Only Connect: On cable colour codes Industry Comment Electro Ramblings

Only Connect: On cable colour codes Industry Comment Electro Ramblings

2013/07/15

Ever wondered what colour codes multicore data cables use? Or why cable cores have different colours? If so, this week’s blog post is just for you.

To the untrained eye the array of colours used on multicore can be confusing. It can often seem random when you have two identical cables using different colours. For example an 8 way cable and 24 AWG cable using totally different colours.

The reason for the differences is quite simple when you know what to look for. The simple way to look at cables is to understand there are three main specifications, however there are many more but to keep things simple we will stick with the most common.

UK BS Def 61-12, USA Mill Spec Standard, and German DIN 47100. These specifications are not conductor size specific.

These are the most commonly used colours and they use the following colour coding:

UK BS Def 61-12

1	Red		10	Pink		19	Yellow/Blue		28	Orange/Green
2	Blue		11	Turquoise		20	White/Blue		29	Grey/Green
3	Green		12	Grey		21	Blue/Black		30	Yellow/Brown
4	Yellow		13	Red/Blue		22	Orange/Blue		31	White/Brown
5	White		14	Green/Red		23	Green/Blue		32	Brown/Black
6	Black		15	Yellow/Red		24	Grey/Blue		33	Grey/Brown
7	Brown		16	White/Red		25	Yellow/Green		34	Yellow/Violet
8	Violet		17	Red/Black		26	White/Green		35	Violet/Black
9	Orange		18	Red/Brown		27	Green/Black		36	White/Violet

USA Mill Spec:

1	Black	2	White	3	Red	4	Green
5	Orange	6	Blue	7	White/Black	8	Red/Black
9	Green/Black	10	Orange/Black	11	Blue/Black	12	Black/White
13	Red/White	14	Green/White	15	Blue/White	16	Black/Red
17	White/Red	18	Orange/Red	19	Blue/Red	20	Red/Green
21	Orange/Green	22	Black/White/Red	23	White/Black/Red	24	Red/Black/White
25	Green/Black/White	26	Orange/Black/White	27	Blue/Black/White	28	Black/Red/Green
29	White/Red/Green	30	Red/Black/Green	31	Green/Black/Orange	32	Orange/Black/Green
33	Blue/White/Orange	34	Black/white/Orange	35	White/Red/Orange	36	Orange/White/Blue
37	White/Red/Blue	38	Black/White/Green	39	White/Black/Green	40	Red/White/Green
41	Green/White/Blue	42	Orange/Red/Green	43	Blue/Red/Green	44	Black/White/Blue
45	White/Black/Blue	46	Red/White/Blue	47	Green/Orange/Red	48	Orange/Red/Blue
49	Blue/Orange/Red	50	Black/Orange/Red

DIN 47100

1	White	2	Brown	3	Green	4	Yellow
5	Grey	6	Pink	7	Blue	8	Red
9	Black	10	Violet	11	Grey/Pink	12	Red/Blue
13	White/Green	14	Brown/Green	15	White/Yellow	16	Yellow/Brown
17	White/Grey	18	Grey/Brown	19	White/Pink	20	Pink/Brown
21	White/Blue	22	Brown/Blue	23	White/Red	24	Brown/Red
25	White/Black	26	Brown/Black	27	Grey/Green	28	Yellow/Grey
29	Pink/Green	30	Yellow/Pink	31	Green/Blue	32	Yellow/Blue
33	Green/Red	34	Yellow/Red	35	Green/Black	36	Yellow/Black
37	Grey/Blue	38	Pink/Blue	39	Grey/Red	40	Pink/Red
41	Grey/Black	42	Pink/Black	43	Blue/Black	44	Red/Black

The above colour charts will help you to identify what type of colour coding your cables are using so if you need to get an identical cable to match this will help you to make a start.

There will be other factors involved when matching cables. However, the colour coding is a great start because if you can match the colour coding you are on the right track and the rest should then follow easily.

Also once you have the colour charts you can then compare how things are wired up in devices and things start to become much clearer, as the way colours are used often matches the numbering of the codes.

Simple! Try it next time you are looking at pre wires devices and see if you can identify the colour codes.

(Image: Permanoid wire and cable manufacturer – DEF Standard 61-12 Pt 4 & Pt 5 Multicores)

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