which wire to use for a particular circuit but the way I did it was to get a wiring diagram for my car and used that. As far as going from 6 to 12V, you won't have to worry about taking that into consideration because when you go from six volt to 12 volt the wire will only have to be able to carry 1/2 the current as the 6 volt.

Scott

 

Do yourself a favor do the whole car. And don't do it all in one color wire that will drive you or the next guy crazy later on. I buy wiring kits when I do a car it pays off in the long run.

 

Painless wiring is the way to go, definitely better off just doing the whole truck again.

 

Join the Alliance and get a Rebel harness. good stuff at a good price. Todd

 

One color of wire WILL be a nightmare in the future. Talk to the people that make the wiring kits and let them know your needs. It will save you many headaches.

 

Rhode Island Wiring Service has 14 gauge cloth covered for 30 cents a foot in quantities 100 + feet. they also have pre-made original style harnesses for you car if that is the way you want to go.

for the record , i like to wire entire car in one color..usually black. i think it looks cleaner and you don't notice the wiring as much as those multi-colored harnesses . a black car with black wires it just sort of disappears


http://www.riwire.com/

 

Keep in mind that most after market harnesses are made for 12 volt systems and you may have serious problems if you run 6 volts through them. Six volt systems require much more amperage to run things than 12 volt systems and the kits are not designed to carry the increase amperage load.

 

Is there anyone besides the Rhode Island Wiring Service that sells cloth covered wiring, not just the wiring but the whole harness with newer style fuses. I wanted to use something like that in my cadillac, also cloth covered spark plug wires that would hold the current of a 60,000 HEI, any one sell those? Sorry to steal thread.