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wire gauge?
by: ramblinman - Mar 27, 2015 18:35:24 GMT -5
Post by ramblinman on Mar 27, 2015 18:35:24 GMT -5
i've been struggling to fix my scooter for a few weeks. seems like every time i take it apart i find new problems and i still haven't solved the original issue. recently the scooter became impossible to tune. found an air leak, fixed that but it didn't solve my problem. replaced the ignition coil and spark plug. also cleaned carb and changed to a smaller jet (old plug was a bit dark). no use, still same symptoms.
well, for months my scoot has symptoms of a weak/dead battery but if i let off the starter for a second then it will start perfectly fine. didn't realize i might have loose connections or burnt wires until today. found one of tvnacman's old posts about burnt wires. after reading that i believe my starting issue has caused problems to other wires giving me a weak and/or sporadic spark.
i don't want to order a whole new wire harness so i'm wondering what gauge wire i should buy and can i use the same gauge to replace any/all bad wires i find? is the battery wire 16 gauge? can i use 16 gauge on everything?
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Post by scooter on Mar 27, 2015 20:38:06 GMT -5
i've been struggling to fix my scooter for a few weeks. seems like every time i take it apart i find new problems and i still haven't solved the original issue. recently the scooter became impossible to tune. found an air leak, fixed that but it didn't solve my problem. replaced the ignition coil and spark plug. also cleaned carb and changed to a smaller jet (old plug was a bit dark). no use, still same symptoms. well, for months my scoot has symptoms of a weak/dead battery but if i let off the starter for a second then it will start perfectly fine. didn't realize i might have loose connections or burnt wires until today. found one of tvnacman's old posts about burnt wires. after reading that i believe my starting issue has caused problems to other wires giving me a weak and/or sporadic spark. i don't want to order a whole new wire harness so i'm wondering what gauge wire i should buy and can i use the same gauge to replace any/all bad wires i find? is the battery wire 16 gauge? can i use 16 gauge on everything? I'm not an electrical guru but I'd like to see you get your scooter fixed. Here's a chart of wire sizes by amperage. Try to figure out, perhaps by googling, or looking on ebay, how many amps the things you are wiring need. The bigger the better. Too big is okay. Too small can be dangerous. |
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wire gauge?
by: JoeyBee - Mar 27, 2015 21:06:53 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by JoeyBee on Mar 27, 2015 21:06:53 GMT -5
About a week ago I finished my project of upgrading to an 11-pole stator and R/R. It appeared 19-20 gauge was the factory standard for the wires. However, I went with a forurm member's advice and used 18 gauge wire for my high output stator wires.
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wire gauge?
by: ramblinman - Mar 27, 2015 21:41:48 GMT -5
Post by ramblinman on Mar 27, 2015 21:41:48 GMT -5
I'm not an electrical guru but I'd like to see you get your scooter fixed. Here's a chart of wire sizes by amperage. Try to figure out, perhaps by googling, or looking on ebay, how many amps the things you are wiring need. The bigger the better. Too big is okay. Too small can be dangerous. i looked earlier but didn't find the answer. i'll research some more. About a week ago I finished my project of upgrading to an 11-pole stator and R/R. It appeared 16 gauge was the factory standard for the wires. However, I went with a forurm member's advice and used 18 gauge wire for my high output stator wires. thx. do you mean 14 gauge? from the little research i did earlier i thought the lower number the more amps it can handle, or am i misinformed? |
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Post by JoeyBee on Mar 27, 2015 22:20:10 GMT -5
ramblinman. You are correct, I typed the numbers wrong. I used 18 gauge wire that is rated for up to 24 AC volts. My stator is putting out around 21ish AC volts. The wire I purchased appeared to be slightly thicker than the factory TaoTao wires. So maybe they 19-20 gauge. Looking at charts, maybe I should have used a little lower gauge wire for a better cushion. But the weak point would still be the factory harness. 
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Post by scootdoggydog on Mar 27, 2015 23:31:58 GMT -5
I had a problem similar to yours and it ended up being a problem with the stator. Im not saying thats your problem just throwing it out there that it could be. It helps if you have spare parts that you could swap to test it out.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 27, 2015 23:56:24 GMT -5
Many years ago, while building choppers I learned it is best to go with a little heavier gauge wire when feasible. If the factory wire you're replacing is 18 gauge, I'd use 16. If the original wire is 16 gauge, I'd use 14, etc.
After pushing a Harley several miles home after a new wiring job went up in flames, I got "picky" about making SURE the new wiring is plenty stout... LOL!
If possible, try to use the same color wire as the original to make tracing the circuit easy later on.
