What do I do with the old wires?

[billyt]

I am learning more about electrical stuff than I ever thought I would. I gave up on trying to track down the bad wire on my Prowler bass boat and ran all new wiring to a fuse panel that I put in the back of the boat. (I have a bad back and can't get to the one under the steering wheel). Now each appliance has its own fuse and I am at the point of cleaning it all up. I didn't do anything with the ignition--more wires than I will ever figure out!--But what do I do with that tangled wad of old wiring? I am afraid if I cut it I will mess up the wiring for the ignition. I am running my bow and stern lights, bilge pump, aerator for the livewell and depth finder. I wouldn't think any of these really draw much current. Should I use 5 amp or 10 amp fuses? Thanks for the help.

 

[ndemge]

Re: What do I do with the old wires?

As far as your bird nest of wires. It would be nice to clean it all up, and this might mean replacing a lot of wires in the process. Totally up to you if you, and your back, are up to the task.<br /><br />As far as the size of fuses,...<br /><br />A fuse needs to sized acording to the size of wire it is there to protect. <br /><br />If you put a 30 amp fuse on 18 guage wire, you may have a fire before it ever blows the fuse.<br /><br /><br /> Length of run (in feet)<br /> Current 0-4 4-7 7-10 10-13 13-16 16-19 19-22 22-28<br /><br /> 0-20A 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 8<br /> 20-35A 12 10 8 8 6 6 6 4<br /> 35-50A 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 4<br /> 50-65A 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2<br /> 65-85A 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 0<br /> 85-105A 6 6 4 2 2 2 2 0<br /> 105-125A 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0<br /> 125-150A 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 00

 

[ndemge]

Re: What do I do with the old wires?

The format was a little off on that...<br /><br />Basically, if you have a few devices hooked up that pull 10 amps total, you would probably want to fuse it at 15 amps, but first, you have to make sure you have big enough wire to handle 15 amps.

 

[billyt]

Re: What do I do with the old wires?

I ran 12 guage wire to everything except my trolling motor which is on a seperate battery. Probably overkill for little things like the lights, bilge pump, aerator and depth finder. The wire that was originally there looked like maybe 16 guage. The longest wire would be to the bow light and that would be about 15 feet from the fuse panel. Everything else is about 5 feet from fuse panel to the toggle switch and another 5 back to the appliance. Thanks.

 

[jlinder]

Re: What do I do with the old wires?

Try looking at this thread - http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=27;t=001403 <br /><br />It is a topic in this forum that talked about wire and sizing. There is a link there for what size wire you should use when wiring.<br /><br />Basically any fuse you put in should not be bigger than the weakest link in the circuit. <br /><br />Just because you used heavy wire you do not want to put in a big fuse. If the radio says to use a 3 amp fuse, don't put in a 15 amp because the wire the wire will handle it. You might end up with a fire.