Technical Biggest PRE WIRING Regret

Thanks for adding "ignition powered" to the never ending list of electrical terms. All of it is FM. Bob

 

What he means by 'ignition powered' is it's only hot when the key is on. 'Battery powered' will be hot at all times.

 

At ALL times? Isn't there a switch or two that turns it ON and OFF?

 

Every car has a 'battery powered' fuse panel that isn't switched; it powers things like most lighting (usually everything except the turn signals), horns, lighter/power point, and anything else you want powered at all times (clock, radio memory, alarm system, door locks/solenoids, etc...).

 

When doing wiring in particular, remember the 'Seven Ps'; Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance...

 

I'd be happy to know without a doubt how many wires it would take to wire a Model A Ford and how large a hole or pipe/conduit that the bundle would fit through so the fire is contained inside the conduit away from finish paint and upholstery.

 

and don't forget Bob, by code, wires are not to fill the pipe more than 2/3's.

 

There's ways to figure conduit fill. There's charts for this, but they assume you'll be using all the same size wire. If you're mixing sizes, you have to add up the cross-sectional area of all the wires, then size the conduit area to at least 125% of the total. Larger is better, once you get close to the max it can be considerably harder to get the wire in. The downside is you need to de-rate the wire once you go over three wires, which usually means you'll need larger wire.

If you're just going through a hole/grommet or less than 6" of conduit, it's whatever will fit and no de-rating is needed.

 

Ok, If I had a 1 1/2 diameter conduit inside both sides of a boxed 1932 Ford frame there would be room for all the wires I'd need in the Roadster or Fordor? Same conduit would run up both legs of the firewall. Fireproofing behind the dash is a mystery. Bob

 

1.5" (1.25" 'trade size) would be plenty big....

 

I have used all of the methods above and still use most. And have tried most of brands some mentioned some not. After 50 years on aircraft mostly heavy jet. Wireing cars/trucks fairly easy. But my reason for posting to this thread is a SHOUT OUT for REBEL WIRE. I am building a diamond t truck with a long wheel base, when I called, he asked for measurements of wires going to the rear, and built the kit for me. Not the usual people to deal with.

 

Make sure you sillycone all the ends of the conduit so the smoke stays inside. That way everything will still work!

 

dont buy a cheap kit .

 

Buy a label maker, $20 or so. Tape and sharpie labels never seem to hold up.

 

Use the proper gage. Cut long then taper off what you don't need.

When soudering use a fan to get all that smoke out your face/lungs.

 

Today, I started the under hood wiring by separating the engine management system (twin temp gauges in the flathead, electric fan, temp sensor for the fan, coil, distributor, and the vacuum tube that the MSD blower timing box requires) into one bundle that runs up the right inner fender.

The other inner fender will hold the lighting harness.

Make a plan and make it make sense. And don't save money on your electric system...If you do buy a nice fire extinguisher and mount it somewhere handy.

 

Nice work Bandit^^^^^^^^^^

 

When you are tearing out the old harness attach a pull string in hard to fish areas.