Anyone using elect. wire markers?

Looking for some input:
I don't really see a need to buy several different colors of electrical
wire for my homebuilt when you can easily use just one color (white?) to do
it all. The only thing you then need to do is to mark the ends of the wires
to identify the circuits and where it all goes (easy enough). In fact, your
electrical scematics would be even better if each terminal were identified
with a proprietary number rather than just a color of wire or colored
marker.
So what I'm asking is if anyone of you have gone the wire marking route,
and if so, what type and brand of tape, or collars, or whatever you have
found to be not only frugal, but also to be permanent and not fall off at
some time later?

TIA
MJC

MJC wrote:
Looking for some input:
I don't really see a need to buy several different colors of electrical
wire for my homebuilt when you can easily use just one color (white?) to do
it all. The only thing you then need to do is to mark the ends of the wires
to identify the circuits and where it all goes (easy enough). In fact, your
electrical scematics would be even better if each terminal were identified
with a proprietary number rather than just a color of wire or colored
marker.
So what I'm asking is if anyone of you have gone the wire marking route,
and if so, what type and brand of tape, or collars, or whatever you have
found to be not only frugal, but also to be permanent and not fall off at
some time later?

TIA
MJC


Personally I hot stamp my wires, but that requires a special machine.

You could type or hand write wire numbers or other information on a
piece of paper, cut it to size and hold it in place on your wire with
clear heat shrink. You can get sharpies in most of the colours used in
the resister colour code and draw bands on the wires.

One thing to keep in mind is distance of the run. If all the wires are
white and they go through bulkheads or in bundles with other wires
running any more than a few feet you can easily lose track of the one
you are chasing. The solution is to mark each wire every 18 or 20 inches.

Also you want the end markings to be an inch or two from the end so as
to be not covered by what ever connector it goes into. You can also
replace the connector/terminal without lopping off your markings.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

"MJC" wrote in message
...
Looking for some input:
I don't really see a need to buy several different colors of electrical
wire for my homebuilt when you can easily use just one color (white?) to
do
it all. The only thing you then need to do is to mark the ends of the
wires
to identify the circuits and where it all goes (easy enough). In fact,
your
electrical scematics would be even better if each terminal were identified
with a proprietary number rather than just a color of wire or colored
marker.
So what I'm asking is if anyone of you have gone the wire marking
route,
and if so, what type and brand of tape, or collars, or whatever you have
found to be not only frugal, but also to be permanent and not fall off at
some time later?

TIA
MJC

I simply wrapped masking tape "tags" around each wire and wrote whatever I
need to on the tag... The tags are fine after 5 years. Will they be fine
after 50 years? Probably not...

KB

On Thu, 5 May 2005 15:49:06 -0500, "MJC" wrote:

Looking for some input:
I don't really see a need to buy several different colors of electrical
wire for my homebuilt when you can easily use just one color (white?) to do


I deal with larger aircraft and about the only colored aircraft wire I
have seen is orange stuff they use in flight test so they know which
ones to pull out. Colored wire has plastic insulation and is for cars.
You don't want that stuff in an aircraft.

Most any avionics shops have the equipment to run wire through and
mark it every few inches. In the past, if I buy the wire from my local
shop, they would let me use their marker for nothing.

A low tech option is to buy stick-on markers and identify the ends,
but they tend to fall off after while. What ever you do, mark them
some way or you'll be lost trying to troubleshoot. Take a look at
http://www.jensentools.com/product/c...?parent_id=545
There is probably something there to get you going.

I've done it three ways. Each of them has something to say for itself and
some drawbacks. I also wrote an article in Kitplanes on how to do it
(September '96 issue). This issue also has a suggestion as to how to
arrange the numbers (i.e. 200 series numbers are lights, 300 series numbers
are heaters, and so on)

1. Get some white or clear shrink sleeving. Cut the sleeving into 1"
pieces. Sticky them onto a long piece of masking tape with about an eighth
of an inch showing. Get a spray can of gold or silver or some other
noncolor other than gray or white. Spray the sleeving so that the noncolor
shows. This is the "starting" end of the color code. Now take a permanent
marking pen ("Sharpie") that comes in all the RETMA colors (black, brown,
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) and color code your wire number
(0, 1, 2, etc.) onto the sleeving. Make as many sleeves of one code as
there are 4' runs of this wire. Don't let the sleeves get wet. When you
attach the wire at one end to make the run, slip one of the sleeves over the
wire, position it about 2" from the end and heat-shrink it on. The heat
from the gun will embed the ink into the sleeving so that no known solvent
will remove it. Put a color shrink every 4' (or even better, at each
inspection hole) on the wire out to the business end.

2. Ditto above with clear shrink, but use your computer to type in (little
tiny type) either a wire number or alpha descriptor of the wire onto little
tiny address labels. Put the label on the wire and shrink the clear
sleeving over it. If you want to be clever, you can use the COLOR feature
of your word processor to code the letter 2 red, the letter 5 green, and so
on.

