Who's wire to use, and can someone explain series vs parallel?

[Rileys68Camaro]

Looking to pick up some more wire so I can add an extension to the Painless harness for my guages. But I don't want to order the Painless bulk stuff as I don't need 50ft and I'm looking to save money. Who locally would carry good wire? GXL stuff, would I have to go to an electrical supply? Or mail order it? Would these same places have the good connectors?

Terminal supply co doesn't list prices. Is delcity.com pretty good?

Also, can someone explain parallel vs series wiring to me? :hmm: I noticed a post earlier about wiring guage light in series rather than parallel to prevent diming of the guage lights.

Thanks!

[dennis68]

Parallel is running a separate line to each component; series circuits run 1 line and branch off to each component.

Another way to think about is if you lose the power leg on a series circuit you lose all the components, if you lose a leg of a parallel circuit only that component goes down.

[David Pozzi]

You don't want dash lights in series, each bulb adds resistance to the circuit, so the more bulbs, the lower the voltage to each bulb. If one bulb burns out, the circuit goes dead. Sounds like the old christmas tree lights? That's how they were wired.

SERIES:
one wire
positive ----------O----------O-------- Negative

PARALLEL:
two wires
positive =======O========O
negative

[Rileys68Camaro]

Sorry, I'm having a duh moments.

So you run a + and - to the first guage(light) Then you run a + and - from that light's connection to the next and so on for parallel?

[dennis68]

That would be series, you need to run a wire B+ and GRND to the first lamp then splice off BEFORE the bulb and continue to the second bulb. If you go through the first bulb than carry on the first bulb becomes a switch, if it goes open the circuit dies. Pull out the newer style Christmas lights, notice how there are 4 or 5 wires for the one strand of lights, that’s parallel.

[Overkill]

Actually Dennis, I think he has it right since he is saying both a positive and negative to each light..

Riley, the easy way to think about parallel is to take a battery and connect the positive leads of each light to the positive terminal of the battery and the negative leads to the ground on the battery.

Series, as David's drawing shows is taking the positive lead of the first light and attaching it to the positive terminal on the battery. You then take the negative lead of the first light and connect it to the positve lead on the second light. The negative lead on the second light would then be connected to ground on the battery.

Michael

[dennis68]

You're right...BTW, love the "drawing" David. I never would have thought of that.

[rocketrod]

Rileys68Camaro,

Check out this site http://www.autoshop101.com/trainmodules/elec_circuits/circ101.html. It has a good basic overview of electrical concepts/circuits.

[Fuelie Fan]

I'll vouch for delcity.net, it is a good place to order from.

[Rileys68Camaro]

Cool, del-city has some good prices.

[Rileys68Camaro]

http://www.delcity.net/delcity/servlet/catalog?parentid=181398&page=1

Is this good wire?

[Q ship]

I would try to use T/S/GXL wire, as seen here. (http://order.waytekwire.com/IMAGES/M37/catalog/217_004)
PVC will not withstand heat as well. Also, the various XL wire will not support combustion, I believe PVC will. I tried with some NAPA wire, burns real nice when you put a match to it!

[Fuelie Fan]

what he said.
SXL has the thickest insulation, almost annoying so.
GXL is typical for most wiring needs
TXL has the thinnest insulation.

[Rileys68Camaro]

Anyplace I can get it in less than bulk rolls? I probably should just get the big rolls, but I'm pinching pennies, and only need about 5' but I need several colors.

Next question, would this be good to wire an ATV trailer with? If so, I'll get the bulk.

Thanks a lot!

[Q ship]

You can get it in smaller quantities from Painless wiring, but it will cost almost as much (for a package)as a bulk roll.

I actually would recommend www.terminalsupplyco.com , you can get as little as 100' rolls, and the price is very attractive. They have very good service as far as I can tell, haven't actually ordered yet but made an inquiry and they've been very responsive.

And yes, it would be great trailer wiring.

Direct link to wire. (http://www.terminalsupplyco.com/FTPupload/TerminalSupply5-3-05/060-071%20Wire.pdf)

Sorry, just read your first post again-you already knew about Painless. Their markup is pretty hefty, I'd say. Also, just call or email Term Supply for prices. You'll probably be pretty happy, 100' of 12 gauge is $13.00, and 14 gauge is $10.00. Address to "[email protected]" and you'll get faster service. And no, I don't work for them!!

[Rileys68Camaro]

Thanks! I'll email terminal supply.

Now, is there a place for the recommended wire size for certain applications?

Like 8ga for primary, 18ga for gauges?

What all do you suggest? Need wire for the 4 acc Auto Meter gauges and possibly a hot wire from the horn buss. I'll have to look.

I'm using Painless 18circuit harness and Marks Mad Electrical upgrade kit.

Thanks!