Contents
- 1 Can you use house cable in a car?
- 2 Is there a difference between automotive wire and house wire?
- 3 What gauge wire is used in automotive?
- 4 What is primary wire used for?
- 5 What are the ratings for wire?
- 6 Why are there different types of flexible cables?
- 7 Can you wire a house with flexible cable?
- 8 Do you use yy or flex for fixed wiring?
Can you use house cable in a car?
In the UK, household wiring uses 3-core flexible cables. Core size for some applications might be 2.5mm^2 and rated for 24a at 5.75kW at 240v. This means the cable exceeds the current draw of most in car circuits, such as the 12v outlet or horn.
Is there a difference between automotive wire and house wire?
Automotive wire costs more because of the jacket & flexibility, which are not important in a house. The smaller strand sizing also provides greater compression in fittings & stronger connection strength.
What is the best wire to use for automotive?
The most typical type of wire used in most automotive applications is automotive cross-link wire and automotive primary wire. General Purpose High Temperature automotive wire is ideal for under-hood automotive wiring applications with hard-to-fit areas.
What gauge wire is used in automotive?
18 gauge
Standard automotive primary wire is 18 gauge. This is good for signal wires, but not for hi-current applications. If you replace that section of wire with a piece of 18 gauge, it could cause a fire.
What is primary wire used for?
Primary Wire is the most commonly used general purpose wire for automotive wire connections and electrical projects. Primary Wire has a smooth surface, making it ideal for pulling through wire looms or other wiring management.
What is secondary wire?
Secondary circuits are those circuits supplied from transformer output windings that are electrically separated from the input windings. There is no direct electrical connection between the input and the output and the energy is transferred to the secondary winding through mutual induction.
What are the ratings for wire?
Wire Size & Amp Ratings
| Copper | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wire Gauge Size | 60°C (140°F) NM-B, UF-B | 90°C (194°F) THWN-2, THHN, XHHW-2, USE-2 |
| 14 | 15 | 25 |
| 12 | 20 | 30 |
| 10 | 30 | 40 |
Why are there different types of flexible cables?
Some cables are physically flexible, which can ease routing concerns during installation, but other cables are actually designed to be installed in flexing applications with different types of motion. Without considering the type of flexibility you need from your cable, you could choose the wrong cable and that will then have a reduced life cycle.
Can a flexible cable be used in a fire?
Obviously excessive lengths of flex should be avoided, that’s why you have Hubs! and flex through fire breaks is a no-no. BS EN 50565-1 and BS7671 (521.9.9) state that flexible cables may be used in ‘fixed installations’.
Can you wire a house with flexible cable?
It may also be used as a tail for lighting applications or immersion heaters because some flexes have heat resisting properties. Taking the argument that it’s ok to use it anywhere to the extreme one could wire a house in flex. That would be slightly unusual!
Do you use yy or flex for fixed wiring?
Yes, I use it a lot in industrial/ commercial jobs, normally with a proper brass gland at least at one end. I sometimes use yy as fixed wiring within large domestic heating systems, just because it’s easy than 2 cables.