Electrical wiring wire types

For automobile electrical wiring wires and cables are made of strained copper wires and for insulation polyvinyl chloride or PVC is used. Strand wire has quality of flexibility and better current flow performance due to more surface area and skin effects and less resistance compared to solid wires.

To determine the exact size or diameter of wire three factors are considered. 1. Wire or cable used in automotive wiring should withstand certain level of vibration as vehicle is vibrating all the time during running. 2. Wire should bear certain degree of temperature or heat as it will be exposed to heat in automotive during its service life as the engine is producing certain amount of heat when it is running. 3. Wire must have enough diameters so that it could carry certain amount of current without substantial voltage drop. This is especially critical for light wiring.

Electrical cables and wires size is the diameter of the conductor used in the wire or cable. Four factors affect the resistance of wire are conductor diameter, wire temperature, diameter and wire conductor material.

Breaded ground straps are provided to make a complete return path from component to battery negative. They are helpful for insulating parts grounding and they reduce electromagnetic induction EMI also.

PCB or printed circuit board are used everywhere in electrical and electronics. They are used in vehicle computers, instrument cluster and many other places. PCB makes the mass production of electronics very easy and affordable. PCB uses glass fiber sheet or some other insulated fiber sheet to support component and copper traces are provided on the board to make interconnections between devices on pcb.

Wires are grouped and bundles and made a wiring harness. Wire harness provides mechanical strength and neatness to the system. At the end of wires connectors are provided to interconnect the wires.

Wiring diagram and electrical schematics are very helpful for technicians and engineers. They provide benefit to identify the components interconnections and components location. Drawings also provide power and ground locations in a vehicle.

Wire color coding is used to identify wires. Sometimes two colors are used on a wire. The second color strap is called tracer. This provides more flexibility to color coding. Sometimes numbering system is also used to identify the wiring wires.

Circuit diagrams use symbols to show different electrical components in a vehicle. They don’t show the actual shape of the component. Knowledge of symbols could help to troubleshoot faults according to the circuit diagram.

Terminals and lugs are crimped and soldered to the wires conductors. Terminals are used to make electrical connection between components. They should be able to withstand heat and vibration.

In electrical system wire harnesses are used to group or bundle wires. They branch out wires to interconnect with components. Harnesses are helping to reduce hanging and loose wires under the hood and under the dash board. Harnesses provide safety path to lights and sensors connection.