That's okay if you are going to splice into one wire only. The better way IMHO is to run all your grounds to a jumpered bus. Do the same thing for your 12V +. That keeps everything neat and tidy with only one wire to ground and one 12v + from the batt or ignition switch, and also gives you the flexibilty to easily remove one if something quits working.
Here's a still under construction photo. You can see the junnction blocks on the right side of the dash. One positive and one negative.

Frank

 

What does that look like? I have 7 gauges with 14 grounds (light and input) - do they each run individually to a single strip that is grounded? I started to do this initially but it got very crowded behind the dash. I may not be doing it right.

That's okay if you are going to splice into one wire only. The better way IMHO is to run all your grounds to a jumpered bus. Do the same thing for your 12V +. That keeps everything neat and tidy with only one wire to ground and one 12v + from the batt or ignition switch, and also gives you the flexibilty to easily remove one if something quits working.
Frank

 

I wouldn't daisy chain - makes it harder to repair/trouble shoot later on. As said above, run them to a common place, like a terminal block.

 

I am using terminal blocks. You will notice that the RF harness also daisy chains right at the connector for the dash harness to connect the main harness. I didn't like this and went the terminal block route.

 

By the way, I initially daisy chained my dash wiring (gauge grounds) and it was a nightmare and a half to resolve a problem I had. Ripped it out and swore I'd never daisy chain electrical wiring again. It may add a little bit of wire, but it's SO much easier to troubleshoot and fix.

 

Daisy Chain Wiring

X2 (or 3 or whatever) on the use of blocks for sure -- I like the so called Europa style. However I wouldn't be so tough on selective daisy chaining as such.

For example on the gauge grounds, if you daisy at the lugs themselves, lug to lug and in a logical sequence that is visible, I think it is relatively simple to track down/isolate any issue that may occur along the "chain". (I didn't daisy any of the positives as I wanted an individual fuse on each gauge -- but that is aircraft level overkill for most folks and I would still use a block for those anyway for the reasons Frank mentioned.) For the light grounds, it is not as easy but if you take a 3 to 2 to 1 kind of approach, you can use butt connectors and still get a clean installation.

But if you can't keep it sanitary, then I think TCO is right on -- it can be a nightmare downstream and you are better off going direct from all to a block or bus of some type.

(In any event, I am not real keen on that blue quick splice type connector shown and would avoid those regardless...)

Below shows a combination of blocks and selective ground daisy chaining on 11 gauges and their lighting.

Regards,
Bill

 

Bill,
That wiring is a thing of beauty! The back of my dash looks like 100 miles of wire got loose back there. Doesn't really matter, as, NO ONE will see it. If I ever have a problem, I will close the garage door and fix it. If I had your wiring job, I would take the dash off to show people.

 

Amen. That is a thing of beauty.

 

Just a thought . . .

Just thought I'd mention a little thing most forget or don't even think about. When you connect 10 to 12 small 14Ga GROUND wires to a terminal block, the wire that feeds the block with ground reference should be one size larger . . . a bunch of 14's tied to one 12 to allow for amperage draw of the 14's . . . remember, the ground handles just as much current as the supply.

Doc :beerchug:

 

Don't use those blue things in your picture. Nothing but trouble. Use the blocks as others have said. Take your time and label things so you can trouble shoot later if needed.

 

Mine is done very similar to Bill's. Daisy Chaining will cut down on a lot of wire in the dash and if you're neat enough trouble shooting won't be an issue. Oh yeah, toss those Scotch-Loks.

 

I did daisy chain my guages power. I used 12 guage terminal ends (horseshoe type) put two wires in each one. So I started with one wire from ground to 1st guage, then added a wireto the connector at the guage to go to the next one, etc. I will do the lights with a terminal strip to groud.

 

Daisy chaining is perfectly acceptable, easy to troubleshoot if done correctly, and saves on wire and neatness. Here is the back of my GT40 dash where everything possible is daisy chained. I haven't attached the wiring harness connector to terminate all the wires on the right side, yet. No need for terminal boards and any other extra parts to fail or add cost. I guess I'm the only one in this thread to feel it's the best approach?

 

I think there are pro's and cons to each method, and in either case, your skill level will be the determining factor on whether you end up with a mess or not, and how easy it is to troubleshoot it. I see no reason to run an individual power and ground wire for each gauge all the way to a disttribution block, but if that makes it easier for you, then go with it. Same thing for illumination circuits.

 

The gauge power and lighting circuits are all low power devices. There is no technical reason to run individual wires to each gauge from a common terminal strip. The Joe E method is completely adequate. Be neat and use consistent color coding for your wires.

The fancy aircraft quality wiring makes for a pretty picture and bragging rights, but once the body is on, no one will be able to see it and it will be in-accessible for further trouble shooting.

DD

 

Connection will be determined by whether the splices were made properly. The blue Scotchlocks shown in the picture work well if installed properly. We have been using them professionally for more than 20 years and I can't remember one failure. You have to make sure the connector matches your application, in other words the right size splice for the right size wire. Frank

BTW, remember that ANY splice you make is a potential failure point. Loose connections cause arching. The more connections, the more chances of failure. Run everything you can with as few splices and as short as it can be.