What Gauge Wire?

What gauge wire are y'all using for your 40" light bars? I'm installing a an S8 40" bar (16 amps ~240 watts). The run is between 5-6 ft. I've been using 16 ga for most of my lighting but think I will need to jump to 14 ga for this install. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Jake

 

I used 18 ga for my rear pods in my bed but my added wires were not power wires to the battery, I used it for the switch wire running into the cab.

I found this online:

Wire Use Rated Ampacity Wire Gauge
Low-voltage lighting and lamp cords 10 amps 18-gauge
Extension cords (light-duty) 13 amps 16-gauge
Light fixtures, lamps, lighting circuits 15 amps 14-gauge
Kitchen, bathroom, and outdoor receptacles (outlets); 120-volt air conditioners 20 amps 12-gauge

 

This might help you.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...3189&h=1574&q=wire+gauge+chart&source=sh/x/im

 

Good guidelines, but also the length of wire needed plays a factor. You definitely won't hurt anything by going with thicker gauge wire.

 

Thanks. That chart is slick. 14 gauge it is.

 

Ah yeah, good point.

 

What an I doing wrong? Thought it was the gauge of wire. Just removed the 16 ga and went to 14 and still having issues. Is there a way to test just the light? I have a multimeter. Also considered removing the light and going directly to the battery with a 1ft 14-16 ga cable to rule out power and/or cable issues.

what’s wild is, the section on the far left was lighting up at first but now it won’t light up either. Basically, was getting 3 sections to light up but am down to 2 now.

 

If you can bypass everything and test the light bar directly you should start with that. If the lightbar works properly it’s the wiring.

 

yea, take it down and hook right up to the battery.

 

Thanks. I’ll give it a shot.

 

Kinda suspicious that exactly two pairs of eight are on and two pairs of eight are off. That suggests a defect in the internal wiring.

This in spades. Also clean the connectors

240W is 20A with 12V DC but the list above is for 110 AC. I use this table for 12V DC wiring. https://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
It lists ohms/thousand ft so you can figure your voltage drop and decide if it will work, just move the decimal 3 places then x total feet x total current.

 

I am using 10 gauge wire for my 40" onx6 but 12 should've worked just fine. The wire spans across in inside of engine bay from the fuse-box area where my Switchpros is mounted and up the passenger side of the windshield to where the light bar is mounted so i would say about 10ft but i have not measured the wire.

 

i flipped the bar to shorten the run to where the cable goes down my drivers side window straight to the fuse box. I ended up running the bar straight to the battery and still had 2 sections not light up. I sent it back yesterday.

 

This stuff any good? In any gauge for light bar use. I think I might need 12 awg for my 40” light bar.

12AWG Speaker Wire, GearIT Pro Series 12 AWG Gauge Speaker Wire Cable (50 Feet / 15.24 Meters) Great Use for Home Theater Speakers and Car Speakers Black

$25 12AWG Speaker Wire, GearIT Pro Series 12 AWG Gauge Speaker Wire Cable (50 Feet / 15.24 Meters) Great Use for Home Theater Speakers and Car Speakers Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZWYKF2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_4K4PEbXH609CZ

 

I am not a fan of using speaker cable as its not rated for under-hood temps or any of that.
for me when wiring crap, from full cars to anything else use the proper stuff.
If you dont want to go full out with spec55 wire, this is a great second choice.

$50 Ancor 104825 Marine Grade Electrical Primary Tinned Copper Boat Wiring (14-Gauge, Red, 250-Feet)

https://www.amazon.com/Ancor-104825...1&keywords=boat+wiring&qid=1588085663&sr=8-10
i use it for most things, as it runs true. A lot of the random brands on Amazon arnt actually the correct size. it says 8ga and the OD size is 8g, but when you look at the conductor size its more like 12g lol

 

Is this stuff 2 pair (the stuff you posted)? I need 12-2 for the light bar according to heretic.

 

nope, you buy a red and a black