Who makes the best auto wire?

[hautpot]

Looking to add some extra creature comforts in my car. I have done some replacement of wire harnesses, but I never made one from scratch. Can you guys point me in the right direction?

Also looking for wire that is easy to strip. not the cheap china wire where the insulation just falls apart. Mostly 20 gauge and under, nothing high voltage.

 

[bctexas]

When I needed a wiring harness for a kit car I was building in 2001, I bought a "universal" harness from Painless Performance. Great quality wire, each one clearly marked with it's destination and purpose. I used crimp connectors, but soldered and shrink wrapped them all instead of crimping. Soldering did not melt the insulation. The only two failures were self inflicted. The alternator mount I used was not stiff enough, and I failed to provide a proper strain relief for the big red wire. It vibrated and broke the connector. Once I reinforced the bracket and secured the wire to the alternator properly that problem went away. And I had a screw come loose on the turn signal switch (toggle type). Other than that, it has been rock solid. If you don't use their harness, they sell wire separately. http://www.painlessperformance.com. Good luck with your project!

 

[astroracer]

Are you building a harness or just adding to one?
If building an entire harness you would be much farther ahead to buy a new harness as BC mentioned. I will point you toward American Auto Wire though instead of Painless.
https://www.americanautowire.com/
AAW's harnesses includes all of the switches, connectors and bulb sockets you will need to do the job correctly.
If you are simply adding some circuits to an existing harness go here:
https://www.wirebarn.com/
You can buy wire in packs of 25' lengths in just about any color you want and it is all American made. They also carry a lot of connectors.
Mark

 

[notlob]

Painless makes good stuff, but their prices tend to be pretty high. I like the cross-linked wire from Waytek.

https://www.waytekwire.com/products/1454/Automotive-Cross-Link-Wire/

 

[hautpot]

Building a small harness for the interior.

Wow lots of options so far.

 

[astroracer]

Painless makes good stuff, but their prices tend to be pretty high. I like the cross-linked wire from Waytek.

https://www.waytekwire.com/products/1454/Automotive-Cross-Link-Wire/

Nice wire BUT you have to buy 250' of it. Gets pretty spendy when you need 6 or 8 different colors. You can wire four cars with that much.
Check out the wire barn link for shorter selections. For small jobs and even a new harness build the 25' is usually plenty and it is nice wire also.
Mark

 

[Wamsutta]

http://midterminc.com/

The last time I was there I think I paid $11 for a 100' roll.

 

[JUNK-MAN]

I buy all my stuff at napa, not the best but it works for what I need, I use at work as well as home.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[importh8r]

Another vote for https://www.wirebarn.com/. They offer GXL and TXL in a variety of sizes and colors for reasonable prices. Have ordered from them several times. Waytek is good for most other things, but sometimes their minimum quantities kill the deal.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

TXL/ is what the car came with from the factory. I don't bother with the nonsense from the parts stores. Way too thick insulation, poor heat resistance. Hell, most of a "16" gauge wire from a knock of brand is rubber. It's as though they're including the insulation in the wire size.


Do yourself a favor- if you need junctions, add disconnects. https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/index.php/cPath/109_130_197

I prefer metricpack/weatherpack myself. You can get a crimping tool on that site too. It takes a few practice crimps, but it's worth it to add serviceability to your wiring.

 

[unknownroad]

Not sure how the pricing compares nowadays, but when I wired a chopper a few years back I went with Del City- https://www.delcity.net/store/Wire-&-Cable/

 

[hautpot]

hmmm I got a question. The OEM Mercedes-Benz wiring I got fits 20 gauge, but i stripped it and counted 24 strands of 0.0075"⌀/0.20mm⌀ wire. Which wire would be best to match this?

I was looking at some more TXL wire gauge and most I saw were 7 strands of 28 gauge or did not list conductor strand.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

I've used these guys, they sell wire by the foot, Rhode Island Wire.
They do full wiring harnesses but also sell supplies.

http://www.riwire.com/

Click supplies, click wire and then scroll down to find the correct type and colours.

Their website is not great but you can call as well if you need anything not shown.

Good luck.

David.

