4 wire color code for dc voltage

Does anyone know the color code for a 4 wire dc device. I'm pretty sure brown is for +24vdc, blue for 0vdc. As far as black and white i'm not sure.

jerry859 said:

Does anyone know the color code for a 4 wire dc device. I'm pretty sure brown is for +24vdc, blue for 0vdc. As far as black and white i'm not sure.

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Generally, it's brown = 24v, blue = 0vdc, black is normally open, and white is normally closed. But I don't know if that is 100% a standard or not.

that is most common setup, note that if there is analog output (like ranging sensors etc.) then analog signal is on the white wire.

also a bit of caution doesn't hurt since even though sensor cable may be 3 or 4 wire, actual device could be only 2 wire (reed switch for example or two wire proxy).
in that case connecting brown to +24VDC and blue to 0VDC is not good idea...

hope this will help

i been using that 4 wire for sensors and it seems that it is standard to connect brown = 24v blue = 0v white = output 1 black = output 2.

On most photo-electric sensors I see are:
Pin 1 (Brown) = +24V
Pin 2 (White) = Apply 24V for switching Light-ON/Dark-On, OR if it is dual PNP/NPN Pin 2 can be the NPN output
Pin 3 (Black) = Output
Pin 4 (Blue) = 0V

In Europe, where this color-coding scheme started, they use BROWN for the high side (220v AC), blue for the low side (or neutral), and green w/ a yellow stripe for Earth ground. For control circuitry, sensors, etc. The BROWN wire is the +V (anywhere from +5v to +30V), BLUE is the low side (reference ground), BLACK is the output (signal), either an active HIGH (PNP) or an active LOW (NPN). Some sensors have an additional wire, WHITE, which is the complement of the signal output, either NPN or PNP. And, some sensors (mostly amplifiers used w/ fibre optics) have additional wires, TAN & PINK, which are defined as "TEACH" and/or remote trigger (input control). About the only recognized universal standard is the three-wire sensor, where BROWN is the +V, BLUE is the reference ground lead, and BLACK is the signal output.
BANNER ENGINEERING light sensors, for example, include both PNP & NPN outputs, and their cables, whether utilized w/ sepatate M8 or M12 connectors OR self-contained, are packed w/ a BROWN lead, a BLUE lead, a BLACK lead, and a WHITE lead. The BLACK lead is the PNP output, the WHITE lead is the NPN output for the ACTIVE state. These devices are configured to be either DARK-ON or LIGHT-ON, but in each case, they are separately identified catalog items.

CLICKERGUY said:

BANNER ENGINEERING light sensors, for example, include both PNP & NPN outputs, and their cables, whether utilized w/ sepatate M8 or M12 connectors OR self-contained, are packed w/ a BROWN lead, a BLUE lead, a BLACK lead, and a WHITE lead. The BLACK lead is the PNP output, the WHITE lead is the NPN output for the ACTIVE state. These devices are configured to be either DARK-ON or LIGHT-ON, but in each case, they are separately identified catalog items.

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Some Banner units (S18 and S30 DC units) have a alarm output for less than 1.5 excess gain on the white lead when you reverse the polarity on the brown and blue leads

milldrone said:

Some Banner units (S18 and S30 DC units) have a alarm output for less than 1.5 excess gain on the white lead when you reverse the polarity on the brown and blue leads

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Milldrone,
I used the BANNER "WORLDBEAM" series as my example, most notably the Q12AB... & Q12RB... as the basis for my example. The D10 amplifier uses the pink & tan leads as TEACH & control leads, and KEYENCE amplifiers use similar lead colour configs. That's why it's ALWAYS best to determine the EXACT wiring ID's from the manufacturer's data sheets.

Some automation direct prox's the white wire is connected to the brown/plus volts to change pnp to npn

I still dont get the use of white wires?

Christoff84 said:

On most photo-electric sensors I see are:
Pin 1 (Brown) = +24V
Pin 2 (White) = Apply 24V for switching Light-ON/Dark-On, OR if it is dual PNP/NPN Pin 2 can be the NPN output
Pin 3 (Black) = Output
Pin 4 (Blue) = 0V

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That is as 'standard' in ASi world and other type field devices also.

CLICKERGUY said:

and green w/ a yellow stripe for Earth ground.

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and here's me thinking that the green and yellow was only used for a bathroom fan switch wire when youve forgot to run a three core and earth!! lol

CLICKERGUY said it best

CLICKERGUY said:

That's why it's ALWAYS best to determine the EXACT wiring ID's from the manufacturer's data sheets.

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Longhorn said:

and here's me thinking that the green and yellow was only used for a bathroom fan switch wire when youve forgot to run a three core and earth!! lol

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Longhorn,
Here in the "colonies", we stubbornly refused to use green w/ yellow stripe ever since Ben Franklin "invented" electricity. It is only because of our deep admiration for our European forefathers that we are using both the green w/ yellow stripe wire as the "grounding conductor" (Europe's EARTH), as well as our native solid green wire. The term "grounding conductor" is straight from our NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE dictionary.

seppoalanen said:

That is as 'standard' in ASi world and other type field devices also.

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While these pictorials describe the types of sensor devices, and the usual connections for the power supply leads, they do not directly indicate the function of the black & white leads, which is the MAIN REASON that I commented last week about reading the manufacturer's data sheets. To make matters worse, there was a time in the U.S. when domestic manufacturers of sensor devices used a more "American" color-coding scheme. Black, red, & white were typical colors used. Even the Japanese companies SUNX and OMRON produced items in accordance w/ this standard. Most now, however, have switched to the more universal brown, blue, black scheme.