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Wire gauge and length

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by tcfeet, Nov 22, 2013.

  1. tcfeet

    tcfeet Member

    I'm re-wiring a 64 cj5 and would like to know what gauge wire is most used on a stock
    cj 5 , with no heater, radio, or extras. Also, how many feet would you think it might require?
    It,s hard to guess looking at the diagram about the amount needed, so some educated guesses
    would be helpful. I see no need to go with a painless or ezwire harness.
    Thanks
     
    tcfeet, Nov 22, 2013
    #1
  2. tcfeet

    tcfeet Member

    I guess no one will guess, so I will guess ..
     
    tcfeet, Nov 23, 2013
    #2
  3. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    It's a strange question. I doubt that anyone has measured, other than the makers of commercial harnesses.

    Have you read old posts about this topic? Not your specific questions, but the topic has been covered a lot.

    Buying small individual spools of each color is going to be very expensive.

    My suggestion would be to pull a wiring harness from a fairly modern passenger car and use that as material. You might be able to make a deal with your local yard for some ripped-up harnesses.

    If you use all one color, it would be cheaper, but the harnesses are multiple colors for a reason. The commercial harnesses give you lots of different colors for a reasonable price. And they give you some plugs and such to work with.

    The car manufacturers use the minimum size of wire for a particular circuit to reduce cost. You could use 14ga everywhere with no down side other than bulk and cost. The only places you need significantly heavier wire is the battery cables and from the alternator to the battery.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2013
    timgr, Nov 23, 2013
    #3
  4. mntbuggy

    mntbuggy Member

    You will want to spend the extra money and do wires of different colors. Many years ago i was building a Sandrail that was painted red and thought it would look nice with all the same color of wires. This was great until i had to trouble shoot a bad wire :cry:. Needless to say all of my other projects have been multiple colors. The local auto parts / hardware stores have a wide assortment of colors and lengths. When i go to a swap meet i also look for wiring sometimes i get lucky and find a box with of new rolls. Depending on how may circuits you want "Painless" makes as nice universal kit with a fuse block.

    Good luck
     
    mntbuggy, Nov 23, 2013
    #4
  5. 1960willyscj5

    1960willyscj5 Well-Known Member

    I would go with pre-made, myself.

    A lot easier running a whole bunch of wires one time ( and a lot less tedious ) than to run each individual wire through the same path one at a time.
     
    1960willyscj5, Nov 23, 2013
    #5
  6. Howard Eisenhauer

    Howard Eisenhauer Administrator Staff Member

    -

    I wouldn't go with one gauge for everything- waste of money & a PITA to work with as some circuits require heavy wire to handle the current load, but for wiring behind the dash & back to the tail lights you want something easier to bend. Unless you want to do this as a learning experience I'd say go with a painless/EZ kit.

    H.
     
    Howard Eisenhauer, Nov 23, 2013
    #6