German wiring code?

[Qacer]

My friend from Germany sent me the following pictures. He is about to attach light fixtures to his house. I don't know how to decipher German wiring code. Anyone familiar with these? Also, what the heck are those things attached to the wires?

From what I've red so far, green / yellow is ground. But the live wires can be different colors depending on the date of the house. What is also interesting is that the live wires are labeled positive or negative. Does this mean that German wiring is polarized?

 

[ericloewe]

I'm by no means an expert but:
Yellow/Green is ground
Brown or Black is usually neutral
Blue is live

If your friend has problems with that part, he should seriously have an expert do the job.

 

[PottedMeat]

the things attached look like quick connects. strip the wire and stick it in a hole, teeth inside hold the wire.

take apart an already installed fixture?

 

[FloatingSpots]

The OP may be done with this thread (or not) but I have to correct the color codes posted above by ericloewe.

The European color codes are:
Brown = Phase / Hot
Blue = Neutral
Green / Yellow striped = Ground

Also, for the U.S.
Black = Hot (Remember black is the color of death).
White is neutral
Green is ground

And since I am not an expert either, here is a reference that matches my post.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_wiring#Color_code

 

[numeno]

Germany currently is using the international Electrical Commisions Coding

Neutral Blue
Line Brown (older Black)
Ground is Green/Yellow

The old system was (easy to identify if Red wire present or no Green/Yellow)
Line Black
Neutral Gray
Ground Red

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_5/chpt_2/2.html

as to Those things hanging on the wires, those are quick connectors just strip and insert (a few still have a lever but thats used to remove wires). A nother very common connector is the Lüsterklemme in which you insert the striped cable and then use a srew to secure it.
Those twist connectors aren't very popular over here (not as safe).

 

[sm625]

Never trust that someone wired it correctly. Even if the color scheme is right they could have mixed them. I just put a meter on it. Meters only cost $10 for something that is better than what you could get for $100 20 years ago...

 

[Mark R]

I'm by no means an expert but:
Yellow/Green is ground
Brown or Black is usually neutral
Blue is live

If your friend has problems with that part, he should seriously have an expert do the job.

Completely wrong.
Yellow/Green is always ground. But in old installations it may have just been bare copper.
In the pictures it looks like there are blue and brown wires which are "new" colors.
Under new colors: Blue is ALWAYS neutral, and brown is ALWAYS live (other permitted colors for live are grey and black - e.g. in 2-way switched circuits, or 3-phase wiring).

(old colors varied - a lot)

The things attached to the wires are connector blocks. European codes usually require individual screw terminals for joining wires (not wirenuts). Although low-quality DIY installations may use things like scotchloks (which are not generally recommended).

 

[uKno]

Consider your friend Electrocuted, lol

 

[pcgeek11]

Completely wrong.
Yellow/Green is always ground. But in old installations it may have just been bare copper.
In the pictures it looks like there are blue and brown wires which are "new" colors.
Under new colors: Blue is ALWAYS neutral, and brown is ALWAYS live (other permitted colors for live are grey and black - e.g. in 2-way switched circuits, or 3-phase wiring).

(old colors varied - a lot)

The things attached to the wires are connector blocks. European codes usually require individual screw terminals for joining wires (not wirenuts). Although low-quality DIY installations may use things like scotchloks (which are not generally recommended).

This is correct. I work for an German industrial plant as an electrician. Robert Bosch.

 

[Vxhall]

This is correct. I work for an German industrial plant as an electrician. Robert Bosch.

Hey pcgeek11
Any idea what this means by any chance.
Where it's written 10F1 with a squiggly line. So hard to find a German engineer!
THANKS!

 

[pcgeek11]

Hey pcgeek11
Any idea what this means by any chance.
Where it's written 10F1 with a squiggly line. So hard to find a German engineer!
THANKS!

That is a thermal controlled switch for an Evaporator (verdampfer) Fan (lufter).

The Coil winding 10K1M that is the coil on the motor contact relay for the evaporator fan.