Wire capacity

How much amperage should/can I run through a 14ga wire? This is 12v in my Avalon.

How do I compute wattage?

Thanks,

 

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

wattage is voltage times amperage

1 watt is 1 amp times 1 volt..so 50 watts would be 50 amps times 1 volt, or 1 volt times 50 amps, or 25 volts times 2 amps.....

 

I thought that was the formula for wattage but wasn't sure. Thanks. I'll go check the links for the wire size.

 

The wattage formulas or at least links to them have been given above. But i don't think any of those links addressed ampacity of wiring. For a 12V system the ampacity of 14awg wire is about 40A. But, I would not feel comfortable going over 30A if it is making a long run under carpet and through the engine bay. All that being said, always always always fuse your wiring no farther than 18" from its source (usually the battery).

A follow up question for you is, what are you running 14 awg wire for?

 

Adding power points to my Avalon. It came with 2, both are in the tranny hump console. So neither are convienent to the rear and neither are always hot. I'll be using them for a cell phone charger, a DVD player and a CB.

I've put in a 15amp fuse within the 18" from the battery.

thanks.

 

I'll add, the dvd player has a built-in 3amp fuse for it's car supply. The cb has a 5amp fuse. The cell phone I don't know. But with the above it is 8 amps or 96 watts. The 14ga wire with the 15amp fuse can handle ~180 watts.

If I put in a 30amp fuse that would be 360 watts. So I should be in good shape.