3. Ditto above with clear shrink, but use the marking pens to put the color
directly onto the wire. This is the clumsiest of the methods but is the
most resistant to abrasion and failure after thirty years of work.

Jim



"MJC" wrote in message
...
Looking for some input:
I don't really see a need to buy several different colors of electrical
wire for my homebuilt when you can easily use just one color (white?)

"MJC" wrote in message
...
Looking for some input:
I don't really see a need to buy several different colors of electrical
wire for my homebuilt when you can easily use just one color (white?) to
do
it all. The only thing you then need to do is to mark the ends of the
wires
to identify the circuits and where it all goes (easy enough). In fact,
your
electrical scematics would be even better if each terminal were identified
with a proprietary number rather than just a color of wire or colored
marker.
So what I'm asking is if anyone of you have gone the wire marking
route,
and if so, what type and brand of tape, or collars, or whatever you have
found to be not only frugal, but also to be permanent and not fall off at
some time later?

TIA
MJC



WalMart has a minature tape stamper that makes nice small tags. Get
several lengths of CLEAR heat shrink tubing and use this procedure.

1. slip a length of clear heatshrink over the wire.
2. crimp the appropriate termination
3. stick on the number from your drawings and wire list
4. slide down the heat shrink tubing to cover the tag and the butt end of
the termination
5. zap it with your handy heat gun until it is snug.

Works great. If you don't like the little marker tapes you can always use
Jim's option and put the number on with colored markers using resistor color
codes. Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Gray White

Highflyer

I use a Brother label maker AND clear heat shrink.

The label material sticks very well to the wires and the clear heat
shrink is so it NEVER comes off. I have wires 3 years old with this
labeling and it is not discolored or too stiff.

Let's you use words instead of just numbers. My eyes go a bit buggy
looking at all sorts of numbers and if I'm trying my patience tracing
wires I prefer to have it spelled out in English.

Bart D. Hull

Tempe, Arizona

Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/engine.html
for my Subaru Engine Conversion
Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/fuselage.html
for Tango II I'm building.

Remove -nospam to reply via email.

Highflyer wrote:
"MJC" wrote in message
...

Looking for some input:
I don't really see a need to buy several different colors of electrical
wire for my homebuilt when you can easily use just one color (white?) to
do
it all. The only thing you then need to do is to mark the ends of the
wires
to identify the circuits and where it all goes (easy enough). In fact,
your
electrical scematics would be even better if each terminal were identified
with a proprietary number rather than just a color of wire or colored
marker.
So what I'm asking is if anyone of you have gone the wire marking
route,
and if so, what type and brand of tape, or collars, or whatever you have
found to be not only frugal, but also to be permanent and not fall off at
some time later?

TIA
MJC




WalMart has a minature tape stamper that makes nice small tags. Get
several lengths of CLEAR heat shrink tubing and use this procedure.

1. slip a length of clear heatshrink over the wire.
2. crimp the appropriate termination
3. stick on the number from your drawings and wire list
4. slide down the heat shrink tubing to cover the tag and the butt end of
the termination
5. zap it with your handy heat gun until it is snug.

Works great. If you don't like the little marker tapes you can always use
Jim's option and put the number on with colored markers using resistor color
codes. Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Gray White

Highflyer

"Highflyer" wrote in message
...


Works great. If you don't like the little marker tapes you can always use
Jim's option and put the number on with colored markers using resistor
color
codes. Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Gray White

Highflyer


When I was in aviation maintenance school a classmate recited a sentence
which could help one remember those colors in their correct sequence. The
instructor, who was also the prez of the school, immediately scolded the
student and warned him not to repeat the sentence again. I can't remember
the whole thing but "rape our young girls" would account for red, orange,
yellow, green." What method did YOU use?

Here is an acronym to help me, sinner that I am, remember the seven
deadlies: PEGGLA.

jls wrote:


When I was in aviation maintenance school a classmate recited a sentence
which could help one remember those colors in their correct sequence. The
instructor, who was also the prez of the school, immediately scolded the
student and warned him not to repeat the sentence again. I can't remember
the whole thing but "rape our young girls" would account for red, orange,
yellow, green." What method did YOU use?


But violet giving willingly is OK?

I gave my lab partner in college one of those radio shack wheely things
because he could never remember the color code.

-Ron
The girls can flirt and other queer things can do.

The white teflon wire is excellent for aircraft because it does not melt
easily or burn.

Although they sell marking numbers and a kit, a simple way is to use the
small heat shrink tubing slightly larger than the teflon wire for marking.
With a few different color heat shrink, you can identify each end of the
wire with unique bands.

And, if you want to put a bit more work into it, you could use the standard
color code bands to identify pin numbers on plugs. For example, a brown and
red band would be pin 12.

This requires some standardization to make sure you are not upside down, or
you could always use a different width to start.

Prices varies a great deal on heat shrink tubing, do do not get ripped off.
I find it is handy to have a number of different sizes and colors. Clear
heat shrink is good for labeling, as Jim mentioned.

Colin