Marine Wiring Colour Codes

[GordMay]

[Hudson Force]

I would have liked to have had my boat wire coded properly, but as the third owner, I began without the plan and even the original manufacturer had not followed all strictly. I would still stand by the best practice of following code, but I will admit that my actual practice was to keep a maintenance log with written wiring diagrams and labels placed directly upon some wiring. I also developed the habit of taking photographs of wiring terminals before any maintenance that required disconnects.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I would have liked to have had my boat wire coded properly, but as the third owner, I began without the plan and even the original manufacturer had not followed all strictly. I would still stand by the best practice of following code, but I will admit that my actual practice was to keep a maintenance log with written wiring diagrams and labels placed directly upon some wiring. I also developed the habit of taking photographs of wiring terminals before any maintenance that required disconnects.

Then you're way ahead of perhaps most boat owners.

It's my understanding that the posted chart is a recommendation (and hopefully a consensus of what mfrs have been doing), but I certainly wouldn't treat it as authoritative - eg I wouldn't automatically assume that a dark blue wire is lighting without first tracing it or measuring it while flipping the associated switch/breaker.

Correct specification (eg wire sized for load, fusing to protect wiring, routing), good workmanship, consistency, and DOCUMENTATION are the ideal attributes of boat wiring.

[hellosailor]

One year GM held up all deliveries of cars with the popular burgundy interior upholstery, because there was a strike at the factory making red thread. But that never stopped them with wiring, if they ran out of a documented specific color, they just grabbed the next spool and kept on building and selling cars.

Color codes are nice, if you can afford the luxury.

[GordMay]

Outboard Wiring Colour Codes ☞ http://www.criboats.com/wp-content/u...ire-Colors.pdf

Yamaha ☞ https://maxrules.com/fixyamahawiring.php


OMC ☞ https://maxrules.com/fixomcwiringcodes.php


Mercury ☞ https://microplus503.weebly.com/uplo...codes.html.pdf

[David M]

They are a nice recommendation and really should be followed as much as possible for your safety. ABYC does a fantastic job. All ABYC standards are recommendations, not the law. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR's) for ships, boats and other watercraft are the law in the USA.

[GordMay]

Transport Canada has, basically, adopted ABYC Standards.
Canadian Construction Standards for Small Vessels (2010) - TP 1332 E
This document references the following ABYC standards:
E–10 Storage Batteries
E–11 AC and DC Electrical Systems on Boats
H–2 Ventilation of Boats Using Gasoline
H–24 Gasoline Fuel Systems
H–26 Powering of Boats
H–28 Inflatable Boats
H–33 Diesel Fuel Systems
H–35 Powering and Load Capacity of Pontoon Boats
H–41 Reboarding Means, Ladders, Handholds, Rails, and Lifelines
T–5 Safety Signs and Labels

728. (1) The electrical systems on a vessel shall meet the following requirements:
in the case of an electrical system of 50 V or less,
the requirements of the construction standards, or
the requirements of American Boat and Yacht Council Standards E-10, Storage Batteries, and E-11, AC and DC Electrical Systems on Boats, with, for a safety notice, the Canadian modification set out in the construction standards; or
in the case of an electrical system of more than 50 V,
the requirements of American Boat and Yacht Council Standard E-11, AC and DC Electrical Systems on Boats, with, for a safety notice, the Canadian modification set out in the construction standards, or
the requirements of the recommended practices and standards that are appropriate for the system voltage and that provide a level of safety at least equivalent to that provided by Standard E-11.

TP 1332 E ☞ http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety...2-menu-521.htm

[GrowleyMonster]

Darn. Rewiring my boat and I don't have any pink wire.

[Training Wheels]

Luckily I don’t have a fuel gauge. Should the dip stick I use be pink?

[Jim Cate]

In a dream world, we would all have either stores on board or a ready source for all the exotic colored wires in all useful gauges. In reality, hardly anyone does, even so called marine electricians.

Red, black and perhaps yellow and green are commonly available in retail quantities, but I've never seen others stocked in chandeleries.

At least the original engine wiring loom (from Nanni) mostly f0llowed that code, but that's where it ends. Pity, for it would be useful if we could have such wiring and trust it!

Jim

[GordMay]

Typical YANMAR Wiring Diagram /w Wire Colors Indicated:

[GordMay]

Perkins Wiring Diagram /w Colors Indicated:

[sailorboy1]

I carry red/yellow/black/green on the boat. Not all colors in more than 1 size. Things have to fit into those 4 colors, but they are normally pretty apparent what they are.

Everyone should have the wiring diagram for their engine. You WILL need that one day and it wouldn't be in a place that you can look it up.

[Checkswrecks]

I generally have black and some white on hand, similar to what the OEM used. But for a long time I've used colored tape near the connections and ID tags. I definitely have the black, white and green on the AC wires.

Both are very inexpensive and available at home supply stores and on Amazon.

[a64pilot]

For me it’s red and black for all DC, which is the vast majority of what I wire, and of course three strand black, white and green for AC.
Special wiring like maybe for the transducers etc I have to order if needed.
That is it. I carry 50’ or 10 ga three strand for AC as bigger wire than needed never hurts, and I carry several sizes of two strand DC for spares, up to 8 ga.
I have a couple of extra battery cables and some spare 2 ga left over.
Reminds me, I need to replace the wire from my DC battery switch to the circuit breaker board, 2 Ga should be fine. 1, maybe 2 ft run.