What kind of wire

[Railroader]

I'm installing a depth finder and the wires are too short to run from the battery tobthe console, I have to run some extra wire, is there a particular gauge size I should use?

[Lee Smith]

Run 14 or 16 from the battery to a block then 10 to the unit.  This will save on voltage drop and your unit want turn on and off while cranking the big motor.

[Wayne P.]

Run 14 or 16 from the battery to a block then 10 to the unit.  This will save on voltage drop and your unit want turn on and off while cranking the big motor.

You have your wiring sizes backwards. You want the largest conductor from the battery to the terminal block/fuse panel. Then extend the unit power cord with 16-14 guage wire.

[Lee Smith]

Yep, your correct Wayne didn't even re-read before I posted   

Hell to get old   

[Bobby Saffel]

You'd be fine with 16 all the way in my opinion. That's not enough of a run to worry about voltage drop

[Team Stratos]

I have always had good luck using a 25', 16 gauge extension cord. I crimp,solder,and seal with liquid electrical tape, a pair of ring terminals on one end. And splice and seal with liquid electrical tape to the power leads on the other end. I always snake it through before I cut the ends off.

[Railroader]

Thanks

[bucketmouth 87]

would low voltage direct burial wire work for this?  12/2 copper.  Its the wire you would use for landscape lighting

[Creel Limit Zero]

How long are you trying to run the wire.  You want a voltage loss of less than 1 Volt.  Here is the chart, take the Max amp draw of your Trolling motor, multiply it by the distance in feet X 2 from this chart.  For example, if the batteries are 15 feet away from the plug connector, and at full power you are running 50 Amps and use 10 Gauge wire, you will have a Voltage loss of .051V X 15 Feet X 2.  That would give you a Voltage loss of 1.53 Volts, above the recommended voltage loss of 1.0 Volts by Minnkota and Motorguide.  With an 8 Gauge Wire, .032 X 15 feet X 2 is 0.96 Volts, under the 1.0 Volt Max.  Of course, the less voltage loss the better.   

[Creel Limit Zero]

would low voltage direct burial wire work for this?  12/2 copper.  Its the wire you would use for landscape lighting

I would not use 12/2 Copper wire.  While that can certainly handle the voltage, I do not think it would do well with the Amp draw from a Trolling motor.  I would go 1 strand and a minimum of 10 Gauge.  If I was rewiring though, I would go 6 or 8 Gauge.  But that's just me, I am typically overkill when redoing stuff like this.   

[bucketmouth 87]

creel.  I am just running about 10ft. max to a hummingbird 898 fish finder.  I plan to then splice in my 6ft. power cable and hook into the unit.  I was mainly worried if I would have any problems with using the direct burial wire.  I don't think voltage drop will be a issue. Im going to run directly from the battery and install a inline fuse.  Kinda unsure on what I will need for that too.

[bucketmouth 87]

Creel. I didn't specify that this will come from my cranking battery and go directly to a fish finder not a trolling motor.  Thanks.

[Creel Limit Zero]

Sorry bucketmouth, that certainly changes things.     Sorry for the confusion.  The 12/2 would be fine for a fish finder.