what guage of wire & where do i get it??

[SwampDawg]

i want to rewire my NVS from front to back (as it stands its a frickin gongshow) so what guage of stranded wire would i be after and where do i find it??

ive called the auto store and they dont carry anything this small which i kinda figured anyhow, but.... ???

[CRAWLERJOE]

Check radio shack. Last time I was there they had a bunch wire in different gauges.

[stanmondz]

you could use thermostat wire for HVAC. you can get it at just about any home improvement store. its 18 gauge wire inside a pvc jacket. think it comes in 2,5,7 and 8 wire in the same sleeve

[SwampDawg]

alright,ill start there!
thx!

[ik632]

If it's just LED's then I like cat-5 cable. It's twisted pair and nicely colored so you don't get confused.

[SwampDawg]

CAT-5? thats Ethernet cable right?
never thought of that

[SMR 510RR]

I bought a big spool of servo wire, just remove the signal wire and you have a nice 2 wire pair to use for LED wiring.

I do like the ethernet idea although It could get a bit confusing with all the colors mixed in there.

[SwampDawg]

i think ill use some of my cat5 cable!
love that idea and i have many layin around lol
i would assume to pull out a few colors and go with those.

thanks guys

[SwampDawg]

not the best quality pic but...
here's the CAT-5 cable where i need it!

The best part of this cable is it is braided inside there!
and it comes in multiple colors (blue/white, Orange/White, etc)

in my case this is the cleanest its been yet, although it doesnt seem it yet cuz i got lots to do yet!

Blue/White ~ Tail-lights
Orange/White ~ Left signals
Green/White ~ Right signals
Black/White ~ RPM lightbar x6
Grey/White ~ Headlights




Again...thanks alot for the help man!!
why i come to RCC in the 1st place

[ik632]

Good work, now lets see some pics with it all lit up

[SwampDawg]

just got too it tonight again...Everything is wired up and ran CaT5 straight to the LED's.
About to do testing here soon, pics too follow!

[SwampDawg]

sorry to inform....
my NVS is Eff'd!

boooooo :P

Headlights ~ check!
Tail-lights ~ check!
Aux lights ~ check!
Turn signals ~ EPIC FAIL!!

[ik632]

I don't have an NVS but I'm guessing the resistors are built in to the box like the simple light controller? I know if I try to hook the tail lights up to the headlight plug and vice versa, I don't get any light out of the headlights. I wonder if that might be a similar problem. Did you switch around the LED's or using ones with built in resistors?

[Docwolf]

I used a old printer port and cable to pass through my electronics box. many of the wires in a parallel port are common, so you have to ohm it out. you don;t get the nice twisted pair like you do with cat5. can you could use RJ-45 male and female jacks to get through a box, i think i might do that next time.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by stanmondz

you could use thermostat wire for HVAC. you can get it at just about any home improvement store. its 18 gauge wire inside a pvc jacket. think it comes in 2,5,7 and 8 wire in the same sleeve

As long as it's stranded, it would be fine, solid is NOT recommended.
Copper, and aluminum, work harden easily. This means it gets hard & brittle leading to breakage over time when subjected to bending & vibration.

[ik632]

Good point Charlie. I haven't tested to see how long CAT5 lasts, but I usually rewire things before the wiring is a problem

[Docwolf]

for a light system, I doubt cat5 would be an issue, alternatively, you go with good old telephone wire. hell you can probably pick up enough of that at a thrift store of wire ever rig on this site for 10 bucks LOL.