Wire harness weight calculator

Estimate how much a wire harness weighs: enter the gauge, number of conductors and length, and read the copper weight and finished cable weight.

Harness details

Wire size

Solid copper, per conductor

Copper weight per km

Auto-fills from gauge — edit to override

Conductor count

Cable length

In metres

Jacket density factor

Finished ÷ copper; thin PVC ≈ 1.4

Estimated weight

Copper weight: 1.46kg
Copper weight: 3.2187lb
Finished weight: 2.044kg
Finished weight: 4.5062lb
Weight per metre: 40.9g/m

Copper is the bulk of harness weight — insulation and jacket add the factor above. Weight drives shipping cost and connector strain, and automotive harnesses are often specified by grams per metre.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate the weight of a wire harness?

Copper weight = per-kilometre conductor weight × (length m ÷ 1000) × conductor count, then the finished weight applies the jacket factor on top. With the defaults — 18 AWG at 61.3 kg/km, 4 conductors over 50 m — the copper is 12.26 kg and the finished cable is 17.16 kg at a 1.4× jacket factor.

Why does the jacket factor make the finished cable heavier?

Copper is the bulk of harness weight, and the jacket factor scales the bare conductor up to the finished cable to cover the insulation and sheath. The tool defaults to 1.4× for thin PVC insulation, but you can edit it for a thicker jacket — heavier jackets push the factor higher.

Why is harness weight specified in grams per metre?

Automotive harnesses are often specified by grams per metre because it makes the shipping cost and connector strain easy to compare. The calculator shows weight per metre alongside total kg and lb — for the default 50 m, 4-conductor 18 AWG run that is about 343 g/m finished.

How it works

IC Source Direct estimates harness weight from the copper conductor, then scales it by a jacket factor to cover insulation and sheath. Copper weight is the per-kilometre value for the selected gauge (a standard solid-copper figure) times the length in kilometres times the number of conductors; the finished weight applies the jacket factor on top. Weight drives shipping cost and connector strain — a 100 m, 8-conductor 18 AWG harness is roughly 49 kg of copper before jacket — and automotive harnesses are often specified by grams per metre.

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IC Source Direct provides this tool for reference only.

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