Electrical consumption and wire colour codes?

[reed1v]

The codes do change over time; and the standards for marine use are different than thirty years ago. Plus a lot of folks redo their wiring without regards to codes. I was going to refer you to the 12 volt boater's bible(same title), but that is probably out of date.

[smac999]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

I stand corrected: we are back to red for 12VDC+, along with the yellow for 12VDC-. (There is no approved use of white for 12VDC wiring.) But there is an awful lot of white/black cable installed... It is a better standard now but I'm not re-wiring again.

Greg

White / black for DC would be a household electrician hack job. Often the black is +12v (hot). Same as AC. Because they don't know any better. Or sometimes it's neg... It's always a guess.

[smac999]

Originally Posted by Sandero

Why post rubbish? I haven't seen a white wire on my 32 yr old boat or on any whites leads supplied with equipment I have purchased over the years. Google is your friend... Use it!

A lot of Furuno gear uses white / black...

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by smac999

White / black for DC would be a household electrician hack job. Often the black is +12v (hot). Same as AC. Because they don't know any better. Or sometimes it's neg... It's always a guess.

Furuno uses this code, and while I find it confusing and awful, I wouldn't consider Furuno hack equipment. I've also got a load of light fixtures with the same black/white scheme......those may be considered a hack job though

[Sandero]

Color codes are not as useful as labels. Ov should be black or yellow... the rest hardly matters if you label your wires.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by smac999

White / black for DC would be a household electrician hack job. Often the black is +12v (hot). Same as AC. Because they don't know any better. Or sometimes it's neg... It's always a guess.

And then came along Polarity. Not uncommon to find polarity reversed, even in marina systems. Which is why always check the dock outlets before plugging into them. And check your boat's system as one of the first things to do when buying one.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Sandero

Color codes are not as useful as labels. Ov should be black or yellow... the rest hardly matters if you label your wires.

I have found color coded wiring extremely useful when tracing wire runs through various cable troughs and bundles, etc.

Helps to have the builder's documentation to know what colors they used for what purpose, though... no matter what the current ABYC standard might be. I'm lucky enough to have that, all clearly captured in the builder's manual and schematics.

Labels certainly good, but often wiring I've seen is only labeled at or near the terminals...

-Chris

[Stu Jackson]

The All-Important Energy Budget:
Energy Budget

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Dave-Zim

Greets all,

I'm trying to find accurate info on typical power consumption of variuos boat devices. Basically a list of all the common things on a boat and what they use. I'm also in need of a wire colour code chart for boat systems. I've searched on here and the net in general. Found some stuff but it doesn't seem complete. Could anyone help with lists or links please?

Cheers

I recommend you perform and electrical audit for your vessel and it's equipment, based on your intended use.

Here's a link to one example...

http://newcontent.westmarine.com/con...r/Elecbugt.pdf

I recommend you do not query for electrical wiring advice on a message board, as you have no idea of the qualifications of the responders. If you don't know the answer yourself, how will you parse the incorrect answers received?

Instead, refer to the appropriate marine electrical standards. They are the authority. There, you will be assured of receiving the most correct information attainable.