Who makes the best auto wire? | The Garage Journal

When I needed a wiring harness for a kit car I was building in , I bought a "universal" harness from Painless Performance. Great quality wire, each one clearly marked with it's destination and purpose. I used crimp connectors, but soldered and shrink wrapped them all instead of crimping. Soldering did not melt the insulation. The only two failures were self inflicted. The alternator mount I used was not stiff enough, and I failed to provide a proper strain relief for the big red wire. It vibrated and broke the connector. Once I reinforced the bracket and secured the wire to the alternator properly that problem went away. And I had a screw come loose on the turn signal switch (toggle type). Other than that, it has been rock solid. If you don't use their harness, they sell wire separately. http://www.painlessperformance.com. Good luck with your project! Are you building a harness or just adding to one?
If building an entire harness you would be much farther ahead to buy a new harness as BC mentioned. I will point you toward American Auto Wire though instead of Painless.
https://www.americanautowire.com/
AAW's harnesses includes all of the switches, connectors and bulb sockets you will need to do the job correctly.
If you are simply adding some circuits to an existing harness go here:
https://www.wirebarn.com/
You can buy wire in packs of 25' lengths in just about any color you want and it is all American made. They also carry a lot of connectors.
Mark TXL/ is what the car came with from the factory. I don't bother with the nonsense from the parts stores. Way too thick insulation, poor heat resistance. Hell, most of a "16" gauge wire from a knock of brand is rubber. It's as though they're including the insulation in the wire size.


Do yourself a favor- if you need junctions, add disconnects. https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/index.php/cPath/109_130_197

I prefer metricpack/weatherpack myself. You can get a crimping tool on that site too. It takes a few practice crimps, but it's worth it to add serviceability to your wiring.

hmmm I got a question. The OEM Mercedes-Benz wiring I got fits 20 gauge, but i stripped it and counted 24 strands of 0."⌀/0.20mm⌀ wire. Which wire would be best to match this?

I was looking at some more TXL wire gauge and most I saw were 7 strands of 28 gauge or did not list conductor strand.

A quick 'back of the envelope' calculation -

0.20 mm is close to 32 AWG (0. mm dia)
24 strands of 32 AWG has a total area of about 0. square mm.
That's roughly equivalent to a single 19 AWG conductor (0. square mm).
19 AWG is not a common size, so I'd probably step up the next larger standard size, which is 18 AWG.
You won't see that many strands in common general purpose auto wire - somebody chose it for an application that wanted a real flexible cable.

A very good post, as a matter of fact it took me by surprise as I just checked where all my wire was made and sure enough not one strand was made in the USA, it all comes from China.

I will have to look into wire that comes from the USA in the future.

I don't spend a lot of time bashing the stuff made in China, but I make an exception with wire from there. Don't buy China-made wire! There's nothing good to say about it. The insulation is terrible, the conductors break, and - most significantly - are undersized. They will be marked as AWG, but the wire often doesn't conform to the standard. I once came across some China "AWG 16" wire that was approximately the same size as 20 gauge wire. It had a fat insulator, so it sort of looked like 16 gauge if you didn't look too closely.

Another endorsement for the Wire Barn if you want good automotive wire.

If it is going to be exposed to the elements, use ANCOR Marine wire. Pre-tinned so it will not corrode.

Well that won't work for my application as they don't even have 20AWG, but will note for future engine endeavors.

Here is what I got so far: Terminals from TE (Tyco Electronics) Connectivity, TESA tape for wrapping harness, Mercedes-Benz terminal blocks (from the dealer made by TE Connectivity & Delphi), and Knipex crimpers.

I think I will buy Knipex flush cutters as I don't have faith in the Snap-on to cut all the tin terminals I bought.

I don't spend a lot of time bashing the stuff made in China, but I make an exception with wire from there. Don't buy China-made wire! There's nothing good to say about it. The insulation is terrible, the conductors break, and - most significantly - are undersized. They will be marked as AWG, but the wire often doesn't conform to the standard. I once came across some China "AWG 16" wire that was approximately the same size as 20 gauge wire. It had a fat insulator, so it sort of looked like 16 gauge if you didn't look too closely.

Another endorsement for the Wire Barn if you want good automotive wire.

Why would one even risk faulty wiring on their beloved vehicles? And I too have noticed the poop china wire strips terribly. The wire I used from Home Depot that is made in Mexico also has crappy insulation. I will pay more so I don't have to deal with that crap.

I also have this one coming in soon:

I'm a little confused. You've got over $ worth of crimpers there, and they're not all brand new. It seems odd that someone with those tools would need to ask where to get wire. I don't mean to be attacking, I'm genuinely curious about the inconsistency. I ask because I own a few crimpers myself, but I sure as heck had bought a lot of wire before I had a set up anywhere close to what you have there.

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