This is a list of the Chevy Color code as recognized by most wiring companies. This is by no means absolutely complete as Chevy changed things here and there as well as had different color codes for options such as Power Windows or Air Conditioning. This is meant as a helpful guide to wiring your car with the basics. By using the color code and gauge size you will be able to wire your car without using labeled wires and thereby saving you money since you only have to get certain colors that work for multiple components eg; 16 Pink for ignition circuits. I hope this helps out some of you guys and if youd like to add to this or if you see a glaring mistake I made feel free to add your revision. Good luck MAIN POWER DISTRIBUTION 10 RED - ALTERNATOR BAT FEED, IGNITION SWITCH BAT, FUSE PANEL BAT 12 PINK - IGNITION FEED FROM IGNITION SWITCH TO FUSE PANEL 12 BROWN - ACCESSORY FEED FROM IGNITION SWITCH TO FUSE PANEL 12 PURPLE - START CIRCUIT FROM IGNITION TO "S" TERMINAL ON STARTER SOLENOID TURNSIGNAL SWITCH WIRING 16 LIGHT BLUE - LEFT FRONT TURNSIGNAL 16 DARK BLUE - RIGHT FRONT TURN SIGNAL 16 YELLOW- LEFT REAR TURNSIGNAL 16 GREEN - RIGHT REAR TURNSIGNAL 16 WHITE - BRAKE SWITCH OUTPUT INTO TURNSIGNAL SWITCH 16 PURPLE - TURNSIGNAL FLASHER OUTPUT INTO TURNSIGNAL 16 BROWN - HAZARD FLASHER OUTPUT INTO TURNSIGNAL 16 BLACK - HORN RELAY TRIGGER (THIS IS GROUND) EXTERIOR LAMP WIRING 14 GREEN - BAT FEED FROM HEADLIGHT SWITCH FUSE INTO BAT TERMINAL OF HEADLIGHT SWITCH 14 BLUE - HEADLIGHT SWITCH OUTPUT INTO CENTER PIN OF DIMMER SWITCH 14 TAN - LOW BEAMS 14 LIGHT GREEN - HIGH BEAMS 16 YELLOW - HEADLIGHT SWITCH PARK CIRCUIT OUTPUT INTO PARK FUSE 16 BROWN - PARK FUSE OUTPUT TO TAIL LIGHTS 16 LIGHT GREEN - REVERSE LAMPS DASH LIGHT WIRING 18 GRAY - INTERIOR ILLUMINATION (USUALLY POWERED OFF OF TAIL LIGHT FUSE) 18 LIGHT BLUE - LEFT TURNSIGNAL INDICATOR SPLICED OFF OF LEFT FRONT T/S WIRE 18 DARK BLUE - RIGHT TURNSIGNAL INDICATOR SPLICED OFF OF RIGHT FRONT T/S WIRE 16 BROWN - GENERATOR LAMP TO "I" TERMINAL ON ALTERNATOR OR VOLTAGE REGULATOR 18 LIGHT GREEN - HI BEAM INDICATOR SPLICED OFF OF HIGH BEAM CIRCUIT AT DIMMER SWITCH GAUGE WIRING 18 BLUE - OIL PRESSURE 18 GREEN - WATER TEMP 18 WHITE - TACH 18 YELLOW - VEHICLE SPEED SENSOR + TO ELECTRIC SPEEDO 18 PURPLE- VEHICLE SPEED SENSOR - TO GROUND ***FUEL GAUGE HAS CHANGED A LOT AND CAN BE PURPLE, TAN OR PINK 18 PINK - GAUGE POWER (THIS GOES TO THE IGNITION TERMINAL OF ALL GAUGES AND ONE SIDE OF THE GENERATOR LAMP) ***VOLTMETER USES THIS ALSO IGNITION SYSTEM 14 OR 12 PINK - COIL POWER, IF USING STANDARD POINTS USE THE 14 GAUGE THROUGH A BALLAST RESISTOR. IF USING HEI USE 12 GAUGE AND NO BALLAST RESISTOR 14 YELLOW - BYPASS LEG FROM STARTER I TERMINAL TO COIL + (THIS APPLIES MAX BATTERY VOLTAGE TO COIL DURING CRANKING ONLY) WIPERS 14 YELLOW - WIPER POWER INPUT (NORMALLY THIS GOES DIRECTLY TO THE WIPER MOTOR) 14 LIGHT BLUE - WIPER SWITCH TO WIPER MOTOR LOW SPEED 14 DARK BLUE - WIPER SWITCH TO WIPER MOTOR HIGH SPEED 14 BLACK - WIPER SWITCH TO WIPER MOTOR WASHER PUMP HORN 14 GREEN - HORN RELAY OUTPUT TO HORN HEATER 12 BROWN - HEATER SWITCH POWER TERMINAL ***DEPENDING ON HEATER SETUP AND THE TYPE OF BLOWER RESISTOR THERE ARE DIFFERENT COLORS NORMALLY RED, YELLOW AND ORANGE FOR THE VARIOUS SPEEDS. I LEFT IT OUT BECAUSE THEY CHANGED HERE AND THERE KEY ON CIRCUITS 16 PINK - IGNITION INPUT TO REVERSE LAMP SWITCH, TURNSIGNAL FLASHER AND NUMEROUS OTHER KEY ON POWERED ITEMS 18 YELLOW - ACCESSORY CIRCUIT TO RADIO BATTERY POWERED CIRCUITS (CONSTANT 12V) 16 ORANGE - ORANGE IS USED PRIMARILY FOR ITEMS THAT ARE HOT AT ALL TIMES BUT SWITCHED SUCH AS THE BRAKE SWITCH INPUT, HAZARD FLASHER INPUT, COURTESY LIGHT INPUT AS WELL AS THE TRUNK, HOOD AND GLOVEBOX LIGHTS. THESES ITEM CAN WORK WITH THE KEY OFF BUT THEY ARENT ON ALL THE TIME SO THEY USE ORANGE. CIGAR LIGHTER WILL USE THIS COLOR AS WELL. COURTESY LIGHT WIRING 16 WHITE - GROUND CIRCUIT FOR COURTESY LIGHTS. THIS WIRE IS SPLICED OFF OF THE DOOR JAMB SWITCHES AND SOMETIMES THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH AND GOES TO ONE HALF OF THE COURTESY LIGHT(S). REMEMBER THAT THIS IS TO ONLY BE WIRED LIKE THIS IF YOU HAVE GROUNDING STYLE JAMB SWITCHES. FORD USES THE OPPOSITE ARRANGEMENT AND RUNS GROUND DIRECT TO THE BULBS AND SWITCHES POWER. NORAMALLY YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE THE GROUNDING STYLE SWITCHES HAVE ONE TERMINAL AND FORD STYLE HAS TWO TERMINALS. CORVETTES USE A DUAL PIN JAMB SWITCH BECAUSE THEY ARE FIBERGLASS AND CANNOT GROUND THROUGH THE SWITCH BODY SO THE HAVE A SECOND TERMINAL TIED TO GROUND.
A lot of those colors are not available at the local part stores so some creative thinking must come into play.
The Jalopy Journal
