# Wiring Specs



## greenchicken (Nov 12, 2014)

I am ready to add lights to my Aluma Craft. I bought the v12 boat lights. I have my 12v marine battery. The guy at home depot said I should just use low-voltage landscape wiring. Doesn't feel right to me so I thought I would see what you guys have to say.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Nov 12, 2014)

Low voltage wiring should work. I used a 16 gauge green outdoor power cord that gives me a ground wire and two hot leads. One for the head lights and one for the nav light.


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## typed by ben (Nov 12, 2014)

greenchicken said:


> I am ready to add lights to my Aluma Craft. I bought the v12 boat lights. I have my 12v marine battery. The guy at home depot said I should just use low-voltage landscape wiring. Doesn't feel right to me so I thought I would see what you guys have to say.


probably will be fine in the short term but if you want this to be trouble free, i HIGHLY recommend tinned wire. bare copper wire will corrode too quickly when left to the elements.


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## greenchicken (Nov 13, 2014)

Thanks. I found 14/2 AWG Tinned Marine on ebay. Would that be a good gauge?


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## typed by ben (Nov 13, 2014)

14 is plenty. id run 18 personally.


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## Knee Deep (Nov 13, 2014)

14ga is much too large for a lighting circuit. 18ga is plenty. As others have said go with a good marine grade tinned wire.


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## Knee Deep (Nov 13, 2014)

Ancor wire/amperage chart


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## BigTerp (Nov 19, 2014)

I agree, tinned marine wire is the way to go. I used tinned marine wire and tinned heat shrink connectors for all my boat wiring except for my speaker wire. Guess what I had problems with? Yep, the speaker wire. They would get corroded at the connection and stop working. I finally changed out the speaker wire to tinned marine wire and all has been good since. My speakers are actually louder now also.

And 14 gauge wire is not too big for a lighting circuit. Might not be necessary for your application, but won't be too big. Most of my accessories called for 16 gauge wire except for my stereo and bilge pump, which called for 14 gauge. I ended up using 14 gauge wire for everything to keep it simple. This includes LED nav lights, interior lights and stern light. All pull less than 1amp and all work great on 14 gauge wire. 

Here is the chart I used when figuring out my wiring. 

https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity


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## Knee Deep (Nov 19, 2014)

Point I was making is 14ga is overkill. You said it yourself, drawing only 1 amp then why 14ga.


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## BigTerp (Nov 20, 2014)

Knee Deep said:


> Point I was making is 14ga is overkill. You said it yourself, drawing only 1 amp then why 14ga.



I agree. I just didn't want the OP to think he couldn't use the 14 gauge if he had already ordered it. I used it for all my accessories for simplicity. Made wiring my accessories easier only dealing with one gauge size, also made ordering the correct amount of wire easier. I used 14 gauge for everything from wiring my 4-35 watt HID driving lights to my less than 1 amp draw LED stern light.


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## paper (Dec 12, 2014)

Would I need to run anything more than one single wire and just use the boat as ground?? One for power and just ground to the chassis?


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## earl60446 (Dec 12, 2014)

Do not use the boat as ground, run two leads (+12v and neg) for everything. You can run one neg (heavier gauge) if you want to provide it to multiple loads. When reading these charts provided, I would only run up to half of the amperage stated. It is amperage capacity, 20 amps on a 18 gauge stranded wire is a lot of current.
Tim


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## paper (Dec 12, 2014)

Thanks for the info.. I was holding off on wire purchase until I heard something.. I kinda figured it was a no-no..

I'm mounting several COB Daytime Running Lights on both inside and outside for night fishing. Being LED they're minimal draw, and I'm figuring 6 inside and either 2 or 4 outside.. Each group will be wired together, but I'll be switching the inside and outside lights separately. Self adhesive backing, waterproof, and CHEAP!!


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## Boat2fast (Dec 13, 2014)

Much good information offered here. I also tend to go oversized on wiring, a little bit, just to make it a little more substantial. I always use tinned duplex wire and wired grounds also. Like was said, never use the hull as ground.

Another suggestion: Run one large duplex(10/2 red/black)cable from the battery terminals to the control/switch area. The large cable should terminate at a fuse panel(+)and a ground buss(-)right near the switches. Now each switch can be powered from the fuse panel and each ground can go back to the ground buss. This leaves your battery un-cluttered with only two sets of cables, one for the engine and one for all the boats equipment. Who wants a battery with a dozen wires all sticking out of it?

Wiring a bow light is frustrating sometimes figuring out where to run the wire. Hollow gunnels are a good place to run it. I used compressed air to blow a light string all the way through. Then I used the string to pull the wire through. Oarlock screws or bolts can get in the way of this sometimes.

Small battery boxes are a available for U1 and U1R sized battery. These batteries are powerful enough to start any 2cylinder engine and weigh only 20lbs. They are most popular for lawn tractors, perfect for a small light boat with lights, starter, and power-trim. Saves money buying it and gas every time out.


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## paper (Dec 13, 2014)

Thank you! The boat I have is decked, or actually I'll make it easier and post a photo... 






So, as you see I have options of where to run wiring so it's protected.. For the LED wiring I ordered 100' of 18-2 and am making a switching panel where I'll be running a heavy, fuzed pair of wires to good switches which will be well lubed with dielectric grease and also fuzed once out of the panel to protect everything. 

Actually, the only thing that won't be run out of the panel will be the rear mount trolling motor, and this is only because it's already set up with a good quality plug that's wired to the battery..

So, again, thanks!! I've got a couple weeks off during Christmas and a heated garage.. I'm looking forward to electrifying this boat correctly and safely. I've got a few options and a few more items to add, such as a live well inside the middle seat .. I'll also be adding a couple extra circuits for anything that I might think of later.


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