There are lots of little connections inside of your breadboard but they only go along in rows, basically making each pin or wire of a part have 5 total connection points. To wire up the parts you'll need to, um, wire the parts...with wire!

DIY Solid Core Wire Jumpers

With not too much effort you can craft your very own artisanal wires!

You'll need a pair of wire strippers, ideally the kind with a bunch of different hole sizes

Closed Multi-size wire stripper  and wire cutter
We've upgraded our basic 'adjustable' wire strippers to these multi-sized wire strippers. They include: 20-30 AWG strippers, wire cutters, 'plier' tips, and a wire...
$6.95
In Stock

And of course, some wire!

Hook-up Wire Spool Set in box with 6 colorful wires coming out
Perfect for bread-boarding, free wiring, etc. This box contains 6 spools of solid-core wire. The wire is easy to solder to and when bent it keeps its shape pretty well. We like to have...
$15.95
In Stock

Most important thing to remember is you must use solid-core wire, ideally 22 American Wire Gauge (AWG).

You can't use stranded core easily because the threads/strands of the wire will unravel, shorting with nearby parts by accident

Pick the matching hole/slot for the wire you're stripping, and remove about 1/2 to 1 cm of the plastic covering off the end

Make sure you don't nick or cut the wire, because that could weaken it.

Cut the other side to length, remember you'll need a little extra so that you can strip the other end too!

Strip 1/2 to 1 cm off the other end like before

Voila! A single jumper wire

Plug in both ends into the breadboard as desired to make an electrical connection

This guide was first published on Sep 06, 2016. It was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

This page (Jumper Wires) was last updated on Sep 06, 2016.

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