18-24awg wire by the foot in various colors??

[jblaine]

Hey, I'm trying to track down some 18 (or 20, or 22, or 24) awg stranded wire in various colors for purchase "by the foot".

There aren't any decent electronics shops in the area that I have ever found.

Specifically, I am trying to track down orange. Red, black, green and white are easy to find at Radio Shack.

I am extending some existing wires and I am picky. I want the colors kept the same as the wires attached to the product I bought.

Any ideas? I don't want to order over the net for this.

[kpr10is]

You could try some Circuit City's. I try to keep all colors in stock at my store but a lot of stores don't so its hit or miss. It's not generally wire for sale, its just shop use, but theyll probably sell you some if you find someone whose not a newb, or even give it to you depending on how much you need.

[Notladstyle]

^+1 most shops carry multi cable as well that packs 8 color 16-18-20ga wire into one sheath. The sheath is also easily stripped.

are you compensating for dc resistance in your extension project? The only electrical components I know that use green orange and red are computer electronics which have very tight voltage tolerances. anything over 1ft(less with some things like sata hard drives) will reduce the device's reliability.

[the727kid]

He's probally doing an alarm...

[TpaS13]

we have all those colors at circuit city on gunn hwy...all except orange

Rob

[Notladstyle]

He's probally doing an alarm...

multi cable then... but the smart move would be to rotate the color of the wires to trip up a thief :p.

[the727kid]

multi cable then... but the smart move would be to rotate the color of the wires to trip up a thief :p.

Actually I wrap all the wires completely in eletrical tape, that will really get a theif lol. Go under the dash and nothing but black wires:D

[Notladstyle]

Actually I wrap all the wires completely in eletrical tape, that will really get a theif lol. Go under the dash and nothing but black wires:D

=/ one razor cuts through 10 layers of electrical tape, and most alarms use a standard coloring scheme => your alarm actually makes it easier to steal your car.

shifting colors of the wires and interrupting the starter somewhere other than the ignition harness are helpful.

relying on electrical tape is like closing your screen door and hoping the burglars don't get in!

[TJElite]

And for that one in a million shot that you actually stop a theif by changing colors, whoever has to work on your car next wants to shoot you.

Toby

[nightstalker352]

Just go to Parts Express - Amplifiers, Head Units, Speakers, Wiring Kits, Subwoofers, Dampening (http://www.partsexpress.com/) they have about everything you could want I am sure they have orange wire on there.

[jblaine]

I ended up just waiting it out and eventually found this place. I got 10ft each of a bunch of colors.

In case anyone else wants the local info:

Chester Electronics

Chester Electronic Supply Company, 311 Missouri Ave N, Largo, FL on Yahoo! Local (http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=14499022)

311 Missouri Ave N
Largo

(727) 585-4736

[Notladstyle]

And for that one in a million shot that you actually stop a theif by changing colors, whoever has to work on your car next wants to shoot you.

Toby
MUHAHAHAHAHAHA Its like Apple computers.

[MCOR]

And for that one in a million shot that you actually stop a theif by changing colors, whoever has to work on your car next wants to shoot you.

Toby
AGREED! Or the poor installer who has to deal with it long after you sell the car off and now the alarm is acting up...

[Notladstyle]

Heres a story for you... You but a used lexus ES300, you are a little over protective to you have the alarm wired by an overzealous installer with too much time on his hands so he relocates your alarm to underneath the cushion of the rear seat and while extending the harness, he uses three lengths of alternating color wire and doesn't lable them.

Warp two years into the future, you leave your rear window down and it rains. cushion is soaked, alarm brain is fried. You can only intermittently start your car. You take your car to sound advice. Sound advice messes around and tells you that it will be $500 in parts&labor to replace the brain and rewire it. You scream.

You call the installer, he comes out, he downloads the manual and splices the starter kill wires at the harness together. Your car starts. Took 5 minutes.

