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Car Wiring

I bought something similar to this:

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(a panel mount USB, cigar lighter and power switch). It didn't come with any wire - just some spade connectors.

I'm confused by the wire specification. If it's to handle 120W, wouldn't that require 10A/1.5mm wire? That's fine - I have some. But the wiring requires a sort of daisy chain, with the power cables feeding from one device to the next. And I can't see how that amount of cable can be stuffed into a single spade connector.

The photos on the ad show what looks like 0.75mm wire - would that do for this application?

Reply to
RJH
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I would use thicker wire. Volt drop is critical for 12V outlets.

Your fuse is likely to be 20A and very slow to blow. I would say 1.5mm is too small and choose something a little chunkier.

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Reply to
Fredxx

Car wiring is rated a bit different from mains stuff - presumably because runs are shorter.

0.5mm is rated at 11 amps. 1.5mm is rated at 21 amps. 0.75mm isn't a common car size. 6.3mm spade connectors can be bought to take up to 5.5mm cable. I have three sizes here which cover up to that, using the correct crimp tool.
Reply to
Dave Plowman (News

Thanks both for the replies. I think I'll do without the supplied cigar lighter and stick to the USB - which is what I bought it for, and use the

0.75mm cable that I've got handy.
Reply to
RJH

And needs changing IMHO. It's not hard to see how a *lot* of people who aren't electrical experts could see the ratings on those little cable reels and assume they can be used for mains applications. Then there's also the issue of insufficient insulation for anything beyond vehicle-related use. This is what happens when you 'dumb down' stuff to make it simple. It would be better to rate the cable in terms of its true square mm-erage and voltage and stop trying to be 'user-friendly' altogether.

Reply to
Cursitor Doom

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