Voltage color I.D. - ECN Electrical Forums

I'm wondering if this is code compliant. I saw a 277 volt lighting application, they used M/C cable and junction boxes in between conduit runs. The proper color as everyone knows for 277V is B.O.Y.. The M/C of course is black, red, white and green. Where the last connection to the fixture were in pipe they installed BOY as phased. Is this allowed, or do you have to have it tagged, or a continuous color? Any replys would be appreciated. TY

There are no color-code requirements in the NEC as they relate to voltages.

BOY and Bk/R/Bl are not dictated by the NEC, but are often specified by engineers.

I wonder why? The Canadian Code does.

i think there's some history here too, just gotta dig up the old timers..... [Linked Image]

from my '68 nec...
210-5 Color Code;
(fourth sentence)

All circuit conductors of the same color shall be connected to the same ungrounded feeder conductor throughout the installation.

this also reads in the '71, but the colors dictated in the '68 were arranged into a FPN ( or what appears to be a fpn?)

[This message has been edited by sparky (edited 11-11-2002).]

Did I miss something??
"MC is blk, red, white & green, the last connection to the fixture were in pipe, they installed BOY as phased"

Did they use the green for a c.c.c.???
Or did I miss something???
John

Hotline. I'm not sure what you missed.Let me try to clearify. They used 10/3 M/C cable in btween conduit runs. There was conduit leaving the panelboard using Brown, orange yellow to the 1st J.B. from that j.b was 10/3 M/C through the corridors to several j.bs where conduit was branched off to the outlet boxes where the lighting fixtures were attached, and this was brn, org, yellow, phased according to panelboard circuitry, IE: brown being ckt #1 Org being ckt # 3 on so forth. Just the mixing of colors was my concern.

It is most likely that there is a violation of 210.4(D) here. This section requires that where there are two or more voltage systems in a building, that all hots of multiwre branch circuits be identified as to phase and voltage.
Don

Being that 210.4(D) refers to multiwire circuits, I guess a 3 phase motor ckt. at 480V. could be fed with standard MC cable that is colored Bk, R, Bl. and still be in compliance?

Don, Rojosy,
Interesting. The term "multiwire branch circuit" wasn't included in 210-4(d) until the '99 NEC. (Which has been adopted at long last here in CA less than 2 weeks ago)
I guess that also means that no feeders must be color coded either, and that a 2 wire circuit can be any color you wish?...S

[This message has been edited by electure (edited 11-12-2002).]

Sparky,

Looking back to the '62 NEC, 210-5 says:

Quote

Color Code. Where installed in raceways, as aluminum sheathed cable, as open work, or as concealed knob-and-tube work, the conductors of multi-wire branch circuits and two-wire branch circuits connected to the same system shall conform to the following color code. Three-wire circuits - one black, one white, one red; four-wire circuits - one black, one white, one red, one blue; five-wire circuits - one black, one white, one red, one blue, one yellow. Where more than one multi-wire branch circuit is carried through a single raceway the ungrounded conductors of the additional circuit may be of colors other than those specified. All circuit conductors of the same color shall be connected to the same ungrounded feeder conductor throughout the installation.

Abbott's NEC Handbook (Frank Stetka) adds the explanation:

Quote

The color coding of multi-wire banch-circuit conductors is necessary in order that the loads may be properly balanced between the ungrounded conductors.

Al

I seem to vaguely remember one of the 70's editions of the Code having a color code requirement. That's when engineers began specifying the Br/Or/YL for 480V circuits and Blk/Rd/Blu for 208V circuits. And the phasing was to following throughout. Maybe it was the 72 Code?? And a lot of specifications still have that requirement, because mangagement didn't want to spend the money to get them updated.(and still won't)

OK, I'm lost as to the 5 wire circuit in the '62 Code (per Al's post).
Are they talking about switch legs or something? I've seen buildings wired in this manner, but it didn't always reference an A, B, or C Ø. (much less a "D"Ø).
It seemed that if you put 2 wires in a conduit it was black/wh, if 3 then blk/red/wh., etc. [Linked Image]

If I can throw another monkey-wrench into the discussion here, when did the NEC start to specify that the high-leg of a 4-wire delta must be orange? I seem to recall a discussion a few months ago in which it was said that at one time red was common the the wild phase.

<pulling out a chair, bag of chips, and a nice cold "coke-cola">
I'm going to watch this one for a while boyz. I just have one question. If you twist a black wire to a blue wire, will it work as well as if they were not twisted before you put the wire nut on?

Chugga, chugga, crunch, burp, [Linked Image]

Doc

Er, there are ICEA/NEMA multiconductor-cable color code standards. “K1” includes white and green in combinations—“K2” omits them. Example: http://www.thewireexchange.com/colorcodesbody.html

Electure,

When I studied for my first journeyman's test, it was important to understand, along with all sorts of other stuff, two-phase five-wire circuits. I've never had the pleasure of working on such an animal, after all these years, but it was important to the folks that developed that first test, 'cause they had questions on it.

Al

electure,

the "American Electricians Handbook" depicts the 2-phase 5-wire system.

I'd totally forgotten the 5W 2Ø system.
Kind of like the Loch Ness Monster..or Bigfoot..None of us have actually seen it, but we think it exists, 'cause we read about it. [Linked Image]

Actually, the jobs I talked about earlier were early '60's malls. No consideration was given for voltage or phase.
If 2 wires in a conduit...