Seriously, where is rotating the wires causing a big issue? if the car goes back to stock you aren't using the wires. If you install a new alarm, you use the old wiring diagram. I think you guys just don't want me to start a new fad.

[P057]

Heres a story for you... You but a used lexus ES300, you are a little over protective to you have the alarm wired by an overzealous installer with too much time on his hands so he relocates your alarm to underneath the cushion of the rear seat and while extending the harness, he uses three lengths of alternating color wire and doesn't lable them.

Warp two years into the future, you leave your rear window down and it rains. cushion is soaked, alarm brain is fried. You can only intermittently start your car. You take your car to sound advice. Sound advice messes around and tells you that it will be $500 in parts&labor to replace the brain and rewire it. You scream.

You call the installer, he comes out, he downloads the manual and splices the starter kill wires at the harness together. Your car starts. Took 5 minutes.

Seriously, where is rotating the wires causing a big issue? if the car goes back to stock you aren't using the wires. If you install a new alarm, you use the old wiring diagram. I think you guys just don't want me to start a new fad.

Bro, you aren't going to be around forever.

[93ex]

Sound advice messes around and tells you that it will be $500 in parts&labor to replace the brain and rewire it. You scream.

You call the installer, he comes out, he downloads the manual and splices the starter kill wires at the harness together. Your car starts. Took 5 minutes.


So sound advice was going to charge 500 for a new alarm and labor. And you didnt replace anything but the car starts, so thats all that matters?

How much would you have charged for a new alarm and installation?

edit - not to mention, what if the guy moved, you moved, or the car was sold?

[Notladstyle]

So sound advice was going to charge 500 for a new alarm and labor. And you didnt replace anything but the car starts, so thats all that matters?

How much would you have charged for a new alarm and installation?

edit - not to mention, what if the guy moved, you moved, or the car was sold?


I moved the alarm to under the rear seat, they told him that would require custom labor charges...

I wouldn't have charged him anything, the wiring was fine he just needed a new brain. plug n play.

My point was, the original wiring is stll there. Uninstalling the alarm would be a simple matter of cutting and capping the wires I tapped. The wiring BETWEEN the alarm and the tapped wiring may have rotated colors, but the alarm harness itself is always the same. installing a new alarm would only entail matching the currently installed alarms harness pinout to the new alarm and recrimping the wires. Sound advice was just trying to rip him off. Any installer with common sense could repair the alarm without tracing every wire.

The only person who would suffer as a result of a mismatched harness would be a thief attempting to trace the wiring from the front to the back. Since they wouldn tknow where the alarm was...

[93ex]

I wouldn't have charged him anything, the wiring was fine he just needed a new brain. plug n play.

You wouldnt have even charged him for parts? good deal.

[Notladstyle]

You wouldnt have even charged him for parts? good deal.

I dont sell alarms :dunno:

[integralsgreen]

i had to change a firewall pad on a flooded celica the other day.i had to cut a few of the alarm wires to get the new pad in because the wires were running in and out of it. after completely stripping the firewall of everything (dash, evap, blower, steering column,airbags, gas and brake pedal and factory wire harness ect ect) and putting it all back together, the biggest pain in my ass was trying to figure out the damn alarm in it. it was some cheep noname pos alarm and we couldent get a diagram for it and the mickymouse install job on it didnt make life any easier. after spending 4 hours on it trying to get the car to start i said fuck it and uninstalled the alarm and car started rite up after that. we ended up giving him the alarm and said he had to have it reinstalled at a shop that deals with alarms. and no we didnt pay for it, his insurance company may tho. any car thief that knows how to deactivate a alarm would know alls you have to do it re attach the ignition wire under the dash to bypass the ignition cutoff and thats not to hard to figure out cuz the factory harness is colorcoded. alls changing wire colors dose is causes a problems with people who have to repair thos cars and say wtf is going on with this wiring was this person colorblind?.
oh and while im ranting, to all the amature installers who wrap long lengths of wire with electrical tape.....put a ziptie or heat shrink the ends or do something so that they don't unravel and leave a big black sticky mess. it took me 3 days to get the damn electrical tape glue off my hands. honestly just bundlel up and ziptie your extra wire. the wire alredy has insolation. you dont need to add another layer with electrical tape.
end of rant.
sorry it had nothing to do with the thread lol

