To trace wiring diagrams, vehicle manufacturers designed the wires so that you can identify it using its wire colors. This color acts as a code so you can easily follow its origin and path.

In reading wiring diagrams, if you know the color of the wire, you can trace the component associated with it and the rest of the circuits that is working with that component.

To help you in reading the wire color codes, every automotive wiring diagram has its own color-coding abbreviations to make it easy for you. Here is the wiring color abbreviations use on most domestic and imported cars:

COLOR..........common code........... Aternative code

Black...............Blk............................Bk
Blue................Blu............................Bu
Brown.............Brn............................Bn
Dark Blue.........DrBlu.........................DkBu
Dark Green.......DrGrn.......................DkGn
Green..............Grn.........................Gn
Gray...............Gry..........................Gy
Light Blue.........Lt Blu.......................Lt Bu
Light Green......Lt Green.....................Lt Gn
Orange...........Org..........................Og
Pink................Pnk..........................Pk
Purple.............Ppl..........................Pl
Red................Red..........................Red
Tan................Tan..........................Tan
Violet.............Vio...........................Vi
White............Wht...........................Wt
Yellow...........Yel.............................Yl

NOTE:

Most cars uses BLACK wire as ground wire and RED wire as power supply wire. This is especially true with domestic cars but it is different with imported cars. To get a complete set of wiring codes, avail yourself a wiring manual for your specific vehicle.

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