PSU power over speaker wire???

Defiler · 02-12-2003, 03:43 PM

I've searched and found nothing referring to my specific problem.

I am changing my setup and I want to mount my 180W ATX PSU in the trunk and my carputer is in the center console. About a 6 to 7 foot run. I want to run a 7 foot ATX power cable extention from the trunk to the center console. Something like THIS but 7 feet long. I looked on the wire for the PSU and it was 18 Gage.

Here's my question.

Will 18 Gage speaker wire handle what I want to do?

MikeHunt79 · 02-12-2003, 06:16 PM

I've used speaker cable for power before with no troubles. I say go for it!

Defiler · 02-12-2003, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MikeHunt79
I've used speaker cable for power before with no troubles. I say go for it!

I was worried about the wire getting too hot and popping...

I'll give it a try and see...

Until then...anyone else doing this currently or has done this in the past?

bosstone74 · 02-12-2003, 08:36 PM

just curious? Why would you use speaker wire?

Ces///M3 · 02-12-2003, 08:38 PM

wire = wire = wire

Defiler · 02-12-2003, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bosstone74
just curious? Why would you use speaker wire?

Because I couldn't find a roll of wire that was as plyable and came in a roll of any great length. So, I went to a local car stereo shop that sells from thier inventory and bought 18 gage speaker wire (paired) for 18 cents a foot. $13 dollars and a little soldering and wraping will get me the extention I need...hopefully.

I just hope it won't get too hot. Time will tell.

osirisdon · 02-12-2003, 09:43 PM

As long as you got from point A to point B zero ohm's you'll be good to go.

MikeHunt79 · 02-13-2003, 01:09 AM

I`m sure that your wire ain`t gonna overheat. It`s not as if you are running thousands of amps thru it, is it? I've also found that cat 5 can make pretty good power wire, but only for low currents, since the cores are quite thin. Anyway, look forward to seeing the results, Defiler.

EDIT after pondering: Think about it... Speaker wire perfect! It is designed to take power, look at the 200wrms sub connected to an amp for example... Speaker wire! I`m sure it doesn`t get hot even when transferring 200wrms (even higher @ peak value). I hope y`all understand what i mean.

Defiler · 02-19-2003, 07:46 PM

Well it's working as planned...

Perfectly flat after tapeing all the wires together, can't notice a thing under the carpet. As was posted by others, the wire didn't even get slightly warm. Now I just need to do one for the HD and DVD power.

MP3DUB · 02-20-2003, 10:24 AM

I've accidentially put 3+ amps through 24ga cat5 without much incident (melted the jacks, the cat5 was fine tho

). I used to have a chart that showed how much current could safely be put through what gauge wire, over what lenghts and such. That info is probably even on this board somewhere. Glad to hear that it worked out.

Charliey · 02-20-2003, 04:56 PM

heres a page i found on the internet that has all the specs for wire guage:
http://www.amasci.com/tesla/wire1.txt
it has current limits, and diameters and more.

Filip · 02-20-2003, 06:31 PM

I noticed that All Electronics (.com) have "Automotive Grade Power Cable" that takes up to 80°C. Product #'s WRB-18 through WRB-8 starting at 15 cents a foot for the 18 guage.

While we're on the subject, do certain types of connectors have their own limits? IE, could you use RCA connectors for your power hookups? I would guess that the connectors are around the range of the wire they hook up to.

I'd also like to use those monstrous (forget the name) 1/4" headphone plugs. You know, the ones that are (were?) used in midi keyboards and such.

So did the Cat 5 work ok then? Did you have to double up the strands? Would Cat 6 be any better for this (or just a waste of $)? Harbor Freight has some cheap wire as well:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...itemnumber=997

MP3DUB · 02-20-2003, 07:48 PM

The line that runs the power to my 5" LCD is over 1 pair of 24ga solid core cat5 for the most part, with the final connection using an rca patch cable. I've never metered the screen, but the specs put it at "less than 750ma." Cat6 is more about the tolerances of the cable (twists per foot, defects, etc), and not the wire itself (as far as I know).