Correct gauge wire

[Will D]

What gauge wire is run thru the stock ammeter on 38' ford stock 6v system?

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Will D

What gauge wire is run thru the stock ammeter on 38' ford stock 6v system?

I don't have a reference for 38, but several later years call out 10 gauge for pass-thru ammeters.

[34fivewindow]

Originally Posted by Will D

What gauge wire is run thru the stock ammeter on 38' ford stock 6v system?

10 gauge wire.

[Will D]

Thanks guys.

[jimvette59]

Just a note Fuse size is to protect the wire size.

[V8COOPMAN]

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Originally Posted by jimvette59

Just a note Fuse size is to protect he wire size.

......and...fuses are designed to protect wiring...NOT the device, or load. DD

.

[Will D]

Should I be adding a fuse to this wire? It goes from starter solenoid, looped thru ammeter and to starter switch. Any accessory lights I have run direct from the battery thru a fuse and a relay.

[ford38v8]

No fuse.

[JSeery]

The original was not fused. Way later years used a fusible link in the wiring.

[Will D]

Originally Posted by JSeery

The original was not fused. Way later years used a fusible link in the wiring.

I'm going away from the cloth wire to plastic coated, originality is not huge on the list.... would you recommended adding a fuse for the heck of it or leave it out?

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Will D

I'm going away from the cloth wire to plastic coated, originality is not huge on the list.... would you recommended adding a fuse for the heck of it or leave it out?

Leave the fuse out on that circuit. You DO realize that all wires are not the same. You want a soft-stranded, very flexible automotive-type wire that is not so stiff as to be prone to vibration-induced cracking, like "GXL" wire. DD

[rotorwrench]

If a buss wire is fused, which is rare in automobiles in the early Ford era, it has to have a fuse and a wire that can carry the rated load of the system. The 1938 was likely still a 25-amp system with a 3-brush generator and a cut out relay but it may depend on whether it is a standard or deluxe model. Voltage regulators and 35-amp generators were in their infancy in 1938. 10 AWG wire would still be a safe bet. A fuse would not be original on a buss wire. Many used circuit breakers instead of fuses for protected circuits.

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

If a buss wire is fused, which is rare in automobiles in the early Ford era, it has to have a fuse and a wire that can carry the rated load of the system. The 1938 was likely still a 25-amp system with a 3-brush generator and a cut out relay but it may depend on whether it is a standard or deluxe model. Voltage regulators and 35-amp generators were in their infancy in 1938. 10 AWG wire would still be a safe bet. A fuse would not be original on a buss wire. Many used circuit breakers instead of fuses for protected circuits.

The ‘40 Ford came out with what was called a circuit breaker for the lighting circuits, before which were 20 amp fuses on the earlier models. The so-called circuit breaker was actually an intermittent contact buzzer(terminology?) that was said to provide needed headlights at night at intervals spaced close enough to see where the roadway was. The circuit would heat up, overload, trip, cool down, and reset itself at a speed that had it described as a buzzer.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

The ‘40 Ford came out with what was called a circuit breaker for the lighting circuits, before which were 20 amp fuses on the earlier models. The so-called circuit breaker was actually an intermittent contact buzzer(terminology?) that was said to provide needed headlights at night at intervals spaced close enough to see where the roadway was. The circuit would heat up, overload, trip, cool down, and reset itself at a speed that had it described as a buzzer.

Yes, but not on the circuit in question.

[rotorwrench]

They used a bi-metallic strip that would hold connection till it got hot enough to trip. As soon as it cools then the circuit is restored. These type of short stop CBs were used up until recent 10 or 20 years ago in trucks and Harley Davidson motorcycles.

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

They used a bi-metallic strip that would hold connection till it got hot enough to trip. As soon as it cools then the circuit is restored. These type of short stop CBs were used up until recent 10 or 20 years ago in trucks and Harley Davidson motorcycles.

That’s good info, and serves to reaffirm that simple, basic technology continues to have value in today’s complicated world.

[VeryTangled]

Originally Posted by Will D

I'm going away from the cloth wire to plastic coated, originality is not huge on the list.

Hi Everyone. Will D, The replacement wire looms for my '35, purchased within the last 5 years, were copper-rubber-cloth. So you can have it both ways, the original look with the accepted safety factor.

The original wiring is just copper-cloth and any of it you have that is 80 years old simply must go away.