12 vs 14 wire

[jalmos]

our rookie team just went over the rule book. (Way too late) and we are thinking that the rules require 12 guage wire for the drive motors and we wired up our drive motors with 14.

IS this going to be flagged by an inspector. WE think yes, but wanted to ask.

jalmos

[Dkt01]

Yes, you need to fix this.

[EricH]

The rules require a minimum gauge for a given breaker size. However, gauge works the opposite way from what you might think; 14 AWG is smaller than 12 AWG.

So, yes, this will need changing. Either the breaker needs to go down a notch (and you really don't want to do that, something about wanting full power on drive) or the wire size needs to go to 12 AWG or larger.

Note that this does not apply to the stock motor leads.

You guys did well to make that catch now; you still have a few hours to start fixing it.

[EricVanWyk]

Just to be clear, are you are asking if you can get away with knowingly breaking a rule?

[DavidGitz]

[R44]
All active circuits shall be wired with appropriately sized wire:
Application Minimum wire size
40A circuit 12 AWG (2.052mm)
30A circuit 14 AWG (1.628mm)
20A circuit 18 AWG (1.024mm)

Assuming you have these wires coming off a 40A Breaker, absolutely.

[jalmos]

That is not what we are asking at all

[DavidGitz]

Originally Posted by jalmos

That is not what we are asking at all

The inspector's job is to ensure every team followed every rule without exception. FRC inspector's do their job very well. This of course is speaking from my experience as an inspector at Championships and competing at around 20+ events in my FRC history.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

jalmos,
There is no rule that requires #12 wire for drive motors. The only rule is that quoted above that matches wire size and breaker selection. Do you have #12 wire? I highly recommend that you change the wire rather than the breakers. The smaller wire adds resistance and therefore lowers the available power you can deliver to the motor. I recommend that teams use #10 for drive motors and keep wire runs to minimum for motors that require high power, i.e. CIMs and FP motors.