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What guage wire to GAP 26

rv6ehguy

Well Known Member
Good afternoon and Happy New Year RVators
I have an electrical question regarding the installation of my GAP 26 regulator box. Referring to figure 5-6 on page 5-5 of the G3X installation manual. The schematic is showing the joining of two red power wires and two black ground wires. Then there is a single black wire and a single red wire running to power source. I plan to keep these connections in the wing close to the regulator box and then run a black and red wire to the fuselage. I’m just wondering about wire size. What guage should I use here? The installation is in a RV6A with a 14 volt system and my regulator box is installed mid wing.
Thank you for your time.
John Van Lieshout
RV6A 85%
 
From the touch manual...

Min 14AWG up to 12 ft, 12AWG 13-20 ft and 10 AWG on...

20A breaker for 12 V.
 

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12AWG

I ran 12AWG on my retrofit. I’m a BSEE and run an electrical company, but that doesn’t matter. Like the above post shows, distance (voltage drop) dictates the decision.
 
(hopefully not too late)

One thing to keep in mind is that, if you're using a VP-X, its pins can only take up to 14 AWG - not that you can't splice a short 14AWG to a 12AWG for the rest of the run, the overall resistance will still be much lower than just the 14, assuming a good low-resistance splice.

The counterpoint is that it only consumes the max current at very very low temperatures (I remember -40?), so you can ask yourself whether that temperature is even flyable weather for you (it isn't for me).
 
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