What gauge wire ??

[lisfisher]

I will be purchasing a corded spotlight for my boat , and would like to mount the plug in receptacle{ ciggarette lighter type} in my console to plug it into.I will be running it off a seperate marine cranking battery.My question is , what gauge wire would I need for this?

 

[JB]

Re: What gauge wire ??

Moving to Electrics

 

[jlinder]

Re: What gauge wire ??

Depends on the size of the light, and the current draw. That should be listed on the light.<br /><br />For a general idea here are some general ratings for the maximum current capacities for wire.<br /><br />16 ga. - 10 amps<br />14 ga. - 15 amps<br />12 ga. - 20 amps<br />10 ga. - 30 amps.<br />8 ga. - 40 amps.<br />6 ga. - 60 amps.<br /><br />This does not take into account voltage drop that occurs when the wire gets longer, but it sound like you are just wiring from the fuse box to the recepticle.

 

[lisfisher]

Re: What gauge wire ??

I need to wire this into the fuse box? I thought I could just install the receptacle into my dash,then run the wire direct to the battery which is just two or three feet away.I'm an idiot when it comes to this wireing stuff so I appreciate the help!

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: What gauge wire ??

You must have a fuse. Are there spare circuits in your fuse box? If not, you could put one in the line to the battery. If you do, it must be no further than 7" from the battery.

 

[yardbarge]

Re: What gauge wire ??

I always over do things. If I was doing this, I would use 12g to the lighter rec.

 

[JB]

Re: What gauge wire ??

What yardbarge said.<br /><br />Having the receptacle there says that Murphy's Law will apply and someone will plug in a device that uses 20amps or more. Use 12Ga wire and fuse it for 20amps.<br /><br />That's not overdoing it, it is simple fire prevention.

 

[lisfisher]

Re: What gauge wire ??

The spotlight requires a minimum of a 15 amp draw power supply , but I have no idea how to wire this to my fuse panel , but yes , there are spare circuits on the panel. Maybe I will just run the light off my existing receptacle which is wired to the main starting battery. I would only be useing in while the boat is running to get back to port on those dark nights. This shouldn't drain my battery while the boat is underway , correct??

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: What gauge wire ??

Hooking into your fuse panel is easy...find one of the open circuits on your panel and run a positive wire from it to your DC outlet (cig lighter), then look for the main ground buss, which is usually right by your fuse panel, and run a negative wire from it to your DC outlet, pop a fuse into the slot on the fuse panel that you used, and now the circuit you just ran is fused. It's the same as running 2 wires from your battery, instead your running 2 wires from you fuse panel and ground buss.<br /><br />You are correct that it will not drain the battery while the engine is running. Is your existing outlet fused at the battery and wired with heavy enough wire? If so, you might as well just use it. If it's not fused, then just install a fuse in line with the positive at the battery end, or switch it your fuse panel, same as above.

 

[lisfisher]

Re: What gauge wire ??

thanks cricket , I haven't checked out the wireing on the existing one but I'm going to assume it's ok , as it was a standard accessory when the boat was manufactured so my guess is they would have done eveything correctly , but will check it out anyway , thanks for the tips!!