What size cable/wire for indicators

[deansplit]

Hi

I'm adding B-post indicators to a campervan - what gauge/amp load wire/cable do I use?

Thx

[shorod]

Are you adding LED indicators or incandescent bulb indicators? What wattage are the bulbs? LED indicators draw very little current so you could get away with some pretty small wire for them. If you are using standard incandescent bulbs and don't know the wattage, they may have pigtails already installed and you could go with the same gauge as the pigtails, likely around 16 or 18 gauge. Also, make sure you either tap in to a circuit that is already fused or install a fuse.

-Rod

[deansplit]

Hi - They're 5w bulbs. I was just going run a wire from the current front indicators. Will that be OK?

[jdmccright]

As long as the total load doesn't exceed the fuse's amp rating for that circuit, usually labeled "TURN" in the fuse block diagram. More than likely you should be fine adding the two small lights...each one adds ~420mA to the circuit load (5W / 12V = 0.42 A)...though as mentioned before, LED versions draw alot less so adding those puts less added load onto existing fuses.

18 AWG should be fine for a small, intermittent load such as turn signal lights and even if they serve double duty as side markers. You could go smaller, to 20 AWG, but no need to run to the store for it for this small a job. Just use what's on hand.