Gauge wiring

Okay, so I've looked around and not found much for gauge wiring information. Some background:
My Merkur wiring is crap. Seriously, the entire car could benefit from a rewire. I trust very little of it and it's my biggest concern. So I'm looking at options for wiring in my gauges and such. I have six gauges, two electic temps (water/oil), EGT, elec oil pressure, voltmeter, and boost gauge.
Here's my thinking.

Run a heavyish gauge power wire direct from the battery to two pole distribution block. The first one will be connected to a relay that is switched on by ignition the ignition power wire. Then to a fuse panel or 6 pole power distribution block. Then run all the power source for the gauges to a six prong plug and from there up to all the gauges (to make easier disconnect for removal of dash).
The second one will be relayed to the headlight switch to turn on the gauge lights.

So am not sure on relays to use, and if I should use an inline fuse on the big wire, or a fuse panel. Also not sure on fuse sizes I should use. The grounds will be similar, except I figured just a single twelve pole ground distribution block (and an appropriate 12 prong plug) with a single short large gauge ground to the chassis.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I hate wiring and electrical work for some reason. Actually, I know the reason. Because it's foreign to me.

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Grant Hughes

Huh. Guess I'll post this over on specialstage.com.

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Grant Hughes

I've only done wiring from scratch once and I don't ever plan to do it again. Just buy the 12 or 16 circuit fuse block from Painless Wiring. It's money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=PRF%2D10102&N=700+115&autoview=sku

Tim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2008 03:38PM by Tim Taylor.

That's what I plan to do when I rewire the rest of the car. Right now, I'm just trying to wire the gauges up.
Here's a good site I've found for some stuff.
http://www.wiringproducts.com/index1.html

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Grant Hughes

Grant, My plan is to do the exact same setup as you describe. But I'm soo far off of doing this, I haven't put much thought into fuse size. I have a link to a nice place for distribution blocks I was going to use. I'll post it up when I get home

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-Jason

Here's what I have based on looking at others and talking to at least one wiring guy:

Function Amps

1 Radiator Fan1 30
Radiator Fan2 30
2 Driving Lights 1 20
3 Driving Lights 2 20
4 Fog Lights 20
5 ECU 20
6 Turn signals 10
7 Horn 15
8 Headlights 30
9 Fuel Pump 25
10 Tail lights 20
11 Heater 25
12 Dome Light 15
13 Reverse
14 license plate
15 center diff

sorry for the crappy format..it's from an excel worksheet

VDO says to use 16ga wire for everything, but 14ga for the ground.
I dont think you'll need a separate relay system for the gauge power, they dont draw much at all. I'd be surprised if you needed more than a 5amp fuse for all of them.
Same with the lighting, each bulb is only 2w. 6 of them is 12w. At 14v, 12w draws less than 1 amp.

Here's my source for cool electrical goodies: https://www.vtewarehouse.com/

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-Jason

mack73 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's my source for cool electrical goodies:
>
> 94 Golf
> www.Mack73.com

Oh Yeah!!!!
Here's my source----thanks to Skye Poier, our esteemed absenbtee patron here:
http://www.waytekwire.com/

They have way cool sheeeet like these relay holders:


which click together so you can have a string or even a block

and even more exciting---get some tissues ready, oh baby, OH BABY!!!!:



in both 10-12g and 14-16g for clicking into the holders and staying!

69cents for the holder, 17 cents for a terminal.

Seriously, Waytek has stuff I've not found elsewhere

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

How can this valuable page be made a "sticky"?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

That is a sweet relay there.

Words I never thought would come out of my mouth. It always seemed stupid to have to basically make a little plate to mount the relays or just screw them to sheet metal individually.

anybody use breakers instead of fuses?

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-Tom
DemonRallyTeam | Fine Tuning | CTS Turbo & RP Turbos | RalleyTuned | JRM | Meister Autowerks
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I'm considering it, Tom. Coming from an aviation background, I'm used to running my finger over the little popup fuses in the airplane just before takeoff. When I get into the rallycar, I do the same thing just before launch. It doesn't tell me anything and often garners funny looks from co-drivers, but I do it anyway out of habit.

I'm just a-feared to make changes there. My electrical works fine right now, and I don't want to mess with it.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

Tom, been using Boeing surplus breakers since 1985.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Breakers can be very handy...

When prepping the scirocco last year for Tall Pines, I had enough time to mount the switch and breaker for an interior light... but didn't get time to mount the light till the evening long-service before the night stages. Somehow I managed to get the black and white screwed up on the light... and ended up connecting +ve to ground. Every time I hit the switch to turn it on the breaker would just pop.

Rechecked the wiring and discovered my mistake. Swap +ve and ground on the light and everything worked fine. And it just meant resetting the little 5A (or was it 2A) breaker I had mounted on the dash. No burying my face in a fuse panel with a flashlight trying to find which circuit was blown.

I've also got a 15A (or was it 20A) breaker and switch on the dash to bypass the stock rad switch and trigger the rad relay.

Breakers for all the aux lights, rally computer, intercom.