 

[ChevyEFI]

One budget way:
I did power mirrors a few years back.
A boating supply place on the 'Bay had some 8-wire runs of 25' or more, and each of 8 was a different color.
So, I was able to match OEM mirror wiring with high-quality wire for less $. I looked up the right terminals for the Metripack connectors and everything worked like OEM.

 

[hautpot]

I've used these guys, they sell wire by the foot, Rhode Island Wire.
They do full wiring harnesses but also sell supplies.

http://www.riwire.com/

Click supplies, click wire and then scroll down to find the correct type and colours.

Their website is not great but you can call as well if you need anything not shown.

Good luck.

David.

man that website to me back to the 90s lol

 

[californiaHank]

hmmm I got a question. The OEM Mercedes-Benz wiring I got fits 20 gauge, but i stripped it and counted 24 strands of 0.0075"⌀/0.20mm⌀ wire. Which wire would be best to match this?

I was looking at some more TXL wire gauge and most I saw were 7 strands of 28 gauge or did not list conductor strand.

A quick 'back of the envelope' calculation -

0.20 mm is close to 32 AWG (0.2019 mm dia)
24 strands of 32 AWG has a total area of about 0.6406 square mm.
That's roughly equivalent to a single 19 AWG conductor (0.6527 square mm).
19 AWG is not a common size, so I'd probably step up the next larger standard size, which is 18 AWG.
You won't see that many strands in common general purpose auto wire - somebody chose it for an application that wanted a real flexible cable.

 

[woody 73]

A very good post, as a matter of fact it took me by surprise as I just checked where all my wire was made and sure enough not one strand was made in the USA, it all comes from China.

I will have to look into wire that comes from the USA in the future.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If it is going to be exposed to the elements, use ANCOR Marine wire. Pre-tinned so it will not corrode.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

If it is going to be exposed to the elements, use ANCOR Marine wire. Pre-tinned so it will not corrode.

That's what I bought for my off road truck. With all weather pack connectors.

 

[Toothaker]

A very good post, as a matter of fact it took me by surprise as I just checked where all my wire was made and sure enough not one strand was made in the USA, it all comes from China.

I will have to look into wire that comes from the USA in the future.

I don't spend a lot of time bashing the stuff made in China, but I make an exception with wire from there. Don't buy China-made wire! There's nothing good to say about it. The insulation is terrible, the conductors break, and - most significantly - are undersized. They will be marked as AWG, but the wire often doesn't conform to the standard. I once came across some China "AWG 16" wire that was approximately the same size as 20 gauge wire. It had a fat insulator, so it sort of looked like 16 gauge if you didn't look too closely.

Another endorsement for the Wire Barn if you want good automotive wire.

 

[hautpot]

If it is going to be exposed to the elements, use ANCOR Marine wire. Pre-tinned so it will not corrode.

Well that won't work for my application as they don't even have 20AWG, but will note for future engine endeavors.

Here is what I got so far: Terminals from TE (Tyco Electronics) Connectivity, TESA tape for wrapping harness, Mercedes-Benz terminal blocks (from the dealer made by TE Connectivity & Delphi), and Knipex crimpers.

I think I will buy Knipex flush cutters as I don't have faith in the Snap-on to cut all the tin terminals I bought.

I don't spend a lot of time bashing the stuff made in China, but I make an exception with wire from there. Don't buy China-made wire! There's nothing good to say about it. The insulation is terrible, the conductors break, and - most significantly - are undersized. They will be marked as AWG, but the wire often doesn't conform to the standard. I once came across some China "AWG 16" wire that was approximately the same size as 20 gauge wire. It had a fat insulator, so it sort of looked like 16 gauge if you didn't look too closely.

Another endorsement for the Wire Barn if you want good automotive wire.

Why would one even risk faulty wiring on their beloved vehicles? And I too have noticed the poop china wire strips terribly. The wire I used from Home Depot that is made in Mexico also has crappy insulation. I will pay more so I don't have to deal with that ****.

 

[FigureItOut]

Here is what I got so far: Terminals from TE (Tyco Electronics) Connectivity, TESA tape for wrapping harness, Mercedes-Benz terminal blocks (from the dealer made by TE Connectivity & Delphi), and Knipex crimpers.

