Wanting to wire a bilge pump in a boat directly to battery. Bilge pump has 12 gauge wires. Two brown wires going to a three way toggle (one is for manual operation, other is for auto operation). From switch I want to put in an inline fuse (5 amp) but I can only find a 16 gauge inline fuse. So I thought I would connect the brown wires to the switch, then connect the 16 gauge inline fuse to the switch and heat sink it to a 14 gauge red wire to positive battery terminal. 12 gauge black wire from pump would heat sink with butt splice directly to 14 gauge black wire that would connect to battery. Is this safe or do I need to find a 12 gauge inline fuse holder and use 12 gauge wire throughout?
Wiring – Guidelines for Wiring a Bilge Pump with Different Size Wires
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Best Answer
The big deal with DC is the distance using the larger wire as the feeder will reduce the voltage drop. You will be fine using the 16 awg wire in the fuse holder with the 12 awg. Suggestion if you use crimp connectors fill them with silicon sealer , even bathroom calking will work then stuff your wires in and crimp this will make the connections moisture proof and anyone that works on marine electrical knows how the connections corrode away if not sealed. I have used this trick on my boats regularly used in saltwater and have never had a bad splice even a decade later.