some wiring questions
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,290
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From: Wellesley, MA
some wiring questions wiring isnt my favorite thing to do, so i dont do it to often, so just have a couple of questions. I'm installing 3 autometer gauges, for the power could i run a large gauge wire up from the box and then just connect that one to the three power lines from the gauges? or should i do them all seperately, same with the grounds? And for the lights that come with some of hte gauges i can just piggy back the ground to the gauge? Thanks...and seeing as the power is coming from a fused source i shouldnt need inline fuses?
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Yes, you can use a common power wire and a common ground wire. And yes, you can use the same ground wire to ground the illumination circuit. The power draw for the gauges shouldn't be that much so you don't really need "large gauge" wire - 14-gauge or even 16-gauge should be sufficient. Individual fuses are nice to have so that a fault in one gauge doesn't cause the others to quit but, as long as the source wire is fused, it's not necessary to have separate inline fuses.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,290
Likes: 14
From: Wellesley, MA
if i put a fuse in the main line would it still be a 4 amp fuse or should i put in like a 10 becasue i have 3 gauges? If i do ones inline should i do 3 4's? Sorry for the stupid questions but my electrical knowledge is lacking 
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
If the gauges each normally use a 4-amp fuse then you need to combine the values when using a single fuse. Since they don't make a 12-amp fuse, a 10-amp would be a good choice (always better to err on the side of caution). Keep the wire to each gauge from the common feed as short as possible to avoid the situation where one gauge overloads its wire without blowing the 10-amp fuse (a very unlikely situation).
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,290
Likes: 14
From: Wellesley, MA
alright thanks! im just going to put a 10amp inline from the main power, then hook that to the bottom gauge, then run a wire from the bottom gauge - middle - top .. thats a parralel circuit as long as i do the grounds the same so voltage would be equal across the board.
