Wire Insulation Color Code

[pcrussell50]

Q1: is the wire insulation color coding in which the insulation color denotes the circuit as described in the REFERENCE article as used by Boston Whaler for direct current powered branch circuits typically used by other boat builders?

ASIDE

The electrical wiring on my 1998 Montauk and 1986 13 Sport is squared away at the moment.

I’m re-wiring a 1987 boutique sport boat from California that seems to use that same wiring insulation color convention.

For example, the REFERENCE articleJim’s chart has blue wiring for lighting and green wiring listed as for bonding.

“Bonding” seems to have a connotation of grounding.

[jimh]

Q1: is the wire insulation color coding in which the insulation color denotes the circuit as described in the REFERENCE article as used by Boston Whaler for direct current powered branch circuits typically used by other boat boat builders?

Please note that in the article in the REFERENCE section that is being discussed, the article includes this comment:

It is believed that this color code is a standard used throughout the boat building industry.

Whether or not the unidentified boat builder mention in the initial article in this thread used this wire insulation color coding is impossible for me to know.

The wire insulation colors used by Boston Whaler are likely also used by other boat builders. I recommend you to obtain the American Boat and Yacht Council recommendations to confirm this. I suspect there might be some boat builders that do not precisely conform.

Because some wire insulation two-color combinations mentioned in the list that is specific to Boston Whaler are not easily sourced from the usual retail sources, to conform to the color code for an individual doing re-wiring may be difficult.

[jimh]

.“Bonding” seems to have a connotation of grounding.

In DC circuits the term “bonding” refers to a circuit that is not intended to ever carry any current related to DC power distribution and is designed to connect together all metallic components of a particular system, such as the fuel system, in order to bond them together so that no voltage difference can develop between them.

In gasoline fuel systems, the nature of gasoline is that is extremely non-conductive, and in the process of fueling, such as rapidly adding fuel, the motion of the fuel flow can produce electricity (the triboelectic effect).