Wire question

CCFD170

Adventurer
Is there a difference between wire used for speakers and wire used for a 12 volt socket or other 12 volt accsesories? my plan is to run power to the back of the 4runner to an auxillary fuse block im thinking 8awg. Is that a big enough gauge? I was going to run postive and a negative to the fuse block. is that a better way to go or just run the negative from the fuse block to the chassis? off the fuse block will be a socket for the arb fridge and maybe a couple extra outlets for other plug in stuff. to wire the sockets I was looking at 14/2 or 12/2 wire but it says "speaker wire". Is this the right wire to use?
 

1911

Expedition Leader
Is there a difference between wire used for speakers and wire used for a 12 volt socket or other 12 volt accsesories? my plan is to run power to the back of the 4runner to an auxillary fuse block im thinking 8awg. Is that a big enough gauge?

It's enough for a fridge or a radio; it's not enough for a compressor.


I was going to run postive and a negative to the fuse block. is that a better way to go or just run the negative from the fuse block to the chassis?

Much better to run both positive and negative cables all the way from the battery to the auxiliary fuse block.


off the fuse block will be a socket for the arb fridge and maybe a couple extra outlets for other plug in stuff. to wire the sockets I was looking at 14/2 or 12/2 wire but it says "speaker wire". Is this the right wire to use?

It wouldn't occur to me to use speaker wire for power, YMMV. I wouldn't use anything less than 10 AWG wire for a fridge, to minimize amperage draw.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Is there a difference between wire used for speakers and wire used for a 12 volt socket or other 12 volt accsesories?

Copper is copper. Pretty much. More or less.

With stranded wire there are fine strands and course strands. There are also lots and lots of different types of insulation.


my plan is to run power to the back of the 4runner to an auxillary fuse block im thinking 8awg. Is that a big enough gauge?

Wire size depends on voltage drop, which is a function of load vs. distance. The longer and/or thinner the wire, the more the voltage drops *under load*.

To dump plenty of amps into a battery or a winch at the rear, then you want some seriously fat wire, but just to run a few basic loads, it's probably not necessary. #10 would probably be fine, since there won't be enough load to pull the voltage down enough to notice.

But yea, if you want to use #8, go for it. It won't hurt anything.


I was going to run postive and a negative to the fuse block. is that a better way to go or just run the negative from the fuse block to the chassis?

Best to run a dedicated ground. But also it needs to be kept right together side by side with the positive. The greater the distance between the two conductors of a circuit, the greater the chance of creating radio noise.


off the fuse block will be a socket for the arb fridge and maybe a couple extra outlets for other plug in stuff. to wire the sockets I was looking at 14/2 or 12/2 wire but it says "speaker wire". Is this the right wire to use?

Speaker wire will work fine as far as carrying the power. The only issue is the insulation. Often, speaker wire insulation is pretty soft.

Not that would much matter if you had proper fusing to protect the wires in case of a short.

Personally, I like something with a tougher insulation for power wires.
 

CCFD170

Adventurer
Thank you all for the replies. The wire question makes sense now. Copper wire is copper wire but how it's insulated determines what it's used for.
Current flow makes sense, it's the same as water flow through fire hose with friction loss and what not.
 

Utah KJ

Free State of Florida
Running the + & - next to each other like in twin lead (spkr wire) will cancel the magnetic fields produced, reduce inductance and increase the perfomance of that wire. It's a good thing.
 

YukonRob

Adventurer
...But also it needs to be kept right together side by side with the positive. The greater the distance between the two conductors of a circuit, the greater the chance of creating radio noise

Running the + & - next to each other like in twin lead (spkr wire) will cancel the magnetic fields produced, reduce inductance and increase the perfomance of that wire. It's a good thing.

/hijack
Good stuff. Job one, 'learn something new everyday' complete.
Could this potentially be why my HID retrofit hates my stereo?
thanks again
/end hijack
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Just an FYI tip...

What I've done for vehicle wiring for a very long time is to buy regular extension cords and then cut them into whatever lengths I need. 16 and 14 gauge cords are dirt cheap and you can find them in 2 or 3 conductor anywhere. 12 gauge is not as common, but its there if you look for it.

You can often find used 10/3 contractor cords on CL (especially around Xmas and tax time) pretty cheap. 50 or 100 feet of that stuff goes a long way. (Get it?)

The round cords have individually insulated, thin strand (very flexible) copper wire twisted together (which is the best as regards inductance and noise) inside a fairly tough outer sheath.

Just lop the ends off and route it however you need to and then cut off the extra to use somewhere else.

With 3 wire cords I often end up not using the third conductor (the green). But it's so cheap that I don't care.



Dunno why I didn't mention it before. Must be getting old. :D
 

CCFD170

Adventurer
At DWH, great tip thanks! That's what I was hoping to find for the outlets and what not was two conductor wire (the right gauge of course). I think it would be a cleaner run. I did find wire for trailers. You can get it in two, three, or even four conductor but I'm not sure about the gauge and the wires are color coded as well. The two conductor is brown and red wire. I'd have to imagine the wires insulation should hold up to abrasion. What do you all think?
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
I generally run 14 gauge for stuff like cigar lighter sockets - very few things that will plug into a lighter socket will draw over 15a.
 

CCFD170

Adventurer
What do you guys think about this wire for the power supply to the fuse block in the rear of the 4runner? ImageUploadedByTapatalk1315287638.589933.jpg
 

1911

Expedition Leader
What do you guys think about this wire for the power supply to the fuse block in the rear of the 4runner? View attachment 70209

6 AWG would be more than adequate for anything you'd be likely to run off of an auxiliary fuse block IMO.


And then maybe this wire from fuse block to accessories?
View attachment 70210

12 AWG would be plenty for any radios, GPS, camp lights, etc. but if you're going to run a fridge off of it I would use 10 AWG myself. What accessories are you going to run off of the aux. fuse block?
 

Jay H

servicedriven.org
Low voltage landscape wiring is available from home depot in 10/2 and its cheap by the foot. I like it, used it to run power to my fridge.
 

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