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Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Hey Guys,
I am currently studying abroad, but over Christmas break I rebuilt my engine, tucked the lights/horns/fan wiring, and relocated the fusebox to the glove box compartment. My question though, is where I can find wiring accessories and wire (in 8 gauge that does not come in 100 ft) in the Richmond area. I heard Eck. would be my best guess but they were closed til after I left for Spain... When I come back, I need to fix the wire for my alternator, as I needed extend it and it is currently extended using a power cable for a subwoofer, which while it works has two major problems... 1) The wire harness cable and the subwoofer cable are made of two different materials (I believe copper and nickel) and can cause hotspots. 2) Although the shop that gave me some of the subwoofer cable said it would work, I am not sure whether it will be able to handle the alternator. Plus it just looks tacky having a red subwoofer cable running through the engine bay... Thanks for suggestions people! Brian |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Digikey.com
100 ft of wire for pennies a foot and you’re complaining about having extra? Its just the way they do it. Wait – Are you running sub cable for the power cable from your alt to your battery? Why? |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Originally Posted by REXsi90
(Post 6231637)
Hey Guys,
I am currently studying abroad, but over Christmas break I rebuilt my engine, tucked the lights/horns/fan wiring, and relocated the ecu to the glove box compartment. My question though, is where I can find wiring accessories and wire (in 8 gauge that does not come in 100 ft) in the Richmond area. I heard Eck. would be my best guess but they were closed til after I left for Spain... When I come back, I need to fix the wire for my alternator, as I needed extend it and it is currently extended using a power cable for a subwoofer, which while it works has two major problems... 1) The wire harness cable and the subwoofer cable are made of two different materials (I believe copper and nickel) and can cause hotspots. 2) Although the shop that gave me some of the subwoofer cable said it would work, I am not sure whether it will be able to handle the alternator. Plus it just looks tacky having a red subwoofer cable running through the engine bay... Thanks for suggestions people! Brian |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
sounds ghetto. Must be fast.
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Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
The wire isn't made of nickel, although the copper is sometimes plated with tin, nickel, or silver. I have no idea what kind of "hot spots" you're talking about. That doesn't make any sense. But that's OK because wire isn't made of nickel either.
Digikey doesn't carry much in the way of wire that is suitable for engine bays. Try someplace that carries automotive wire, like WayTek or Terminal Supply Company. Terminal Supply are great to do business with and you can order 100ft spools of wire instead of much larger quantities. I'd recommend getting something with crosslinked insulation good for 125degC, like GXL or TXL wire; they are the same type but the TXL has thinner insulation. If you need a good place locally to get alternator cable, try a marine supply store. The cable they usually have is impervious to pretty much everything, unlike the overpriced crap car audio cable you're using now. ;) It's usually cheap there too, which is another thing you usually can't say about car audio stores. |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Originally Posted by Fabrik8
(Post 6233020)
The wire isn't made of nickel, although the copper is sometimes plated with tin, nickel, or silver. I have no idea what kind of "hot spots" you're talking about. That doesn't make any sense. But that's OK because wire isn't made of nickel either.
Digikey doesn't carry much in the way of wire that is suitable for engine bays. Try someplace that carries automotive wire, like WayTek or Terminal Supply Company. Terminal Supply are great to do business with and you can order 100ft spools of wire instead of much larger quantities. I'd recommend getting something with crosslinked insulation good for 125degC, like GXL or TXL wire; they are the same type but the TXL has thinner insulation. If you need a good place locally to get alternator cable, try a marine supply store. The cable they usually have is impervious to pretty much everything, unlike the overpriced crap car audio cable you're using now. ;) It's usually cheap there too, which is another thing you usually can't say about car audio stores. |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Originally Posted by Fabrik8
(Post 6233020)
The wire isn't made of nickel, although the copper is sometimes plated with tin, nickel, or silver. I have no idea what kind of "hot spots" you're talking about. That doesn't make any sense. But that's OK because wire isn't made of nickel either.
Digikey doesn't carry much in the way of wire that is suitable for engine bays. Try someplace that carries automotive wire, like WayTek or Terminal Supply Company. Terminal Supply are great to do business with and you can order 100ft spools of wire instead of much larger quantities. I'd recommend getting something with crosslinked insulation good for 125degC, like GXL or TXL wire; they are the same type but the TXL has thinner insulation. If you need a good place locally to get alternator cable, try a marine supply store. The cable they usually have is impervious to pretty much everything, unlike the overpriced crap car audio cable you're using now. ;) It's usually cheap there too, which is another thing you usually can't say about car audio stores. When you say overpriced "car audio crap" are you saying this is not sufficient to perform the functions the alterator needs to perform? I will definitely check out the marine supply stores in our area when I come home.
Originally Posted by ILLEGAL
(Post 6231782)
you can buy some power wire at besy buy, and loom the wire if you dont want red. Your from spain arent you?
Originally Posted by RandomTask
(Post 6231750)
Digikey.com
100 ft of wire for pennies a foot and you’re complaining about having extra? Its just the way they do it. Wait – Are you running sub cable for the power cable from your alt to your battery? Why? If the cable is sufficient, I guess I could always just loom it. I ran out of time before I left after Christmas break, and plan on cleaning up over break. Let me me guys know what you think would be a better idea.... Just loom it, or try to find another cable. |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Originally Posted by REXsi90
(Post 6233569)
Like I said "I believe" copper and nickel. I am not a physics major nor an electrician. When I showed the wire to my dad, he said I need to be careful because the subwoofer power cable was silver in color and the Honda alternator cable was copper in color, usually indicating different material. My father, who has thirty years working on power cables for VA power and a physics major, connecting two wires like this "could" cause a hot spot; however, he worries a bit too much so he could have just been doing him. I put this question on here to see what you guys thought, because this is my first time building/tucking/ modifying Hondas.
When you say overpriced "car audio crap" are you saying this is not sufficient to perform the functions the alterator needs to perform? I will definitely check out the marine supply stores in our area when I come home. Is this power wire going to be any different than what I have on there now, or is it going to be the exact same? And no I am from Richmond, and I go to school at Virginia Military Institute, but I am studying abroad this semester. Anyway, car audio wire doesn't generally have the temperature rating that automotive wire does, doesn't have the abrasion resistance (even though the insulation is massively thick, it's like soft jelly), doesn't have the chemical resistance, and looks completely out of place. It will probably work Ok, but I'd want to use something that was a little better suited to the job overall. |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Originally Posted by Fabrik8
(Post 6233682)
The silver color is just plating so it looks pretty when they use a black, clear, blue, or whatever color insulation. It doesn't serve any practical purpose. If your dad worked for a utility company, he was probably over-thinking the silver color because he's used to seeing aluminum and other materials used for wire. There is a lot of industrial wire that's plated for corrosion resistance though, so he must have seen some of that..
Anyway, car audio wire doesn't generally have the temperature rating that automotive wire does, doesn't have the abrasion resistance (even though the insulation is massively thick, it's like soft jelly), doesn't have the chemical resistance, and looks completely out of place. It will probably work Ok, but I'd want to use something that was a little better suited to the job overall. |
Re: Good Place to Purchase Automotive Wiring Accessories
Originally Posted by ILLEGAL
(Post 6234623)
the silver is aluminum, and the copper is copper. Rockford strands theirs very well in my opinion, and the shielding is very good also. All the grounds in my car have been from this for over a decade.
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