277/120 colors

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liquidtite

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I was changing about 20 bad ballast in a huge commercial building .I new their was 277 lighting but wasnt shure what floor I asked journeyman what was the voltage and he told me 120v I looked at the hot colors and were all 120 colors black red blue. We were not able to turn off circuit either bc could not trace it or computors or what not were on same circuit .So I began to replace bad ballast live shure enough the last ballast I had to change I eneded up getting hit and I new right awaydo to the intensity that the voltage was not 120v.I know that it is my fault for not using a volt meter and checking for volts,but When I asked him why they didnt use 277 colors he said by code you only have to use 277colors when their feeders, is this true
 
You should not be changing ballast live, that is the biggest issue.


The next is that there is no such thing as 277 volt or 120 colors.


Third thing is when colors are used for identification it applies to both branch circuits and feeders
 
FWIW I've wired countless troffer and emergency lights on 277 volt circuits using MC cable with black conductors and I never identified it at the light as such. I know it's a violation but that's yet another reason why you never assume the voltage simply by the color of the insulation.
 
peter d said:
FWIW I've wired countless troffer and emergency lights on 277 volt circuits using MC cable with black conductors and I never identified it at the light as such. I know it's a violation but that's yet another reason why you never assume the voltage simply by the color of the insulation.
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how is it a violation if you said that theirs no color for voltages
 
peter d said:
Many job specs require that but it's not mandated by the NEC. You could use pink, purple and brown for 120/208 and red, yellow and blue for 277/480 as far as the NEC is concerned.
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The key point you illustrate is that although there is no specific set of colors, using the same colors for both voltage systems is not allowed unless the difference between the two systems is identified at each wire end using some other uniform and posted method.
 
480sparky said:
FYI, from the 1937 to the 1971 NEC, there WAS a color code.
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And there are still color codes for specific applications, Brown, Orange, yellow for 517.160 is one of them as well, and it should be noted that prior to the 2002 NEC Gray could have been used for an ungrounded conductor.


Roger
 
liquidtite said:
I was changing about 20 bad ballast in a huge commercial building .I new their was 277 lighting but wasnt shure what floor I asked journeyman what was the voltage and he told me 120v I looked at the hot colors and were all 120 colors black red blue. We were not able to turn off circuit either bc could not trace it or computors or what not were on same circuit .So I began to replace bad ballast live shure enough the last ballast I had to change I eneded up getting hit and I new right awaydo to the intensity that the voltage was not 120v.I know that it is my fault for not using a volt meter and checking for volts,but When I asked him why they didnt use 277 colors he said by code you only have to use 277colors when their feeders, is this true
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I'm willing to bet that the owner of your company does not want you working on stuff hot , and they would probaly fire your journeyman if they knew he had you working on 277 volts live , And the fact that you got belted means you are not being carefull while working.

Rule of thumb , Treat everything you are working on as if it's hot , and have a meter handy , like in your tool belt that you should be wearing while our working.

Keep in mind that taking a zap can kill you on the spot by stopping your heart,Does your Journeyman know how to restart your heart again?,,,Remember, Death is forever.

If your boss knows that you are working hot and does not do anything about it then you should find a company that cares about the men.

Again,,,,,,Rule of thumb , Treat everything you are working on as if it's hot no matter what.
 
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