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Wire gauge???

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awg gauge wire
3K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  dundee222 
#1 · (Edited)
After looking through all the manuals and searching through the forums. I cant find the what wire gauge the Ingersoll 224 uses. Found the colors for the wires but that's about it. I cant trust the PO sabotage wire job to build a new wire harness from scratch. Any set in stone AWG to use?
 
#3 ·
I have always been disappointed with the wire size that Case and Ingersoll used in wiring harnesses particularly on tractors with electric PTO clutches. Having repaired many tractor harnesses, I use #14 that I buy from a local store and this wire has a white inner insulation with the colored outside covering. Sometimes I use marine spec wire which is tinned, but a nearby marine store closed several years back so I now need to travel a longer distance to buy it. I'm picky about the wire connectors that I use. several days ago I needed some red butt connectors and bought some from TSC but they are poor quality.
There has been some changes in wire standards. The old size #14 is now #12 and so forth, this makes the old #18 into #16 which makes the situation worse.
Last summer I bought a new harness for a 1984 444 that I was servicing and I was not happy with this harness although I did install it in the tractor. I expected it to have the five connector plug for the key switch, but it had the individual push on connectors. In the future I will makeup my own harnesses.
Some thoughts :mrgreen: :geek:
 
#5 ·
I agree with Bob about connectors but add that it seems that all crimped connectors bought from big box stores and even most of the auto stores (auto zone, Advanced Auto, etc) are very low grade and will be the weak link in any electrical work. The correct terminals are PACKARD 56 (also referred to as GM56 or Delphi56) and can be sourced from Napa or online. The only issue with using this type is that they use a special crimp tool to seat the connector correctly.

Ray
 
#8 ·
I agree, the wire used in the factory harnesses is a bit on the light side and 14awg would be good choice for the new wiring. If possible, try to stay with the original color coding. Having wire colors that match the diagrams tends to make things easier if you ever have to do any troubleshooting in the future.

One of my other hobbies is restoring older cars & trucks (mostly GM). That often involves repairing, modifying, or custom building wiring harnesses so I keep quite a few of the Packard/Delphi terminals on hand. This box is full of various 56-series terminals & connector shells. Also shown here is the Delphi crimping tool.
Light Product Cable Gadget Technology

And here is a close-up of some of the terminals & crimp tool:
Auto part Machine Metal Fashion accessory Tool

The female terminal on the far left has an extra wide wire opening to accept two 14 or 16awg wires. That one requires a different crimping tool (the others all work with the tool shown). I don't use those double-wire terminals all that often so I haven't bothered buying the special tool for them. Instead, I use a pair of needle nose pliers to squeeze the terminal's "wings" down onto the wire. Then apply a small amount of solder. This crimp-with-pliers & solder technique can make connections as good as crimping with the correct tool but it does take longer.

Notice that these terminals have 2 sets of "wings" ... one set that crimps around the wire conductor and another set that crimps around the wire insulation for strain releif. When soldering, I've found that it works best to leave the insulation wings un-crimped until after you've crimped & soldered the conductor wings. That prevents the insulation wings from melting into the insulation and reducing their effectiveness. Also, be careful not to overdo it with the solder ... using too much can allow it to wick back into the wire strands and make the wire solid (and brittle / prone to breaking) near the terminal.
 
#9 · (Edited)
My experience with molex connectors especially those exposed to weather or washing is that they suck! Soldered or not. Whenever I scrap something with wiring I save any and all packard,[ Deutch or Weatherpac, those are just about bomb or submarine proof!!:thumbsup:] plugs with all available wire attached. When I wire/rewire something I just cut the wires to needed length or cut them close to the plug and splice and solder them in. Shrink tube the joints and then wrap the whole whip with self vulcanizing tape if need be,or just loomex. Never have a problem again!
 
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