WHAT GAUGE WIRE?

[pitman]

I am going to add turn signal lights to my 1929 4 dr. Chevrolet Sedan. Of course it is 6 Volt system--can anyone suggest what gauge wire I should use??? I plan on wiring the lights as running lights---brake lights--AND TURN SIGNALS. the SWITCH also allows for 4 way flashers which I will utilize. The running lights will be a separate circuit on a fused switch to allow for more visibility at night. The rest of the circuits will go through the signal switch.----- I was thinking 12 GA--Does this sound reasonable to you?

[Owen_Dyneto]

Bulb charts list the amperage of individual bulbs. Just add up all the bulbs on a single wire to get the total current you could draw, judge the distances involved, and use the following chart,.

[Friartuck]

12 Gauge wire for this lighting circuit is certainly adequate and slightly overkill. 14 Gauge will work as well, the differance being how easy is it to route inside an armored loom if that is what you are planning. An important part of this is what Owen Dyneto touched on, the summation of circuits. I would use 12 gauge wire from your source to the turn signal controller. I also suggest a single in-line fuse or resettable circuit breaker in that 12 Gauge source line. Be sure to solder all your electrical connections. This article may help you:

Electrical Connections: The Importance of Soldering

[Larry Schramm]

If you look at the chart, I would probably say that 16 gauge is more than enough and probably some overkill. With the wiring chart being from Packard Electric the wire sizes having 16 gauge at is minimum is because of the vibration, etc in an automobile GM did not want any wires to break from the known technology at the time and not to mention that the cost of copper(cheap compared to today's prices) was not a big factor in cost & mass in the vehicle. Today many wires in modern cars are at 20 gauge and smaller.