fuse ampage and gauge question

[shadowspar]

im hooking up interior led's to my cig lighter. how do i find out what gauge wire is the wires for the cigarette lighter? also im wondering what fuse amp to use. i was told i should use a fuse with a little more amp than needed, this true?

 

[BrianDye]

Thats what I would do, but the power wire for the outlet isnt too thick. Ive ran an extra headunit off of it though, with LED's i think you should be okay....


Are you running like LED strips, or like individual ones?

 

[shadowspar]

ill be running led strips this kind http://www.ledunderbody.com/Blue-Led-Interior-Lights.aspx. ill be needing a fuse though, and im not sure what amp fuse to use. also it would make things easier to use a t-tap to get into the cig + wire thats why i want to find out what gauge the wire is so i can get the right t-tap.

 

[BrianDye]

Thats a steal on that kit, i might be looking into getting that in the future :

As for a fuse, a 15a would be good...
Someone correct me if im wrong.


Sorry, I have no clue what the actual gauge of the wire is though lol

 

[corkey]

well see what size fuse is in the slot for the lighter, and that is how much you can draw from it, i bet it is about a 20 amp considering a lighter uses alot of power, enuff to run a 20 amp power inverter , so the few leds should be okay, they don't draw much ,

 

[shadowspar]

yeah i was going to get some off ebay but i saw that kit and it seemed really cheap and well...good. ill probably just solder the wires together instead of using the t-tap.

so should i get the exact amp fuse as the fuse in the panel? alittle above or under?

 

[shadowspar]

wait... the cig lighter wire is hooked up to the fuse box, so if i tap into the cig +wire would i still need an inline fuse?

 

[BrianDye]

I wouldnt bother. If you blow the fuse for the LEDs it would be the same as blowing the fuse in the panel.

 

[shadowspar]

thats what i was thinking about. ill probably just wire it straight to the wires than. also do you know how many strips i could hook up to that wire?