A wiring question

[Naden Owner]

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. Thanks for letting me join.

I'm doing a second (and hopefully better) restoration and upgrade of my 1964 Naden 14 ft aluminum V bottom.

My question is about wiring. The navigation and anchor lights have 22 ga leads. Should I match the wire gage to the fuse block and rocker switches or should I bump it up to a heavier gage like 14 ga for safety sake?

 

[Grub54891]

Hhmm… 22 is fair light wire, however if you are running led lights it may be ok. Have to see how many amps you are running.
look at this.

What size wire do I need? — Proactive Yacht Service

A lot of issues arise on recreational yachts and boats from previous owners and untrained maintenance technicians installing too small of wire for the application it was intended for and/or improperly fusing the wire. Undersized wires can cause two major issues: 1) FIRE HAZARD. An undersized wire

www.proactiveyachtservice.com

 

[Naden Owner]

Yes they are LEDs, all lights draw less than 1 amp. The navigation lights combined, draw just over 1/4 amp.

 

[Grub54891]

Then you should be ok. But I’ve never seen that light of wire going to lightning fixtures. I know the fixtures themselves have light wires. I’ve installed interior led lighting in boats, had to run wiring to the whole works, 12 dimmable area lights. I ran 16 gauge for the main harness though. figured best to upsize the wire in case someone decides to re-do the lights in the future. The entire headliner had to come down to do the work.

 

[Naden Owner]

I just did the math and all 3 light combined draw less than 1/4 amp.

The longest run of wire will be the anchor light. Both wires will be about 12' long, so 24' total. The navigation lights will both be under 16' total length.

 

[Naden Owner]

I'll err on the side of caution and run 18 gage.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Grub54891]

that’s what I would do!

 

[dwco5051]

I personally would go with the 18 gauge, won't kill the budget and the heavier connectors would be less likely to be damaged over the years. No problem with keeping the lower amperage fuses.

 

[Naden Owner]

dwco... I've priced a 100' spool of 18ga marine grade, it's about $30 cheaper than the 14 ga I already bought, so yeah.

 

[Naden Owner]

I just realized that I forgot about the 4 courtesy lights I want to install.

It bumps the total amps to a whopping 3/8 amp!

While I think about it... fuses. 1, 3 or 5 amps? I've read a few articles already, and they all say one or the other. The respective light groups will have their own circuit on the fuse block.

 

[froggy1150]

 

[froggy1150]

Posted before I realized your out of scale..... you should be able to find another ampacity chart for dc though. It will compensate for length/voltage drop

 

[Scott Danforth]

ABYC recommends 18 gauge, minimum not for capacity, however for strength

22 gauge can easily run 5 amps thru them, however in a lighting situation, you are only running about 3 watts.

the 18 gauge you bought will be more than adequate.

 

[dwco5051]

Just noticed your signature picture. You and I might be the only HT's on this site. HTC-retired

 

[Alumarine]

If you already have 14 ga on hand why not use that?

 

[Naden Owner]

Just noticed your signature picture. You and I might be the only HT's on this site. HTC-retired

HT1 retired actually

 

[Naden Owner]

If you already have 14 ga on hand why not use that?

I'm using the 14 ga for the fish finders and the bilge pump.

 

[dwco5051]

HT1 retired actually

I retired HTC, back when we still did everything from damage control to real shipfitting, still had AD's, AR's, and AS's, and SIMA's weren't staffed by civilians. A lot of opportunities back then for us T**d Chasers.

 

[Naden Owner]

Amen Chief! I miss those days.

 

[UrbanNomadX]

If your total draw is under ¼ amp and you're running LEDs, the 22 ga can technically handle it, especially over short runs. But for the sake of durability and future-proofing (especially in a marine environment), I'd personally go with 18 or even 16 ga. Gives you a little more peace of mind and wiggle room if you ever add anything down the road.

Also, thicker wire is a bit more forgiving if it ever chafes or gets exposed. Cheap insurance, really.