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Does anyone know if there is a method to the madness regarding the colors used for the wiring in the Pinz? Does pink signify something and tan something else while black and green something else again, etc? Just curious. :?:

Andy

Color is everything in wiring, that is how you can trace and isolate a circuit with the schematic.

Maybe I didn't ask the question correctly. Is light blue associated with let's say the 4 wheel drive indicators while red and black are associated with the light for the fuel guage? Is there some listing specifying which colors are associated with a particular circuit? After finding undercoating on some chassis wires and the snake's nest behind the dash I'm looking for an easier way to get from A to Z.

Here is a link to an image of the schematic for Swiss models : http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v510/ ... ematic.gif
There is a method used, just follow the circuit in the schematic from the component back to the source, or find a good auto tech to guide you.

Thanks Jim, I printed that one the other day and I have the one from the glove box in my Pinz. I've used colored pencils to trace the wires on the schematics. What I'm asking is if there is a green wire does the green mean it goes to ground or something like that? Would a red wire be part of the tail light circuit or belong to another type of specific circuit? Those are examples I pulled out of the air; do the wires have a code that if I see red and black it means I'm looking at a wire for "X" circuit? In your experience is there a code, or a pattern, to the particular color of a wire used in a specific circuit? Not sure I would trust most of the shade cactus (no trees, to speak of, here) auto guys around here with my Pinz.

Andy,

Having been were you are with the wiring recently I think I understand what you are asking. From my experience with the tail light circuits the color codes seems to be:

Black (and variations of such, like with bands of green, white)is usually positive (but there is also an Orange and Pink positive).

Brown was ground.

On other circuits this whole scenario is violated as there are just so many circuits and only so many colors.

I recommend you just study the diagrams and trace the circuits with highlighter pens. That really helped me understand and isolate the circuit paths I was concerned with. And also, there are variations enough between diagrams and trucks and year of production that this all gets thrown out of whack! Having a multi-meter to test circuits helps too. Like Chinese puzzles ?

Kiwibru, thank you for the information. I figured it was something like that when Jim had no comment. It has been alot of years since I was associated with anything electrical/electronic. When I started in the Navy my equipment had vacum tubes! But there was usually some pattern to the wiring. I've colored the schematics I have but, so many of the wires I have encountered are faded, covered in grime, grease and dirt or worse undercoating, that you cannot really tell what it was originally. I have a VOM and both a 12V and 24 V circuit tester so I'm pretty sure all will get workouts. Anyway, thanks again.

Andy

Gents
The theory on Euro wiring colour schemes are embedded in a Bosch dictum. This it would appear applies to the Steyr truck.
As intimated by the contributers to this thread the colours used do have a basic relevance, besides as Jim has mentioned it makes life easier to trace wires by colour.
By the way it wasn't too long ago that all wires were just black (like Henry Ford dictate) and they had a code sleeve slipped on the wire sheath. So be thankful Steyr wasn't colour blind.
Dennis

The big difference is Americans learned (sort of). The wiring in the M37's while all black have aluminum tags on them with number and letters at each end. Tracing the circuits is very easy and the colors don't fade or blend over time. Now if they could have just done something different than the Douglas connectors life would be easier.