Any tips for running wire behind the overhead part of the headliner? I have a load of 18ga duplex cable that I was going to use when installing my new LED cabin lights. What I am not sure about is how to securely attach the new wires to the old together so that I can pull the new duplex through. What I live in fear of is the wires detaching halfway through the run leaving me with no way to get wires to where the lights are. Suggestions?
Best Way to Run Wires Behind Headliner?
- Thread starter braol
- Start date
Why not use the existing wires from the old lights? My attempts with running wires behind the headliner in my h27 have all ended in failure. I've tried wire snakes, using old wires to pull through new ones, and magnets; and they all didn't work. Aside from it being nearly impossible to control the direction of your new wires, there are numerous obstacles (plywood, bolts, bits of fg, etc) that get in the way and make it impossible for you to reach your destination. If you try using the old wires to pull through new ones, they will break because they have the strength of paper. My advice is to use the wires already in place. They were designed to handle much more current then what your LED's will draw so you should be fine.
I have had several projects going on all at the same time, all at different stages of completion with some tasks farmed out to shops (welding, drill pressing...) and others DIY. I've been glued to this forum and a few helpful websites like pyacht, West Epoxy info pages, and woodenboats forum (don't ask) in my quest to make sure I do everything correct the firtst time. With my thru-hull replacements I am also making sure that I don't put the boat in the water and then sink when I'm a few miles offshore because I did something wrong.
There is also the issue of winter approaching, and the fact that I do not want to have to pay a seperate mast storage fee...so I have been epoxying and gluing deck voids like it's going out of style, and sanding the mast prior to painting so I can get the stick in. With such an old boat there is the issue of "while it is out, I might as well do THIS...and this... The whole upgrade vs. just fix it debate is going on all the time, as you can imagine. I also just enjoy talking about boats and with my boat on the hard for so long I guess that if I can't sail it at least I can talk about it.
Pictures will be forthcoming. Having just moved from Japan this summer, I've only just now located all my digital camera rechargers and such... Thanks for your interest.