Located at http://members.fbody.com/komeil/awg.html, this page was originally part of my FBody.com member homepage before it turned commercial.

American Wire Gauge (AWG) provides a standard for measure of the thickness of copper, aluminum and other wirings in the United States and other countries.

Copper cabling typically varies from #0 to #21 AWG in car industry. The higher the number, the thinner the wire. The thicker the wire, the less susceptible it is to interference. In general, thin wire cannot carry the same amount of electric current the same distance that thicker wire can. Acquaintance with copper wire characteristics can guide you through establishing your car electrical equipments, electronics, and particularly setting up your car audio reference system.

AWG Table for Bare Copper Wire

AWG Table Units Reference

• AWG: American Wire Gauge size varying from #0000 to #40
• Dia. (mils): Wire diameter in mils (1 mil = 0.001 inches)
• Dia. (mm): Wire diameter in millimeters. This was included to help when dealing with metric system.
• D.C. ohms/kft: Wire electrical resistance against direct current in ohms per 1,000 feet
• lbs/kft: Wire section weight in pounds per 1,000 feet
• Amps: Wire conservative current rating in amperes
• Max. Amps: Wire maximum allowable current rating in amperes. Do NOT exceed this rating.

AWG Wire Diameter Conventional Formula for Bare Copper Wire

By definition, 36 AWG is 0.0050 inches in diameter, and 0000 AWG is 0.4600 inches in diameter. The ratio of these diameters is 92, and there are 40 gauge sizes from 36 to 0000, or 39 steps. Using this common ratio, wire gauge sizes vary geometrically according to the following formula:

• Wire diameter in millimeters: (92 ^ ((36 – AWG) / 39)) * 0.127
• Wire diameter in mils: (92 ^ ((36 – AWG) / 39)) * 5
• Wire diameter in inches: (92 ^ ((36 – AWG) / 39)) * 0.005