DC: mixing 12 and 14 gage

[Henry]

Can I use a 12 gage wire for pos and a 14 gage wire for neg in a 12V
dc system? I wonder whether there will be any problems with the
different gages.
thanks!

 

[Henry]

it's for a boat. All loads need to have ground wiring. I was just
wondering whether the bigger negative wire could cause something that
I am not aware of.


"scada" <scadaxxxxx@optonlinenospam.net> wrote in message news:<yKEQa.22485$QD2.3484045@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net>...

"Henry" <newsgroups@bestmail.us> wrote in message
news:d891b778.0307141208.634f5965@posting.google.com...
Can I use a 12 gage wire for pos and a 14 gage wire for neg in a 12V
dc system? I wonder whether there will be any problems with the
different gages.
thanks!

What is the load current? What are you trying to power? What is the circuit
fuse rating?

The circuit must be able to handle the weekest link, in your case the 14 AWG
wire. Generaly speaking, 14 AWG wire should be fused for 15 Amps. If your
circuit uses a maximum of 80% of that (12 Amps) then you should be OK. How
long is the 14 AWG wire? Most cars are negative ground, you don't need to
return the negative to the battery for low currents, just ground it to the
car body securly.

 

[Harry Conover]

newsgroups@bestmail.us (Henry) wrote in message news:<d891b778.0307141208.634f5965@posting.google.com>...

Can I use a 12 gage wire for pos and a 14 gage wire for neg in a 12V
dc system? I wonder whether there will be any problems with the
different gages.
thanks!

None, except you'll experience more voltage drop in the 14 gauge wire
than with the 12. This simply means that the voltage on the load will
be the supply voltage minus the voltage drop on the #12 + the larger
drop on the #14.



Harry C.