New use for empty space in a D2

[R_Lefebvre]

For general low voltage wiring in a car, concerns about insulation type are more properly, IMO, directed towards abrasion resistance, solvent resistance, temperature resistance to external heat sources and other environmental factors.

Which, coincidentally, are all things that welding cable is good at!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Sorry Walter, back to the basics here:

The AWG tables are for a single, solid, round conductor. The AWG of a stranded wire is determined by the total cross-sectional area of the conductor, which determines its current-carrying capacity and electrical resistance. Because there are also small gaps between the strands, a stranded wire will always have a slightly larger overall diameter than a solid wire with the same AWG.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

Stranded wire is another matter. For any given AWG size, a stranded wire will occupy more space than a solid wire, because the wire gage is measured by summing the cross-sectional area of the strands. Because there are air pockets between the strands, any given cross-sectional area of wire will take up more overall space in a stranded configuration than it will in a solid wire. Consequently, when we talk about "diameter" relative to wire gage, it's well to remember that diameter will vary not only with gage but also with stranding. In this article, when we talk about relative diameters, our examples are based on solid wire for the sake of simplicity.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/what-does-wire-gage-mean.htm

Calculating a Stranded Conductor Cross-Sectional Area in Circular Mils.
Lets use a 19 strand (Figure 2) 4/0 conductor which is made up of a central strand and two
layers (one of 6 strands and the other 12 strands) wound helically at different points and in
different directions around the central strand. All the strands have a diameter "d" of 0.1055
inches and the overall diameter of the stranded conductor is determined by the geometry (Figure
2). In this case it equals 5 x 0.1055 = 0.5275 or 0.528 inches. Likewise the cross-sectional area
of the 19 strands is 19 x 105.5 2 or 211,474.75 circular mils.
We previously calculated the cross-section area of our 4/0 solid conductor to be 211,600 circular
mils and this this very close to our 19 strand cross sectional area (211, 474.75 circular mils). The
difference between our solid conductor diameter of 0.460 inches and our stranded conductor
diameter of 0.528 inches however is the penalty we pay for flexibility.

http://stewart-hay.com/documents/pshwirepdf.pdf

If you guys are buying wire with less than the specified cross sectional area... well, I can't help you there.

Note that in IEC 60228, the international wire standard, wire size is defined by cross sectional area, not diameter.

 

[Alaska Mike]

...and from there the meaningful debate ended. Pick your own conclusions from what has already been posted.

Please refer to the following thread:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2

In particular, refer to the following line:

3. Flaming is IMMEDIATELY moderated, and inappropriate. Fortunately we have very little issue with this. Spirited and intelligent debate is encouraged. If you enjoy flame wars, that is fine, just do it on a forum that supports it.​

Obviously "flaming" is a subjective term, so let's put it in more clear terms:

"Flaming is when a debate becomes personal, with personal insult. Debating a specific point is fine, but calling someone "stupid" is not. It is commonly known that once someone reaches the limit of their ability to intellectually debate a subject, they typically resort to personal insult or threats of physical violence."​

The above quotation is not mine, but is something I believe in. That statement will likely become part of the forum rules, for clarity's sake. I know you likely glossed over the forum rules and checked "I agree" when you joined. I certainly did, as it's kind of standard on the internet. That does not relieve any of us of the responsibility of following these rules.

If you can't intelligently debate the issue because it's too hard to back up your point of view without resulting to going negative, please consider saving even more energy by using the opportunity to refrain from posting.