Wire : Common or Primary

shnerby

New Member
May 21, 2010
10
Houston, TX
My friend asked me to post this on the board.


is there a problem with using primary wire in a vehicle
 
May 21, 2010
1,176
NJ & IA
a wire is a wire. your concern should be to use stranded, not solid. Also make sure it is the proper gauge (size) for the equipment it is powering.
 

Squad-6

Member
May 21, 2010
1,322
N. GA
I installed some lights & the wire I had to work with said "Boat Cable". Seems to work fine so I guess wire is wire.
 

GaryErrol

Member
May 28, 2010
308
Indianapolis
For those reading this thread that might not know why not to use solid wire for automotive applications, why don't one of you that knows the exact reason explain it?
 

GaryErrol

Member
May 28, 2010
308
Indianapolis
I also suspect it has something to do with automotive applications having a lot of vibrations which stranded cable will handle by being able to flex whereas solid would tend to fail over time as well as loosen connections. But that is only a guess. I was hoping someone would actually step in and give an experts answer.
 

gp8

Member
May 21, 2010
29
NJ
Solid wire is not made to handle vibrations. Eventually it may weaken and break when used in a vehicle.
 

usdemt

Member
May 21, 2010
195
Vermillion SD
Like mentioned solid wire will not take vibrations well or repeated bending such as running a wire through the door frame for mirror beams, this will cause it to eventually break. Another big concern is that solid wire will not flex as easily and will tend to rub against anything close which will in turn cause a short, and should you not protect your wires with fuses properly it will very likely cause alot more damage. Its also much easier to run strandad wire through a vehicle where it requires more turn than a house.


I do remember someone saying that DC current runs on the outside of wire therefore having more strands will decrease resistance, whereas AC current runs through the core so having one solid wire decreases resistance. I am not positive on this just heard it before.
 

Shadow-D

Member
Jul 3, 2010
946
Adirondacks, NY
usdemt said:
Like mentioned solid wire will not take vibrations well or repeated bending such as running a wire through the door frame for mirror beams, this will cause it to eventually break. Another big concern is that solid wire will not flex as easily and will tend to rub against anything close which will in turn cause a short, and should you not protect your wires with fuses properly it will very likely cause alot more damage. Its also much easier to run strandad wire through a vehicle where it requires more turn than a house.

I do remember someone saying that DC current runs on the outside of wire therefore having more strands will decrease resistance, whereas AC current runs through the core so having one solid wire decreases resistance. I am not positive on this just heard it before.
Thats what I was thinking of... I just couldn't remember how it went...
 

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