What gauge wiring?

[Jonny]

Hi all,

I'm looking at doing some rewiring on my GS/GSX project bike. There seems to be a range of wiring thickness/amp variations.

I was think going for a 1mm 16.5amp thin wall cable for most of the lights and clock electrics.

Is that appropriate?

Thanks,

Jon

[Jaydee]

I'd start with getting your hands on the wiring diagram thats needed. It's not a case of one size/gauge wire does all. Too big a wire won't channel small amps efficiently and too small a gauge with big amps overheats and burns out. Look at the fuse box in the diagram  and break down the wiring in to individual circuits. The fuse amps indicates you what gauge wire you need for a particular circuit. Just write down the wire colour and it's gauge as you go along with how much you think you need (plus a little extra).

[Askamaskinservice]

And you need cabling that is oil and heatresistant, householdcables are not ideal.

[Askamaskinservice]

This was the first that came up from UK.

https://www.Eblag.com/itm/Stranded-Automotive-Equipment-Wire-Hookup-Cable-14AWG-16AWG-18AWG-22AWG/282939434616?hash=item41e0812678:m:m8nAjNk6Jupds1Sksba9FGw

[wraith]

Vehicle Wiring Products. I find the best place for wire and all the bits and pieces, even do Suzuki colours 

Edited September 10, 2018 by wraith

[Gixer1460]

2 hours ago, Askamaskinservice said:

This was the first that came up from UK.

https://www.Eblag.com/itm/Stranded-Automotive-Equipment-Wire-Hookup-Cable-14AWG-16AWG-18AWG-22AWG/282939434616?hash=item41e0812678:m:m8nAjNk6Jupds1Sksba9FGw

Ain't particularly cheap!

I generally use ' Vehicle Wiring Products', 'PoleVolt', 'Kojaycat' or 'Planet Auto' - all of them know their stuff & don't talk bollux!

[Jaydee]

16 minutes ago, Gixer1460 said:

Ain't particularly cheap!

I generally use ' Vehicle Wiring Products', 'PoleVolt', 'Kojaycat' or 'Planet Auto' - all of them know their stuff & don't talk bollux!

I've used Vehicle Wiring Products and Kojaycat in the past. Can't go wrong with either as both offer an excellent service. I finds Kojaycat very useful as they have a lot of stock block connectors for Jap bikes so no having to change the connections on switches and other ancillaries.  

[Askamaskinservice]

26 minutes ago, Gixer1460 said:

Ain't particularly cheap!

I generally use ' Vehicle Wiring Products', 'PoleVolt', 'Kojaycat' or 'Planet Auto' - all of them know their stuff & don't talk bollux!

Perfect now i know where to find cheaper cables too.

[gs7_11]

4 hours ago, Jonny said:

Hi all,

I'm looking at doing some rewiring on my GS/GSX project bike. There seems to be a range of wiring thickness/amp variations.

I was think going for a 1mm 16.5amp thin wall cable for most of the lights and clock electrics.

Is that appropriate?

Thanks,

Jon

Yes, that's ok for most of the wiring. I used it for my bike in 2000-ish, no problems yet, with some of the heavier stuff (1.5mm or 2mm I can't remember...) where it's obvious a heavier wire is in the loom.

16.5A at 12V gives you a maximum rating (in free air, not loomed etc) of 198 Watts, so apart from the main alternator wiring, and the odd bit of power distribution, you're well under that. However the 12V live feeds I did in the heavier wire, as in the original loom.

[Jonny]

3 hours ago, Jaydee said:

I'd start with getting your hands on the wiring diagram thats needed. It's not a case of one size/gauge wire does all. Too big a wire won't channel small amps efficiently and too small a gauge with big amps overheats and burns out. Look at the fuse box in the diagram  and break down the wiring in to individual circuits. The fuse amps indicates you what gauge wire you need for a particular circuit. Just write down the wire colour and it's gauge as you go along with how much you think you need (plus a little extra).

Thanks Jaydee.

I hear what you say but the wiring diagrams I have don't list the spec of the cable. I just have the Haynes ones. The only fuse I have on the bike is the main one, there no fuse box - the loom is the original 78 one. 

 

[Jaydee]

16 minutes ago, Jonny said:

I hear what you say but the wiring diagrams I have don't list the spec of the cable. I just have the Haynes ones. The only fuse I have on the bike is the main one, there no fuse box - the loom is the original 78 one. 

 

You shouldn't need to have a spec list of the cable in the diagram. Look at the fuse rating for that circuit, this will tell you what gauge wire is needed to be used. 

Just reread and noticed you stated you have no fusebox. Have a look at a few wiring diagrams from other Suzuki models in GS, GSX ect, . They are all pretty much the same amp rating in their circuits, i.e. 30 amp starters circuits. Even the wiring colours in certain applications can be the same between different models over years with Suzukis. 

Edited September 10, 2018 by Jaydee

[Jonny]

3 hours ago, Jaydee said:

Have a look at a few wiring diagrams from other Suzuki models in GS, GSX ect, . They are all pretty much the same amp rating in their circuits, i.e. 30 amp starters circuits. Even the wiring colours in certain applications can be the same between different models over years with Suzukis. 

Yes that makes sense. I have noticed common wiring colours over a number of Suzukis I have owened.

Cheers!

Jonny.

[Arttu]

General rule of thumb for wire sizes is 1mm2 / 10A. So 1mm2 wire is good up to 10A continuous load and so on. From electrical standpoint there there isn't any problem if you use too heavy wire for actual load but it will make wire bundles thick and stiff pretty quickly. So it's a good idea to use some sense with wire selection.

If thinking about typical OSS bike I would use roughly following sizing:

• +12V and GND from charging regulator, main feed from battery to fuses: 2.5 - 4 mm2
• headlight, ignition coils, generator wires to regulator: 1 - 1.5 mm2
• turn signals, tail light, other misc stuff: 0.5 - 0.75 mm2

[gs7_11]

Hmm.

There's some incorrect information in this thread, and some overcomplication.

 

[Jonny]

1 hour ago, gs7_11 said:

Hmm.

There's some incorrect information in this thread, and some overcomplication.

 

There's a lot of useful info on the vehicle-wiring-products.eu/ website about amperage and usage so I think I'll follow their suggestions.

I hadn't been aware of that site before.

[kitkatman]

Try  KOJAYCAT.CO.UK. Very good service. Has everything.

[Jonny]

2 hours ago, kitkatman said:

Try  KOJAYCAT.CO.UK. Very good service. Has everything.

I'll check them out too. Cheers! 

[scottbott]

what about using 'tinned cable, not a huge difference in price and it should cut down on corrosion problems later down the track??'