Author Topic: Color codes of wires  (Read 1892 times)

Offline Wickman

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Color codes of wires
« on: February 07, 2019, 01:09:12 AM »
I recently learned that the color of a wire gives information of what kind of circuit it is part of. Do anyone knows if there is a list/key where you can see what the different colors stands for?

All the best

From Sweden

Offline bd

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Re: Color codes of wires
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2019, 08:38:28 AM »
Wire color code standards are unique to the manufacturer.  Here are a few correlations regarding USA built, GM vehicles:

red = unfused battery (B+)

orange = fused battery (B+)

pink with black stripe = fused ignition (I+)

black = ground (B-)

All other colors are a mixed bag of switched power and switched ground with limited correlations within specific groups of circuitry (e.g., lighting circuits, instrument circuits, radio, starter, etc).
Rich
It's difficult to know just how much you don't know until you know it.
In other words... if people learn by making mistakes, by now I should know just about everything!!!
87 R10 Silverado Fleetside 355 MPFI 700R4 3.42 Locker (aka Rusty, aka Mater)

Offline Wickman

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Re: Color codes of wires
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2019, 10:44:17 AM »
Great. can be helpful.

Offline 75gmck25

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Re: Color codes of wires
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2019, 07:38:32 AM »
Just to confuse the ground wire colors, GM also often uses a white wire instead of black.  For example, one of the small wires connected to the light switches on the doors is white (the other is orange), which is a switched ground to turn on interior lights.  The large gauge ground wire for the rear lighting harness up under the bumper is also white.   But then when you look at the grounds under the hood for the lights, the ground wires are black.

Bruce

Offline Wickman

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Re: Color codes of wires
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2019, 03:29:52 AM »
It isnt so that white means switched ground and black permanent? But if if all the tail lights have there ground from a white one it does fit.