Technical How much wire needed to wire a car?

Did I miscalculate? 150' to wire my basic roadster? I measured twice but seems a bit high.
107" wheelbase. Turn signals, tail, brake & 3rd brake light, headlights, hi & lo beam, switches, relays and this doesn't include the gauges! Did I forget to carry a # in my calcs or does 150' sound about right?

 

You going to wire the whole car with one size, one color wire ?

 

How long is rope? What I mean is that is a question that cannot be answered. How well are you hiding the wiring? What color codes are you using? Are you doing high beams? Radio? Where will the fuse panel be? I usually buy 25' of wire in each of 4 colors and go from there.

 

If you have an electrician buddy have him help you get some vinyl covered multi conductor multicolor cable, 6 conductor AWG 16, 4 conductor 14, 6 or 8 conductor 18, etc. NOT SO cable like used in extension cord.
You can strip off the outside jacket at the ends and have a nice installation already protected. Use heat shrink at the ends and definatly draw a print or diagram. I like an AWG 8 for the alternator. Good luck.

 

150 ft isn't much wire when wiring even a simple wiring system.

By the time a guy gets done a simple wiring kit that does have the wire to run to the headlights and to the tail lights in it is often a pretty decent bargain compared to buying several rolls of different colored wire.
I've found that the 4 strand trailer light wire works great to wire tail, stop and turn lights and keep it organized at the same time.

Sure hope you aren't using a single wire color as that is a royal pain in the ass to troubleshoot on the side of the road. My best Bud's old 29 A roadster was wired with all red wire when it was built in the mid 70's and laying on the gravel of a parking lot trying to trouble shoot the tail lights with a test light in one hand and flashlight in the other was no fun.

 

As I always told my apprentices, you can always cut off the extra but it doesn't stretch worth a damn....

And personally, I wouldn't use any wire smaller than #14.

 

I got this trailer ready to go to its new home last week, figure I got enough loose wire from underneath it to do 1/2 my truck.

 

one color one gauge ? Sounds like a recipe for a large pain in the ass.
there are times when you spend a few bucks to make life easier for you and this is one of them.
No lights in the middle of the night in the rain and trying to troubleshoot 14 red wires would not be fun.

 

The kits become attractive just because of the multi colored and labeled wire. It costs a small fortune to buy small quantities of many colors. It's still cheaper to buy the kit , scrap the China box and add in a better fuse box and up the gauge on a few of the wires.

If a outfit wires cars on a continual basis it pays itself over and over to have a wire rack with 500 foot spools of 20 different colors and gauges of wire. Not so for a guy who wires 5 cars a year, certainly not for a guy who wires anything less.

 

Just watching and reading. Bob

 

I use to wire a few cars without kits and kept track of the amount of wire used. These are the totals used of 5 different sizes of wire in the 3 examples I looked up (these numbers were before final trimming) -
52 Ford Pickup 340.51 ft
50 Chevy Fastback 471.15 ft
72 Vega 461.8 ft (off topic I know, but wanted to get a smaller one in there)
These were probably not as simple as your roadster will be but makes me think your 150 ft is maybe even a little short. It adds up faster than you would think.

 

If I remember right I used 100ish ft to wire a motorcycle. no turn signals, but headlight w high beam, tail and brake, horn, charging system and key. It takes a lot more than it looks like. Especially if you take the time to run it and hide it.

Personally id not waste my time buying wire, Id just give Rebel Wire a call and get a basic kit. I think you can still get a 10% HAMB discount too!

 

150 feet wont go far... I'd be more than surprised if that was enough.

 

Just did my 53 F-100 with a Rebel kit. The only way to go and got a H.A.M.B. Discount.


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That's what SHE said....

 

Thanks everyone, you answered my question! All the electronics for the engine are wired already (sorry, OT). I'm basically dealing with lighting now. Just ordered this...............
http://www.ebay.com/itm/250-FEET-AU...07&rk=1&rkt=1&&_trksid=p2045573.c100507.m3226

14 ga and multiple colors. No run is longer than 11' so this should be plenty. I like the price too!
Thanks again!

 

That's a good buy...

 

This is what I like

 

I vote for buying the wiring harness. You want the color coding, the correct gauge for each application, and it will save you a lot of time and headaches.

 

did that with my first rewire project - oops!!

x2

 

I agree totally. You get the right gauges, multiple colors, relays and some idea of what goes where.

 

While the kits offer convenience, their major failing is inadequate wire size. Virtually every kit I've ever examined uses too-small wire for most circuits, particularly the critical feeder circuits unless you're building a VERY bare-bones car.

Voltage drop is the enemy of automotive electrical, and the ONLY ways to correct it is to either reduce the load, shorten wire length, or increase wire size... period.

 

I use to make my own wiring kits but today a inexpensive kit it's the way to go,like rebel wiring for a simple wiring kit. HRP

 

My Kwik Wire kit had a good gauge of wire in it, think the smallest was 16 awg for some light circuits. I did buy extra wire for heavier wiring I had to do under the hood and to complete the lighting.

 

It takes about 3 miles of wire to wire a car. At least it seems like it when you have it all stretched out and trying to hide it somewhere.....

 

Bob Miller @ Rebel Wiring, not at all expensive and well done!!

 

Very happy with the rebel kit that came with my wagon and when the tail lights stopped working it was no problem finding the short wit the labeled wires


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After chasing voltage drop last year I found that even headlight receptacles and plug connectors from Ron Francis had 16 awg wire..

 

I cut it 3 times and it's still too short!


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American Auto Wire kits are great.
Have a Highway 22 sitting on the shelf to install on my Hudson.
Pay a bit more and drive with confidence.