3 sockets, same location, how many wires.

[ucs308]

I am going to put three sockets in the back of a 4runner. I am using 10 gauge cable and running these cables to a Blue Sea Fuse block in the engine compartment. Space is tight so I don't want to run 2 wires for each if I don't have to.

Is it possible to run the live wires for each socket so three (3 reds), and just one black to a terminal block? And then just do a short run from the sockets to the terminal block? Or do I need to run a pair of wires for each socket all the way back to the fuse box.

I'm a newbie.. so please be gentle!

Thanks

 

[dwh]

#10 is rated for 30 amps. Lighter sockets are usually rated for 10 amps. Just run a pair of #10 (with a 30a fuse to protect the wire) to feed all three.



But to answer your question - no you don't want to combine 3 hot wires onto a single ground, unless the ground wire is 3 times bigger than the hot wires.

Wiring is a circuit, and when in use, the ground will carry the same amperage load as the hot.

 

[ucs308]

Thanks. That was my sense, but I read somewhere that for a socket you could run a live wire and then ground the socket locally to the body of the vehicle.

 

[jgardiner]

You can do that and just use the wire size that's rated for 10 amps.

 

[ucs308]

Thanks for all the advice.

In the end I kept to my initial plan and ran 4 pairs of 10AWG wire from the rear drivers side through the firewall into the engine compartment. It was a complete PIA but it is done. It feels like major overkill.

Now on to the Aux. battery and fuse box install.