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
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wire gauge?
by: JerryScript - Mar 28, 2015 1:51:25 GMT -5
Post by JerryScript on Mar 28, 2015 1:51:25 GMT -5
I agree with Leo, unless it is a circuit that will suffer from a bit of extra resistance in the larger gauge wire, always go up one size.
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Post by scooter on Mar 28, 2015 13:46:27 GMT -5
I'm not an electrical guru but I'd like to see you get your scooter fixed. Here's a chart of wire sizes by amperage. Try to figure out, perhaps by googling, or looking on ebay, how many amps the things you are wiring need. The bigger the better. Too big is okay. Too small can be dangerous. i looked earlier but didn't find the answer. i'll research some more. About a week ago I finished my project of upgrading to an 11-pole stator and R/R. It appeared 16 gauge was the factory standard for the wires. However, I went with a forurm member's advice and used 18 gauge wire for my high output stator wires. thx. do you mean 14 gauge? from the little research i did earlier i thought the lower number the more amps it can handle, or am i misinformed? Bigger diameter is better. It seems silly but the bigger the wire is the smaller the gauge number is.  I don't know why the sizing is backwards. It may mean the number of wires of a certain length that equal a certain weight, the number of wires that will fit in a certain diameter, or the number of dies a "0" sized wire must be drawn through to reach the smaller diameter. This backwardness is similar to the measure of gun barrels, where the gauge represents the number of spherical pellets of a given size that equal one pound. i.e. a lead ball that fits in a 12 gauge gun barrel is 1/12th of one pound. |
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Post by dmartin95 on Mar 28, 2015 16:10:30 GMT -5
can i use 16 gauge on everything? Yes, BUT..... 16 gauge is going to be harder to work with and if you intend on using the original plugs, some cases the wire will be too thick and not fit in the plugs. I would use 18 awg to rewire the scooter and 16~14 awg for your main battery &neg and your solenoid circuit. 16 awg cost more than 18 awg and you will not have any added benefit. Keep in mind, most of your GY6 scooter circuits can get away with using 22~24 awg wire because the individual circuit draws so little current. 18 awg is more than adequate for the main harness. |
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Post by lain on Mar 28, 2015 20:15:59 GMT -5
I'm using 12 gauge as negative for the battery to frame and engine to frame. Seems to have worked wonders for my starting issues, and now it seems my battery is always topped off after any ride, even just down the street for a snack and back.
I'm not a pro though, 12 gauge is just what I had on hand at the time. I would like to learn more about how to wire the entire scooter. I found a lot of burnt wires on my scoot recently and believe a lot of my CDI's frying and coils not lasting long may be due to burned out wires. One wire I took a look at was the ignition switch ground, it was so burnt up that I could not see any good shiny core until about a half a foot up from the end!
Is there a guide or a reference for every wire to create a new loom with all the wires to go to everything? Also is there a wiring kit that has all the bullets, spades, rings, and connectors I will need? I can probably reuse the old wiring harness plastic box things, I've taken the wires out of them before, it isn't very hard.
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wire gauge?
by: ramblinman - Mar 29, 2015 10:20:49 GMT -5
Post by ramblinman on Mar 29, 2015 10:20:49 GMT -5
scoot is completely dead now. couldn't get it started last night. not really sure how to tackle this project, guess i will remove plastic and start with the electric starter wires and then move on to the stator. i don't have the supplies so just gonna inspect and then find a ride or make the long 3 mile walk. hope to get it running before dark but i really don't know what i'm doing, lol. electricity is still a mystery to me.  |
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wire gauge?
by: ramblinman - Mar 29, 2015 16:20:26 GMT -5
Post by ramblinman on Mar 29, 2015 16:20:26 GMT -5
looks like a bad ground is causing my problem. 3 wires connect to the frame and all 3 look and feel a bit crispy. i bought the wrong wire when i got a ride to the store earlier. i couldn't find any markings on any wire. they appear to be 6 or 8 gauge. i bought 12 gauge wire, not going to risk doing this again so just gonna wait till i can get back to the store.
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wire gauge?
by: earlylight160 - Mar 29, 2015 20:05:30 GMT -5
Post by earlylight160 on Mar 29, 2015 20:05:30 GMT -5
Jerry,
A larger gauge (lower gauge number) wire will offer LESS resistance.
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wire gauge?
by: shalomdawg - Mar 29, 2015 21:27:26 GMT -5
Post by shalomdawg on Mar 29, 2015 21:27:26 GMT -5
howdy early, that is what i was going to chime in with. larger wire =less resistance unless the connectors are not correct.
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
ken
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