Does the color of Jumper cables matter?

Question

Does the color of jumper cables in a circuit matter?

I'm starting out with Arduino and can't get it to work at all with a breadboard! I'm thinking it's something simple like this!

I know Black is Negative and Red is positive, but what about green, blue, orange and white etc? Is it just to make the circuit clearer or does each color have a meaning?

Of course, how else will someone know what wire to cut when your project turns into a time bomb. — Passerby, Nov 20 '14 at 01:03
Most breadboard kits I have used have the color indicating the length. — Aaron D. Marasco, Nov 20 '14 at 02:01
@AaronD.Marasco: With the old plastic case style yes. Nowadays they also have kits that use stranded wire with male pins on both ends. They're only a few select lengths but most common wire colors. — Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams, Nov 20 '14 at 02:07
Example of the problems you get without wire colors: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/404 — RJR, Nov 20 '14 at 09:24

John Honniball · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-08T23:55:16.847

No, the colours don't matter. Using red for positive and black for negative is just a convention. It helps everybody understand the way the circuit is wired, but the current will flow just the same whatever colour the insulation is.

Now, you may find it helpful to devise your own colour-coding scheme. Maybe inputs to the Arduino are blue, and outputs are orange, something like that. Anything that helps you keep the wiring clear and organised will help.

Non-working Arduino breadboard circuits are usually caused by a wiring error. Be sure that you understand where the breadboard holes are connected, and where they're not. If you can, get someone else to check your wiring, because it's very common to miss something if you check it yourself.

Is the typo in that particular (final) sentence a self-referential example? ;-) — Spehro Pefhany, Nov 19 '14 at 21:41

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 19 '14 at 21:38

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The color does not matter. It is only colored for organization like you said. Remember that the holes on the outside of the breadboard are connected vertically, and that the ones in the middle are connected horizontally. Good luck!

answered Nov 19 '14 at 21:38

Sergei_Grishin

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 19 '14 at 21:35

The wire colour is just an aid to help you keep track of what is connected to which, and will have no effect on the operation of the circuit. You can even use red for ground and black for positive if you wish.

In North American house wiring black is hot, white is neutral and green is safety ground.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 19 '14 at 22:21

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It doesn't matter to the electrons. It does matter to you. Adopting a convention for the various colors can help you determine circuit functionality at a glance and aid diagnosis of problems if/when they come up.

answered Nov 19 '14 at 22:21

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams

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score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 20 '14 at 08:49

For a simple circuit the color of the jumper cables may not be that crucial. But when you deal with big complicated circuit you may have problem in tracing out your errors. It is always a good practice to connect the cables or jumpers according to color code. Thus if your project is handed over to another person, he/she may know how to trace out the connection.

Does the color of Jumper cables matter?

5 Answers5