[MCOR]

About the tape-this is very true about unravelling. But, if you crimp the male blade connector properly to the end of the tape wrapped wire, the insullation catches inside the connector and keeps it from unravelling. Also, where the whole harness comes out of the alarm, a solid tie wrap should be there anyway to keep theives from just stripping back tape. That's the way we have always done it anyway...

[TJElite]

Lets say you just took the brain, wrapped all the wires around it, and stuffed it up under the passenger side of the dash.

A potential thief comes by, and sees the blinking light. 99% of the time, this is enough. Most theives are amatuers or kids, just looking for change, radar detectors, etc. They don't want the hassle fo having an alarm go off, ruining their fun for the night. So, just having the light stops most of these types (putting away valuables, etc. does this, as well).

Say, you get unlucky, and find either a determined amatuer, or a semi pro theif. This guy breaks the window, setting off the alarm. Now, most likely, he did this to grab something and run like hell, so he doesn't care where the brain is, or how it is installed.

So, lets say that you're theif is really determined, and wants to stop the alarm from going off so he can disassemble your car in the nice, dark, secluded place you parked it. He now has to find the brain, and unplug it. If he gets lucky, and picks the passenger side of the dash, he still has to pull it down to get behind it, and then untangle the alarm, and unplug it. I'll bet this takes at least 20 seconds, and remember, he guessed right as to where the alarm was. If someone hasn't heard your alarm, and done something about it (most alarms are ignored nowadays) in 20 seconds, they probably aren't going to.

Take a couple minutes, and stash the brain up high, and bundle the wires, and you probably double this 20 seconds to 45.

Even poping the hood, and cutting the siren isn't quick, especially if the siren is even the slightest bit stashed, and the wire hidden.

Remeber, this is a guy breaking the law, with a siren blaring. Not exactly a stress free situation.

Odds are, once the alarm goes off, the guy is going to bolt.

If you've got one of the 1/10 of 1% of the theives who are still around, most likely, they have a plan to get your car...they know alarm and vehicle wiring better than most installers, or they have a tow truck. Either way, they probably get your car, no matter how clever your installer thought they were.

Add up all the 'advantages' to having a super stealth install on your alarm, weigh them against the potential negatives...increased cost and time of install, difficulty making changes down the road, etc...and I think that it just doesn't make sense.

Best alarm we ever did...two way pager, battery back up, tilt sensor, ignition and fuel pump kill (over and above the factory GM system), microwave sensor, shock sensor, etc...was for a guy with a Denali XL. Guy took it to Ybor. Alarm went off, pager alerted him, he ran out of the club he was in. Car was gone from the well lit, attended parking lot he left it in. 20 witnesses saw the tow truck hook up to it, and pull it out. Figured it was being repoed. The next day, they found it in miami, completely stripped. No super stealth install trick was going to stop that theif.

Get a quality alarm, and a clean, quality installation, and call it a day.

Toby

[integralsgreen]

About the tape-this is very true about unravelling. But, if you crimp the male blade connector properly to the end of the tape wrapped wire, the insullation catches inside the connector and keeps it from unravelling. Also, where the whole harness comes out of the alarm, a solid tie wrap should be there anyway to keep theives from just stripping back tape. That's the way we have always done it anyway...

this guy had all his extra wire wrapped in tape from end to end then wrapped around the brain harness then wrapped in tape again. it was a gooey messy unraveled nightmare. the whole time i was thinking how unnessesary all the tape was. 2 zipties woulda taken care of it and and looked alot cleaner.

[94civicb16]

Bro, you aren't going to be around forever.

lol