"Gauge" wire thickness - what's that in "mm"?

[psyguy]

looking at doing some relay mods soon
informed myself through the threads here on how to do it etc and have pretty much all figured out BUT the automotive wires sold here are labeled (measured) in milimeters, not "gauges"

so, can anyone tell me what the 12-14-16 gauge wires corespond to in milimeters?

suzuki stock wires seem to be 2mm, i think

thanks

.

[Zooks]

Not sure what you mean??? Electrical wire is usually measured by 'amps'.

[Matchless]

psyguy, Have a look here http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/awg_e.html
If the wire is awg, it usually stands for American Wire Guage and you can just google for "convert awg to mm"
We mostly refer to the area of the wire in mm (cant type the little 2 for square).

[psyguy]

matchless, you're my man :-D that's exactly what i needed

would you happen to know what suzuki oem wires would be in mm?

[Matchless]

matchless, you're my man :-D that's exactly what i needed

would you happen to know what suzuki oem wires would be in mm?

Glad I could help. Measure diameter, calculate or look up area and you have the labelled thickness.
The imperial gauge (SWG or BWG etc) will be different, as we left the empire in 1961 and moved to metric in 1969 and with all the embargos against us we never really used much from the USA side, so just about all our stuff is metric.

[Matchless]

would you happen to know what suzuki oem wires would be in mm?

psy, Sorry missed your question on the gauge of the wires. They do use different guages, thin for light current short distances, heavier for heavy current or longer distances. The outer diameter can be deceiving as the actual guage is the thickness of the copper. Some aftermarket wires have quite a heavy outer plastic and thin copper conductor. Wires with multi thin stands are better as they are usually more flexable than those with less but thicker strands, especially where movement is required, like from the frame to the headlamp.
OEM wires are always the thinnest that they can get use to get the job done, space and cost being a factor. If you rewire never go thinner, rather slightly thicker on the conductors, easier to crimp, less voltage drop over distance, more durable (tension and movement) to be safe. negative is that thicker wires take up more space, are more difficult to flex and form into a loom.

Just measure the existing conductor of the wire with a vernier and convert to area and you have it.
If you are making up a complete new loom give me a PM and I could give you some tips if you want.

[simon kuether]

Psyguy,use 1.5mm wire.It'll be a little larger than standard(more gooderer),and this fits red insulated lugs.Be sure to use a good crimper(preferably the ratchet type) to get good trouble free connections.Use spade lugs rather than the bullet type if possible.Also , as has been said,use wire with heaps of small strands(flexible),better and less prone to breakage.Cheers,Simon.

[psyguy]

cheers guys

as we're on it...

i was thinking of using a single 4mm (area) wire as the main suply line for the coils+horn+headlamp rather than 3 separate wires of smaller cross-section

would this be ok?

.

[Ed Vrolijk]

Hi Psyguy,
if i were you i would wire the coils separate from the lights and the rest. it makes trouble shooting easyer this way.
As for the wire, go to a place where they sell high end carstereo's. They stock cables that are used for wiring amplifiers and speakers. Use the 5 mm cables. It's ultra flexible, and can handle more amps than any GS will ever need. (and it looks ultra trick)
Good luck,
Ed

[psyguy]

As for the wire, go to a place where they sell high end carstereo's. They stock cables that are used for wiring amplifiers and speakers. Use the 5 mm cables. It's ultra flexible, and can handle more amps than any GS will ever need. (and it looks ultra trick)

i've been contemplating using such wire, (already have them in my car stereo)
with that thick translucent color insulation and visible copper core they are ultra cool to the point where i want to run the wires exposed, as a feature on the bike :-D
but realistically, i dont want to add a big chunk of the wires for all the relays, and i think 4mm automotive wire which is a lot smaller in diameter (partly due to less insulation) should sufice
cheers

[Matchless]

psy,
In theory that can work, but in practice it brings you back to only one fuse for that feed. If your horns blow the fuse nothing else works and you have the difficulty in proving and isolating the faulty part. I would rather run each crtitical item to a separate fuse, meaning individual feeds/wires. Usually non-critical feeds could share a fuse or feed without a problem, cigar lighters, radios. It also allows for easier roadside repairs. In actual fact over and above the charging weakness in these older bikes, the fuse panel is also too combined, more fuses and seperation of the feeds from a fuse is an improvement, obviously properly labelled otherwise...

[Matchless]

I am not sure what is available down your way, but here you can buy "trailer cable" by the meter at the motor spares suppliers. These inners are different colours (6-8 wires) and you can also select what guage you require. Just strip the outer off and you have quite a selection. Saves buying full rolls or using 2nd hand stuff.