3 core - what colour do you use as a switch wire? | on ElectriciansForums

Discuss 3 core - what colour do you use as a switch wire? in the Electrical Wiring, Theories and Regulations area at ElectriciansForums.net

smity

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I personally use the black as I see brown as a permanent live. What do you use and why?
 
Black as well, because it's in the middle, so you can easily cut the strappers on either side and leave the black unbroken if you want to, for an intermediate switch
 
Grey - because I equate black with neutral in the old colours (and still prefer to use it as such if a neutral is required), and I equate brown with permanent live.
 
Recommendations are to use grey as sleeved neutral now (how I do it), in order to get us away from thinking of black that way. Not critical though, just as long as they are sleeved at both ends.
 
BROWN = Permanent Live

BLACK = Switched Live where Required or Strapper 1 on two way circuits (Sleeved with a section of Brown over-sleeve)

GREY = Neutral where required or Strapper 2 on two way circuits. (Sleeved with a section of Black/Brown over-sleeve as appropriate)

Where a 3 core is used on a single phase circuit (not necessarily lighting)

BROWN = LIVE

GREY = NEUTRAL

BLACK = CPC (Sleeved Green/Yellow)

 
as above. use grey as N is standard practice to disassociate the black from neutral, thanks to the meddling of johnny foreigner. as for 2 way switching, back in the days of sensible cable colours, most of us used the yellow for common and R/B for strappers so that in the switch with the switch wire from the light, you has red with red and blue with black. this equates to black for yellow, brown for red and grey for black
 
as above. use grey as N is standard practice to disassociate the black from neutral, thanks to the meddling of johnny foreigner. as for 2 way switching, back in the days of sensible cable colours, most of us used the yellow for common and R/B for strappers so that in the switch with the switch wire from the light, you has red with red and blue with black. this equates to black for yellow, brown for red and grey for black
down here we used the red as common, sometimes come across the yellow used as it but not much
 
not where i've been. generally yellow for common. but then most of us knew that the blue wasn't neutral in 2 way switching. not like some of these young sprogs today.
 

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