Is 10 Gauge enough for M2-atx?

**ironic** · 04-24-2006, 05:17 PM

Hey guys.

Is 10 gauge wire enough to power the m2-atx??

What about ground wire?

Thanks.

**Jahntassa** · 04-24-2006, 06:02 PM

I'm going to assume probably.

Ground should be at least as thick as the 12v source.

**nkotch** · 04-24-2006, 06:09 PM

That's what I run my OPUS 150 from.

**Specimen** · 04-24-2006, 07:56 PM

10 is fine

**DaveB** · 04-24-2006, 08:13 PM

I'm of the opinion that you can even run 16 gauge. If you look at the 3 wire pigtails that come with the M2-ATX, they are no heavier than 16 gauge.

**Legarcondemerde** · 04-24-2006, 09:27 PM

I'm going to use 16ga. I agree with DaveB. Of course, my wire run is only going to be about a foot, and it's also kind of relative to where you are going to connect the power wires--the longer the run, the higher the resistance, and the thicker the wire should be.

**scott_fx** · 04-24-2006, 09:43 PM

16 gauge is pushing it if you're going more then a foot or so. i would never tun that the length of the car...but then again i dont want to set my car on fire

**Specimen** · 04-25-2006, 03:38 PM

Why even chance it, its not like it costs a ton more to get a 10 or 12 gauge wire. 16 is pushing it. You can get away with it ONLY if you are running a short distance < 1 foot and even at that its not a good idea. 16 gauge on average is only rated at around 10A, while 12 AWG is at 20A and 10 AWG is at 30A. So that’s not good to have a 10A limited wire when your M2-ATX has a 15 amp fuse blade. Your wire will melt before you even blow a fuse. Also since I know people are all about cheap wires when it comes to this kinda stuff, the insulation might be crappy and limiting your current limit even more.

**ilyassx** · 04-25-2006, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by Specimen

Why even chance it, its not like it costs a ton more to get a 10 or 12 gauge wire. 16 is pushing it. You can get away with it ONLY if you are running a short distance < 1 foot and even at that its not a good idea. 16 gauge on average is only rated at around 10A, while 12 AWG is at 20A and 10 AWG is at 30A. So that’s not good to have a 10A limited wire when your M2-ATX has a 15 amp fuse blade. Your wire will melt before you even blow a fuse. Also since I know people are all about cheap wires when it comes to this kinda stuff, the insulation might be crappy and limiting your current limit even more.

I agree

**piabu** · 04-25-2006, 07:45 PM

and

A good rule of thumb is to fuse smaller than your wire rating. The M2-ATX is fused at 15A. I have a separate 10A fuse a couple inches from the 'hot' 12v terminal of the battery.

I am running wire rated at 30A and approximately 11AWG to 10AWG. (Not the whole world's wires are rated to AWG, you know..) Wire run length is about 2 metres.

As for voltage drops over long wire lengths on 12v, there are lots of wire length/resistence calculators out there. iirc, the last time I checked - anything better than 12AWG carrying 15A at 12vDC over 6 feet or so should see a voltage drop under 5%.