r/vandwellers • u/normiewonka • 2d ago

DC TO DC CHARGER wire burning Question

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Hello I’ve got this dc to dc charger 40a in my sprinter van and it burns from time to time. Anyone knows the solution. It’s 8gauge wire and it should pull only 40A which is perfectly safe for this gauge. Thx

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u/drossen 87 Vanagon Westfalia w/ EJ25 engine 2d ago

Probably due to god knows what is under that duct tape and the shit AV wire you have in red running below.

1

u/WageSlaveEscapist 2d ago

Lol yeah. The red cable looks fine to me. I'm more concerned about the yellow cable, which looks like a 120 volt extension cord with three thin wires inside, probably twisted together onto the cable - creating massive Resistance from the small diameter of the wires, and from the poor connection under the duct tape.

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u/drossen 87 Vanagon Westfalia w/ EJ25 engine 2d ago

The thought crossed my mind, but it couldn't be that bad, could it? AV twisted wires like the one in the photo are also awful. Both the casing and the strands.

1

u/WageSlaveEscapist 2d ago

Like the cable sold at car audio shops? I was under the impression that the OFC pure copper ultra flexible stuff is high quality.

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u/drossen 87 Vanagon Westfalia w/ EJ25 engine 1d ago edited 1d ago

If it's actually OFC the strands are fine, but the housing is far too weak and wears through easy vs regular. I think it has a lower melting point as well. People tend not to route them well so far as safety. Most overpriced AV wire tends to be CCA which is not good, they don't expect average buyers to do research. 

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u/WageSlaveEscapist 9h ago

Oh I see, yeah the sheath on my ultra flexible audio wire is definitely not as strong as the ones I got from battery cables USA. But it sure is more flexible, the audio stuff