Evening all , I've read myself to the point where I actually have confused myself .

Besides the battery wires , what is the consensus on wiring sizes ? If I say I'm going with normal lights etc , opposed to LED , what is the best sizes ? I know this is a very open ended / personal opinion thing , but I am truly starting from scratch ...

Cheers in advance ....

Chad's your man for this

General rule is amps on circuit so for headlamps 60watt divided by 12volts = 5amps then x 3 = 15amp wire and 5 x2 for the fuse. 16amp thin wall does most on a buggy. Dynamo / alternator 100amp wiring is fine even for the most powerful alternator. Plenty of info on line at the car electrical sites.
Get a blade fuse box 12 does a basic buggy as 4 are used for the lights.

Cheers snoop , thanks for the reply , I'm an automotive novice as you can tell ...

So 16amp will suffice for all my lighting needs ? I'm happy being over kill , even if I go LED or similar at a later date .

I've just taken a look in the CBS catalogue and they do 16.5amp / 1mm2 cable , so now just going to work out the relevent colours I need .

To save buying loads of different colour reels  consider trailer cable looms, selection if colours and sizes all in a nice sheath ready to fit

As Dave says I use 13core thin wall then add an ammeter size power wire from  rear to front to supply the elecrtricity. Fitting a relay on the starter solenoid takes the load off the ignition switch and means a small wire can be used front to rear

So 16amp will suffice for all my lighting needs ? I'm happy being over kill , even if I go LED or similar at a later date .

Yes to this with one possible exception. If you are using incadescent headlight bulbs AND a standard original VW Headlight relay you need to go higher. When using headlamp "flasher" function both high and low beam filaments on both headlights are illuminated. My buggy draws 17 amps when this function is used. (16 amp cable will, in theory, cope with 17 amps especially in intermittent use but err on the "safe side always). Relays in circuits will take away the need for switches nthat can cope with heavy loads so give these a thought. Very easy to wire up standard relays.

 Cheers for the extra info guys . I'll more than likely end up LED or similar , so the 16+ amps should be good . Also it will save me buying different colours of different sizes , making ordering easier .

Doon , I did see the 7 plus cores cable and did wonder . My only question was to how to make the set colours work against official wiring colours for the uk .

Paul , I'm keen to the idea of using relays as it will make getting the wiring in my custom dash easier , as my routing is not standard . As it's a sandrail and I've got no real designed path , and I'm not having a partition style  console , it's all going to be raised up to steering wheel height .

Snoopy , that's a good idea too , I like that , as my main route along the chassis is only 8 inch or so wide and need to keep space to max as I also need to get the battery to starter feed and 2 brake lines down there and the complete workings for the handbrake mechanism too .

Just as a side note guys , do you try and keep the wiring colours as true to original or modern colour codings or what works for you , especially regarding the use of multi cores cable ?

Unless you buy individual wires you cannot keep to the VW colours but with multi core just jot down the colour you use 13 thin wall is about 15mm diameter have a look on auto electrical supplies web site or alike.

Unless you buy individual wires you cannot keep to the VW colours but with multi core just jot down the colour you use 13 thin wall is about 15mm diameter have a look on auto electrical supplies web site or alike.

In a previous life I spent a couple years at a trailer manufacturer and remember it was seven core and even had a little thing to remember which was what , but like the rainbow thing , Richard York Gave Battle ,,,,, but mine was less appropriate for children 

I did see CBS did 11 or 12 core aswell , I'll have a better look at it all ans see if I can make a favourable colour selection for mine .

ust as a side note guys , do you try and keep the wiring colours as true to original or modern colour codings or what works for you , especially regarding the use of multi cores cable ?


Keep your costs down and use readily available colours. Just as a point of of compliance with past protocol the feeds to switches etc were in solid colours and the out from a switch/relay etc was a colour with a stripe along the wire. Justs makes it easy if you ever need to take a look at the wiring later on.

Strangely there has never been a standardised colour across europe which I find odd considering the EU meddlings.

My rewire gives Chad palpitations.

Every cable has a label, ebay label cable ties and a fine point marker.
Well worth the extra bit of effort

Strangely there has never been a standardised colour across europe which I find odd considering the EU meddlings.

Those that remember the Old Vauxhall Cavalier will recall Black being live and Brown an earth when it came to the stereo fitting !!

Set me up quite nicely as a Radio repair centre back then 

The chinesium people are supply stuff whose ground wire is white...

The chinesium people are supply stuff whose ground wire is white...

Along side black live feeds