UL508A 3 Phase Color Code?

120V / 240V A/C Electrical Wiring Color Codes & Conventions: U.S.
Wire Insulation Color	Alternative Wire Colors	Label	Function	Comments
Black		L	Line voltage, single phase	Abbreviation: BK
Black	Brown	L1	Line voltage, 3-phase	Abbreviation: BK, BN, RD
Red		L	Line voltage, single phase, second "hot" wire	Often used to indicate switched power
Red	Orange	L2	Line voltage, 3-phase	Abbreviation: RD
White	Gray	N	Neutral	In wiring a switch the electrician may use the white wire as a second hot conductor and will mark each end of the wire with black electrical tape - shown below. Abbreviation: WT, GY
Blue	Yellow	L3	Line voltage, 3-phase	Abbreviation: BL, YL
Green		PG		Protective ground wire Abbreviation: GN
Green + Yellow		PG		Protective ground wire Abbreviation: GN+YL
Bare		PG		Protective ground wire, no insulation
Orange	Yellow	L		"Excepted voltage", these wires may be hot when main disconnect is switched off" Abbreviation: OR, YL
Notes & wiring color code standard sources: 1. National Electrical Code 2011 (NEC) - see http://www.nfpa.org/ (adopted in all 50 U.S. states) 2. UL508A, Section 66.5.3 & 66.9 3. NFPA 79, Chapter 13 - see http://www.nfpa.org/ Some sources include red with white tracer line = switched neutral

Source.

Thanks for the effort.

of course i have seent that doc many times

I am specifically after something from UL with a ref number that specs 3 phase color codes

It says it on the bottom of the document, I put it in bold for you. Section 66.5.3 and 66.9. Is that not what you were looking for?

I don't have a copy of UL508A, so I can't verify.

Ill try to be more specific sorry

I dont see anywhere atleast in m 2013 version of UL508A

That says Brown Orange Yellow for 3 phase

Is there an updated version?

Typically from what i have seen they are all black with either a color tape or ferrel at the end indicating the Brown orange yellow.

But i have not seen anything in 66.9 or 66.5.3 that says that

Maybe my 508 is out of date?

Says 12/25/13 on it

From what I read, 2013 is the latest version. But I can't find any reference to 3 phase color coding when it comes to UL508A. Are you sure they have it in UL508A?

no im not sure its in there

Thats what im trying to find.

Im trying to find a specific UL standard that states 3 phase color codes

I need to be able to refer back to it to prove we are in compliance

Sorry, I can't help you, I can't find any reference to UL508A for 3 phase color codes. I believe it's in NFPA 79, chapter 13, but that probably isn't going to help you.

Thanks for trying

Think its possible that UL does not designate this at all?

Or perhaps in a different UL standard

I am starting to think UL does not designate it at all, other than the wires need to be black.

I found this from Siemens, look at chapter 7, nothing listed for conductor colors in a UL cabinet other than black for ungrounded conductors.

http://www.siemens.fi/pool/products/industry/iadt_is/tuotteet/pienjannitekojeet/kytkenta_suojaus_ja_ohjaus/ul-opas-2010-englanti.pdf

funny you link to that doc

I also found that and read it intently

Good Luck.

From the Siemens document you're talking about.

All ungrounded conductors should be BLACK

I think the thread is about power conductors rather than control circuit conductors.

Section 7.2 Colour Coding for Conductors in Power Circuit

Section 7.3 was only added FYI.

Well, that's definitely not universal.

What do you mean by universal?

This standard if for the North American market.

The 'U' in UL means 'Underwriters Laboratories'.

I used to run a UL508 shop, so I know what UL means.

In the NEC, the "high leg" (phase B) of a 240/3 system with center tap between A and C is mandated to be orange, as JRaef has already mentioned in this thread. Hence black is not universal.

Why n heck would it matter when supplying 3-phase power to a motor (as one example) There are other ways to pre-determine rotation.

It doesnt matter

Its for reporting purposes.

I need something that shows we are in compliance

My rotation is controlled in all my VFD,s anyway

Surely the Electrician who installed the circuit produced a test record document?

Surely the periodic electrical inspection records for the installation show compliance?

no an installation record does now show compliance with UL standard

..... Not a single clue in my mind why you would think that

RAMConsult is somebody I would listen too. There is your answer.

UL 508A does not designate color codes for power wires. The NEC does in some cases, i.e. Green for ground and Orange for B phase on 3 phase 4 wire Delta systems, but that would relate to the incoming and outgoing cables, not inside of the panel. Local utilities often have their own color code requirements, but again, that would not apply inside of a cabinet.

NFPA79, the compliance standard for "industrial machinery" has some conductor color rules in section 14.2.4, might be worth checking those out, but in there, phase conductors are all black unless there is something different about them.

Apart from code requirements, there is at least a common de facto practice of brown-orange-yellow for 480/3 systems and black-red-blue for 208/3. (Plus green for ground and white for neutral, if present.)

To be on the safe side, one assumes that all electricians are color-blind, anyway. Measure everything, even after lockout/tagout.

That is for 480V three phase, you know.

For 208V you typically use black / red / blue.

UL 508A is concerned about inside the panel only. I've seen them ignore a non-UL approved fitting if it is connected to a UL approved one that is the one that actually penetrates the enclosure. So when building a 508A panel we don't continue the color coding past the main disconnecting device, and that is actually the end users responsibility. In the panel the conductors are black with labels L1 / L2 / L3...or whatever, unless a customer specifically requests the color coding to continue throughout the panel in their specifications.