how important is it to use the right wire gauge size?

Old Oct 8, 2007 | 01:17 AM
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bewtew's Avatar
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how important is it to use the right wire gauge size?

just a little concerned here.

when i bought a pair of power mirrors with turn signals and install them, i used 22gauge wires. my reason being is 22 gauge is the only size that fits to the end connectors i used to connect into the signal poles. i didnt buy any harness cuz they were too expensive so i customized my own "harness". i bought sets of female receptacles made for the d-sub connectors found generally on vga connectors. these female receptacles fit almost perfectly into the male poles on the mirror end. the specs i see on the wire are "AWM 1007 22AWG 80degC 300V VW-1". i bought them from radioshack found in the "automotive" section. as part of the setup, these wirings were tapped to the fatter/bigger turn signal wirings located under the steering wheel column.

also, when i installed my keyless entry setup, i used 18 gauge wires to connect to power/ground as well as the actuators. i used the same size wires to hook up my colibri power window kit.

im no electrician, but i managed to install all just fine (i hope so) thanks to the write-ups i found on this site. however, im just concerned as far as the wires melting due to load conditions or short-circuits. it's been months since they've been installed, but i thought i should check up w/ someone here that knows better. thanks
 
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Old Oct 8, 2007 | 01:26 AM
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For just low draw applications I don't think you have anything to worry about. You're probably damn close to the factory gauge anyway.
 
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Old Oct 8, 2007 | 01:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Lumadar
For just low draw applications I don't think you have anything to worry about. You're probably damn close to the factory gauge anyway.
cool
 
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Old Oct 8, 2007 | 04:36 AM
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For no more amperage you're going to pull you will be okay. It's when you start running wire for the big Amp and the speakers or anything that will pull high amps is when you need to be very careful about wire size. High amps with small wire could and will create FIRE! At the very least things to melt.
 
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