Need wiring help.

[SMITH]

Currently running DC and AC circuits in my new/old SunCat.  Done this before, built many custom panels, testified as wiring expert in federal and state courts, long time ABYC member.  That doesn't mean all goes well always.  Have discovered that the new AquaSignal LED lights come equipped with 22 gauge jumpers.  Yeah, right, 22 American Wire Gauge.  You'll find that inside cheap battery powered wall clocks running 1.5 volts.  Connecting that sewing-thread thin electrical conductor to 14 gauge Boat Cable has become a bit of a challenge.  14 gauge blue butt connectors will not grab 22 gauge wire.  That experiment was done using a continuous cycle ratchet crimper, the one the USCG recommends for commercial boat wiring and is written in the CFR.  Some 16 gauge red butt splices (solid red color) will accommodate both 22 gauge, and 14 gauge, but I ran out of them, and their replacements (translucent red color) won't accept 14 gauge. 

On top of that, I am concerned about the ability of 22 AWG wire's ability to withstand a physical load for a very long time.  The jumpers on that Aqua Signal masthead light will have to carry a pound or two of cable as a vertical load that's moving about inside the mast while underway.  I will have no confidence in those connections.   Oddly, the low cost WEST Marine brand LED stern light I got is equipped with significantly beefier 16 gauge jumpers.  When I asked for a connection protocol that would include strain relief, Practical Sailor offered no help, neither did ABYC.  Aqua Signal's printed instructions were written in a sort of reverse English, typical of products from the Orient (they're a German firm) so they were no help.  The email I sent them went unanswered.  Has anyone solved this problem? 
SMITH

[MacGyver]

I think I understand this right. I work on a ton of masts so I have seen a lot of different ways.
What I do is attached the wire so that the pull is from the top of the mast, or that the center connection is that in which it is held there. This typically for me has involved a good amount of electrical tape to keep it from reentering the hole in the mast, or atleast make it snug there.

I do the same at the top, or have even seen knots in the wires to keep them from going through the hole.

Typically the load is then on the outer jacketing, which holds up fine.

I hope that helps...... Oh and in the case of small wires to the big wires, I just solder them in usually. then tape over them or use shrink tubes. I have also used the shrink tube to keep a wire from going through a hole.

Mac

[capt_nemo]

First , it's a shame that anyone is using 22 AWG jumper wires on boat fixtures.

When I have encountered a large difference in wire sizes to join together I select a crimp fitting size for the larger wire and simply peel back the insulation of the smaller wire further than normal and fold the bared wire back on itself two or three times (twisting if possible) before inserting in the crimp fitting. I use a ratcheted double crimp tool. For strength, and to prevent flexing of the thin wire, use heat shrink tubing over the whole joint overlapping both wires.

capt_nemo

[Jon898]

Cheaping-out on factory applied wiring appears to be a trend these days.  I came across it last year with a Minn-Kota motor with a 12-gauge pigtail on the motor and dire warnings in the instructions to use no less than 8-gauge in the supply from the battery.  Probably some electrical engineer looking at the voltage drop tables for the pigtail length and saying that for the short run the lighter gauge is OK without thinking of the likely complete system.

I'd recommend capt_nemo's connection method and put a knot in the mast-run cable at the top of the mast to act as the strain-relief.  No matter how good the electrical splice is even with a heat-shrink sleeve, I would not trust it to resist a mechanical strain long term.