Jan
7
I wish to install ground wire for my car, DIY. What are the wires appropriate for this? Where can i get them?
Filed Under Do It Yourself (DIY)
As premanufactured wires have fix length, i wish to DIY my own wires for tidiness and may be save on cash but i’m not very sure of the wire specifications (size, material, insulator type etc) since the wires need to withstand high temperature from the engine block etc not to mention having difficulties sourcing for them.
Comments
4 Responses to “I wish to install ground wire for my car, DIY. What are the wires appropriate for this? Where can i get them?”
Your vehicle came from the manufacturer adequately grounded. Adding more grounding is a waste of money and will improve nothing.
Generally you go to the Advance store and get a woven 1″ wide cable made out of either copper or some other metal, you connect it to the post and the other end to a bolt on the engine. It’s tidy and cheap. You don’t insulate it because that wouldn’t make any sense.
A 12 guage wire should be plenty big to ground just about anything you need. You can obtain the wire from any auto parts store.They will be ok for any high heat from the block but NO wire will withstand direct contact with the exhaust manifold or exhaust.
Use 8 gauge wire. That’s what all the kit company’s use. 12 gauge would be adequate, but it doesn’t look as good. You might be able to get it at Home Depot but avoid the stiff wire for homes. It’ll eventually ***** from the vibration. It should be as flexible as jumper cables. Any wire will withstand the heat of the motor, just don’t mount to the exhaust manifold or pipes and route the wires away from the exhaust components and moving parts.
Don’t forget to upgrade your battery cables with 2 ga and get better battery terminals and clean all the terminal connections. The whole idea is to get rid of all the resistance.