You don't mess around when you DIY, do you? You got yourself well equipped there. What crimpers did you get?

 

[hautpot]

I also have this one coming in soon:

 

[Lotek]

Del City sells txl wire 100' 20ga for $7

 

[FigureItOut]

I also have this one coming in soon:

I'm a little confused. You've got over $1000 worth of crimpers there, and they're not all brand new. It seems odd that someone with those tools would need to ask where to get wire. I don't mean to be attacking, I'm genuinely curious about the inconsistency. I ask because I own a few crimpers myself, but I sure as heck had bought a lot of wire before I had a set up anywhere close to what you have there.

 

[hautpot]

I did some easy house wiring working with tons of solid 12AWG and 14AWG.. The knipex crimpers i bought as a three set on ebay for $250. I have only used the 975606 so far.

The snapon tools ive mainly only used the insulation strippers. so im still a novice for auto wiring.

 

[FigureItOut]

That is one hell of a deal for those 3 crimpers.

 

[hautpot]

yeah too bad the one i needed for cars is was not cheap. The factory mercedes crimpers are $400 (even with my wholesale dealer account), So i ended up with the Knipex equivilent for $180. The other option was a Molex Crimper for $300 or the to buy the individual die from Knipex or rennsteig for $100.

The Engineer PA-09 for $35 would have been suitable for these automotive terminals, But I find high leverage, replaceable dies, tension adjustment, and ratcheting mechanism necessary.

 

[FigureItOut]

Do you have a picture of the Mercedes crimper? I, or someone else, might be able to identify the actual manufacturer. You could also check with TE for the application tooling, though their crimpers are not cheap either.

 

[hautpot]

I already know who makes it for Mercedes. Wezag of Germany.

Wezag and Pressmaster of Sweden makes the majority of precision crimpers for Molex. Rennsteig does a few for TE Connectivity.

BTW I only buy pliers with red handles. So thats how I decided on the high leverage Knipex. So now most of my crimpers are knipex, I am dedicated to knipex and Rennsteig dies.

 

[MikeF2316]

One other suggestion nobody has mentioned, make a trip to the recycling yard and get a harness out of a wreck. One that goes from the front to rear along the door sills will have some good long lengths, lots of colours. Plus if you get it from a Benz you'll get some compatible terminals, and known quality.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I also have this one coming in soon:

I admire Your taste for quality tools, and doubt there would be any regrets in adding those crimpers to My Santa list.

If Your harness involves components that experience allot of vibration or movement; look into the wire and cable options available to the toy train hobby.

If You question whether the insulation on a roll of wire will get brittle in cold weather; put it in the freezer overnight.

I like the idea theoldwizard1 gave for using marine wire. It could be reserved for heavier applications. For Me; keeping the lights shining on semi trucks in the salt belt comes to mind.

 

[hautpot]

After many weeks of research and opinions in this thread. I ordered from EFI connection and Waytek Wire.

 

[tmorgan4]

If you haven't already seen it I'd take a look at this write up. I've always been a hack when it comes to wiring and it's not easy to come by good information on how the professionals do it. Learned a lot from reading this!

https://www.rbracing-rsr.com/wiring_ecu.html

 

[southpier]

wow. gonna have to bookmark that for some rainy afternoon!

thanks

 

[hautpot]

yeah that has some amazing information and pictures.

 

[rtz]

A local place with good prices and selection: https://spectrowireandcable.com/

 

[Bighead38]

Why dont you have faith In the the snapon cutters?

 

[ttpete]

wow. gonna have to bookmark that for some rainy afternoon!

thanks

You can save it for later.

1. hit CTRL-P

2. Select Print to PDF.

3. Hit SAVE

4. Select destination. I used desktop and will move the file later.

5. Hotlinks will still work.

 

[Snakebyt]

If you haven't already seen it I'd take a look at this write up. I've always been a hack when it comes to wiring and it's not easy to come by good information on how the professionals do it. Learned a lot from reading this!

https://www.rbracing-rsr.com/wiring_ecu.html

there is a metric **** ton of good information in that link. thanks for posting