What gauge wire

[wildturkey]

Thinking of putting wire in for running lights and trolling motor in aluminum boat. What gauge wire? 12 volt motor.

Thanks in advance.

[dmackaravitz]

6awg would be recommended. Buy a set of 6awg jumper cables and cut off the alligator clips and solder on ring terminals. Install a breaker on the + side near the battery. Running lights would be fine with 14awg or 16awg, if they're LED 18awg would even work.

What is the length you're running the wire?

[basscat21]

For a TM, welding cable works great, fine wire inside, great gor DC current.

[JerryT]

Husky jumper cables from Home Depot .. 20 bucks

[Skunked again]

^^^ What they said about jumper cables or welding cables. ^^^
6awg or bigger. It's crazy, the price difference for equal lengths of jumper cables vs wire by the foot.
On minnkotas site, they used to have something that said how amps are pulled by trolling motor, 12/24/36 volt , pounds of thrust.

[21XDC]

Jumper cables are not the same... They dont have "Tinned wire" that marine use should use.... Jumper cables corrode bad and fast.

[delee36]

Jumper cables are not the same... They dont have "Tinned wire" that marine use should use.... Jumper cables corrode bad and fast.

easily stopped with a product like Pentrox.
but 21 is right - jumper cables are not tin coated. The tin coating becomes really important in salt environments, not as much in freshwater.
The most important difference between so called "marine" wire and other wire is the number of strands and its flexibility. Marine wire is going to run you about $1.20 or so a foot for #6 --- good quality jumper cables are not all that much cheaper so might as well use what you should.
https://tinnedmarinewire.com/wire/in...72a5db029c3ec5

[bassboat1]

20' 4 gauge jumpers in-stock at the Borg for $25 - that's under $0.63/ft. My fine-wire Yamaha OB cables aren't tinned either.

[Mizzou211]

I have to agree about not using jumper cable wire. It's not that much more expensive to use the proper wire. Also, please don't just solder the terminals on. Tinning the wire at the end is fine (if you want, but it's not necessary in that size of wire), but go to an electrical shop and have the terminals crimped on, or find a place where you can rent or borrow the crimpers. Then, use heat shrink wrap over the junction.

[JohnD.]

I have to agree about not using jumper cable wire. It's not that much more expensive to use the proper wire. Also, please don't just solder the terminals on. Tinning the wire at the end is fine (if you want, but it's not necessary in that size of wire), but go to an electrical shop and have the terminals crimped on, or find a place where you can rent or borrow the crimpers. Then, use heat shrink wrap over the junction.

I'll add , slap some dielectric grease on before you heat shrink over the connection.

[Astyle954]

#8 tin coated plenty for 12v system properly installed.

[richg99]

Minnkota says....(remember that a 15 foot run is really 30 feet of wire, according to MK)
https://www.minnkotamotors.com/sites...le_1-22-19.pdf

[rhsvipre]

Really need to be looking at the temperature rating of the wire insulation- doubt jumper cables are up to the task of running a continuous load like a trolling motor. You need wire with a 105 deg C insulation rating.