Wire color???

[sweeney153]

It's me again with another question.

Is there a standard for wire color for the 12 house system? Or is it what ever you want?

I know in 120 volt house wiring black is hot white is neutral. In GM vehicles black is ground.

In my 4106 on the pass side house 12 black is ground on the drivers side white is ground.

What should it be?

Thanks again for all the help.

Kevin
Sweeney 153

[bevans6]

What it is for me is a confusing mess.  I standardized on red is hot, Black is ground for 12 volt, but I sure wish there was a standard.

Brian

[luvrbus]

For the 12v house system I used yellow for hot and blue for ground use any color you like

good luck

[baker4106]

On low voltage I always use black for ground and red for hot.   AC voltage must be lightest color for common but not white if a green is present.   Remember white is not a color.   Electronics use black for ground.

[belfert]

I used black and red.  Some of my 12 volt stuff came with white and black leads where the black is positive instead of ground.

Black and red seems to be the most popular.  I like somewhat of a standard so I remember down the road what I did.

[gumpy]

I initially bought several colors of various gauges of wire. I wish I had just bought one color and used it for everything, and labeled everything. It would have simplified so much!

[Jriddle]

I used black for hot white for neutral and green for ground for 120 volt. I used red in my 240 volt for second hot. With the 12 volt I used red for hot and green for ground because I have a boat load of green wire. I know there are rules but the bus is for me and if I sell I will disclose what was done.

John

[belfert]

I initially bought several colors of various gauges of wire. I wish I had just bought one color and used it for everything, and labeled everything. It would have simplified so much!

Labeling is great, but wouldn't at least being able to distinguish between positive and ground at a glance be nice?  

I labeled the wiring harness for my rear lights with heat shrink labels.  I probably spent about $75 on the labeler and labels.

[sweeney153]

I was kinda hoping there would be a standard. I guess Ill just pick one and make everything the same. Maybe I can find a camp ground so I can be "vacationing" while I'm working on it.

[Dreamscape]

Yellow for hot, black for ground. Works for me!

[PCC]

For most vehicles I have worked on, the red is 12VDC positive, yellow is 24VDC positive, black is negative/ground.

For 120VAC & 240VAC, white is neutral, black or red is hot, green is ground.

I prefer to keep the 120/240 neutral/ground wiring separated from the chassis ground until it reaches the power panel, just to reduce random voltage spikes, etc.

Other colors are for special, like switched, or controlled.

[Tenor]

It's a little off topic, but when I began to restore my 1945 WLA Harley Davidson, it had been rewired - ALL in blue!    I just bought a new harness...    I've used a variety of wiring colors for the hot side so I can identify/follow different items.  I've kept grounds white.  Much of my 12V wiring has been temporary since I'm using the bus as I build.  For example, my genset is wired to start from the front and I do have a temp gauge.  I will add an electric oil pressure gauge and a voltmeter for the house bank. When I am ready to put in items in their final location, I'll re-wire the whole thing and be happy.   


Glenn

[BG6]

The general standard for a single-voltage DC system:

Primary hot lead is RED, primary ground is BLACK.  Wires inside devices or subsystems (including from power switches to controlled devices) may be of any color.

Leads for additional DC voltages:

Hot lead of a DC voltage other than the primary system will be a different color, and if there is a separate ground for that voltage, the wire insulation will be the color matching the hot lead with a black stripe running the length of the insulation (that is, 24V hot may be blue, a separated 24V ground would be blue with a black stripe).

Exceptions:

Wiring harnesses may identify individual wires using any color or numbering scheme, and wires which are identified with printed labels may be any color.

Stripes of various color may be added to the hot lead for identifying specific leads, such as those from remote power sources, distribution switches, etc.


When I do DC wiring, 12 - 15VDC hot is red, 24 - 28VDC hot is blue, ground is black.  If I run other voltages (5, 6, 9, etc) each gets its own color.

[Bill B /bus]

My standard, for easy on the  memory is:
12V+ red , 12V- brown for house, as is 'brown is ground'
12V+ for heating system yellow, again brown = ground, red would be the supply to the heating system from the circuit breaker then yellow.

Bus 24V white is ground, DDEC white is ground stay with that convention. Positive is usually black on the 24V for buses.

120V AC Black = hot, white  = neutral, green = safety ground

I use a length of aluminum angle for a supply side for the circuit breakers(CB). Usually a AWG 6 from the equalizer and AWG 10 from CB to load. Each house area has its own supply and distribution terminal board for both + and -. For example kitchen terminal for lights, fantastic vent, etc. Water pump is a home run to source CB. Power for radios, Winegard antenna is house side. Gauges, clearance lights etc is bus power.

Just the way I learned to keep my life less complicated.

Bill

[Kenny]

In the machine tool industry.
Alternating Current (AC) - Black AC Hot, White AC Neutral, Green Ground
Direct Current (DC) - Blue DC Hot, Blue with white stripe DC ground, Green Ground
Simple and easy to tell what is what. This is how I will likely complete my project.
No extension cords for me !
Kenny