I'm sure its probably been covered before but I've searched and not come up with anything conclusive.

I'm not planning to re wire or build a full loom but I do have some wiring to chop / add, looking at my looms (one for bike engine, 1 for the general car stuff) I can see quite a few different guages, rather than buying short lengths to suit I was going to buy a reel of the stuff, I'm not bothered about colours etc.
Is there a gauge that will suit 99.9% of applications? I'm not doing the lot so weight isn't an issue but will need to do some feeds to relays, ignition etc so it has to be up to the job.

Personally i'd say just order lengths of what you need in the correct colours as per standardised wiring looms (green /red & green / white for indicators etc). I have done a loom pretty much from scratch as you are going to do (bike engine and wiring the rest from scratch) and it makes the whole job sooooooo much simpler. Troubleshooting will be a whole lot simpler too in future.

Work out the current you need for the cables, add a little for safety and then look up the gauge you need.

If you use thinwall (as modern cars - it's lighter)
See here http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/cable/thinwall.php

If you prefer older fashion cable - more flexible.
See here http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/cable/standardcable.php

Other cable suppliers are available

I get the impression you are going to extend the bike loom?

If so, why not order some cable in the same colours as the loom (as long as that doesn't mean too many different ones. Most cable suppliers have charts showing the current carrying capacity, so you can work out what you need for most circuits by looing at the wattage of the unit you are feeding.

Having said that, I find 1.00mm thin insulation to be ideal for most applications, obviously you will need thicker stuff for headlights etc

John

I'm not doing the lot though, I'm converting my car to BEC so my existing car loom is fine for running the general stuff indicators etc, I have a bike loom which runs the engine, both looms will be stripped back once I have it all up and running but for now I just need to make a few connections between the two and sort the ignition out. Once I've stripped them both back i'll have plenty of wire but I'm not doing it until its all up and running.

If I was to buy lengths how do I know what colours / gauges to use for what is there an idiots guide / industry standard?


Edit sorry mr henderson and iank I was typing that at the same time as you thanks for the advice i'll have a butchers

[Edited on 12/3/09 by a4gom]

Or the other route is to grab an-another loom and make use of that.
- When I broke my 306 for parts having writen it off i gutted the, including the incar loom which i have since used peices of for all sorts of jobs.


Daniel

Sorry this is a bit late.

Standard colour codes, though there is no requirement to use those colours.

http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/resources

Oh yeah don't use the same colours for them all or you will have a nightmare refitting them. I remember being told about a whole rewire being needed when he had a choice of 6 black wires to connect together