Gauge of Wiring for Running Lights

[Canvasback]

Fellow C22 owners: It appears the wiring for my running lights is in need of replacement. When I turned them on the other night, I noted a short had developed. Can you tell me the proper gauge of wiring to use, and if anyone has specific info related to max wattage/amperage of the lights, I would greatly appreciate it.Thanks,Pete

 

[John Davis]

wire gauge

I just happen to be wiring my C-30 and am also a mechanic that wires fire trucks. If you have a wire length chart it helps. There is one in the west marine catalog. To answer your question it depends on if the lights are original or after market,standard bulbs or halogen. The apmperage that all the bulbs are on the same circuit, how they are wired and the total length from the switch to the light and back to the switch. To make it easy use 14 gauge tinned wire and color code them so if you need to follow them it makes it easy. Another thing if the sockets are corroded this will add resistance to the circuit and the amperage will go up. Make sure that all the sockets are cleaned and use dielectric grease on the sockets and bulbs to prevent moisture from getting in and creating problems later. A good thing to do if you are crimping the ends on the wire is to dip the wire end in dielectric grease before putting in the crimp connector and crimping it. There are two styles of wire crimpers. One just presses the wire connector flat and one has a dimple in it. they say that the one with the dimple is for non insulated terminals and the other for insulated terminals. You will find that the crimpers with the dimple in it will hold alot better and will be the prefered ones to use. Hope this all helps, John

 

[Al Hughes]

wire connections

I have a 1970 cat 22 #81. I have had to rewire my catalina and trailer. I have found that soldering the wires and covering the joint with shrink tubing and then sealing the whole joint area with silicone sealant works well, This keeps the water out and the wires from turning green and developing a high resistance. This looks very time consuming, but the longevity of the soldering, sealing the connections will pay for itself in the long run.I have found that Outdoor lighting wire works well for the mast runs and other places and the wire insulation is designed for wet areas. This may help you with your wiring situation. Fair Winds AL

 

[Ed West]

wiring tips

I built boats in Ft Lauderdale for 5 yrs and I would like to share some tricks to make your installation easier and sevicing at a later date trouble free. 14 gauge wire is the standard for most lighting harnesses, make sure you get stranded wire and not solid (which is used in 110v home apllications) I like the soldering connections best, they last longer and are trouble free, they are not nornally used in commercial boat building because of the time factor, but you are doing this yourself and want to do it once and not have to worry in the future. When running wiring, always run an extra wire in the harness and wherever possible do not tye wrap the wires tightly together, in the future if you want to add more wires you can pull your extra wires thru the harness, and not have to stand on your head getting to all those tye wraps to cut them free, this is especially valuable in running wires up the mast, just put a knot on each end of your pull wire and it will be there when you need it. If you have long runs up under the deck sometimes a lenghth of pvc pipe attached to the underside of the deck makes a clean and neat wire loom that will keep you harness contained and looking neat, this also makes it very easy to add additional wires in the future. I also use dielectric grease on all of my sockets. This will be a good time for you to clean up your fuse block and to clean up those birds nests that seem to be ever present at the fuse block and swich area. Oh one more thing, and I have done this too many times myself when in a hurry, always slide your shrink tubing over your wire before you solder the connection, many times I have had to cut out the solder joint and redo it because I was in a rush and didnt put the shrink tube on first, there is a shrink tubing available that has silcone sealent that helps seal the joint better, a little more expensive but will give you a better joint. Good luck and have fun!