Crimp terminal and ferrule colour codes. And every lug die code.

Set by

Industry convention followed by most makers. It is not fixed in one international standard.

Used in

UK, Europe, North America, Australia, Asia and most other markets

Sizes

Given in mm² and AWG on the pack and usually on the sleeve

Sleeves

PVC (vinyl), nylon or heat-shrink. Nylon and heat-shrink usually take higher temperatures: check the rating

The sleeve colour tells you which conductor range the barrel takes. The ranges overlap slightly at the edges and each maker publishes its own exact limits, so read the pack before you rely on the colour alone.

• Two sizes share yellow. The small mini yellow (0.2 to 0.5 mm²) and the large yellow (4 to 6 mm²) look alike on a shelf, so check the barrel size.
• Maker limits differ at the edges: some quote red up to 1.6 mm², blue 1.0 to 2.6 mm² and yellow 2.5 or 2.7 to 6.6 mm².
• US makers often rate red as 22 to 18 AWG rather than 22 to 16 AWG. Use the AWG range printed on the pack.
• Insulated terminals are also made above 6 mm² (10 AWG), for example 8 AWG red and 4 AWG yellow nylon types. For conductors larger than 10 AWG (6 mm²), colours are set by each maker, so the red, blue and yellow ranges no longer apply.
• Use the ratchet tool and die made for insulated terminals, matched by colour. Plain pliers or a bare-terminal die split the sleeve.
• Many insulated terminals also grip the cable insulation behind the barrel. Check both the conductor crimp and the insulation-support crimp.

Issued by

Japanese Industrial Standards Committee

Size names

Nominal mm²: 1.25, 2, 3.5, 5.5, 8, 14, 22, 38 and up to 325; makers sell a smallest size as 0.3 or 0.5

Shapes

R type (ring) is the common bolted terminal; Y type (fork) is also made

Colours

Set by makers, not by JIS C 2805: the standard covers the terminal itself

Japanese terminals are named by nominal size, so an R 2-4 is a ring for 2 mm² nominal wire on an M4 screw. Insulated versions from Japanese makers use the same red, blue and yellow idea as the rest of the world, tied to the JIS sizes.

• The wire ranges come from the AWG conversions the makers print: 1.25 covers 22 to 16 AWG, 2 covers 16 to 14 AWG and 5.5 covers 12 to 10 AWG.
• Clear (uncoloured) insulation is also sold in every size, so a clear sleeve tells you nothing about its range.
• Many JIS terminals are also UL listed, but the size names are Japanese: an 8, 14 or 22 is a nominal mm² size, not an AWG gauge.

Issued by

DIN (German Institute for Standardization)

Parts

Part 1 covers bare ferrules; Part 4 covers ferrules with a plastic collar

Range

0.5 to 50 mm² in the standard; makers add 0.14, 0.25 and 0.34 mm² outside it

North America

UL 486F covers ferrules but sets no colour code; Phoenix Contact’s table gives the same colours for UL 486F (Form E) as for DIN 46228-4. Under UL 486F a ferrule’s plastic collar is for identification only, not insulation

A ferrule gathers the strands of a flexible conductor into a solid pin so that a screw or spring terminal clamps every strand. The DIN code repeats a short colour cycle, so the same colour turns up at several sizes.

• Colours repeat: grey is 0.75 and 4 mm², red is 1, 10 and 35 mm², blue is 2.5, 16 and 50 mm², yellow is 6 and 25 mm². Read the size on the strip or box.
• The small sizes 0.14 (grey), 0.25 (yellow) and 0.34 mm² (turquoise) are maker additions, not part of DIN 46228-4.
• Twin ferrules take two conductors in one pin. In the DIN colours, 2 x 0.5 is white, 2 x 0.75 grey, 2 x 1 red and 2 x 1.5 black. Use a twin ferrule rather than forcing two wires into a single one.

Issued by

AFNOR (France)

Where you see it

Legrand Starfix and many UK and Australian bootlace ranges

Range

About 0.25 to 50 mm²

The French code gives each common size its own colour up to 10 mm², which many electricians find easier than the DIN cycle. It shares white (0.5), red (1) and black (1.5) with DIN but differs at 0.75 and from 2.5 mm² up.

• The biggest trap is 2.5 mm²: grey in the French code, blue in DIN. And 0.75 mm² is blue in the French code but grey in DIN.
• 16 mm² is listed as ivory by some makers and white by others; the smallest sizes also vary (Legrand lists 0.25 turquoise and 0.34 green).
• Twin ferrules in the French code: 2 x 0.75 blue, 2 x 1 red, 2 x 1.5 black, 2 x 2.5 grey.
• If a panel mixes French and DIN stock, the colours no longer mean one size. Keep one code per job.

Also called

“German colour code”, “colour code 2” or “special colour code”

Set by

Maker convention. It is not DIN 46228-4.

Range

About 0.14 to 50 mm²

This code gives every size up to 50 mm² its own colour. Phoenix Contact, Weidmüller and many others sell it alongside DIN and French ranges, so the same size can arrive in three different colours.

• Despite the name it is not the DIN code. A white ferrule is 0.75 mm² here but 0.5 mm² in DIN and French stock.
• Small sizes in this code are usually 0.14 grey, 0.25 light blue and 0.34 turquoise.
• Some catalogues call this the “DIN colour code 2”. Check which table a box refers to before mixing stock.

Issued by

DIN (German Institute for Standardization)

Crimp

Hexagonal dies to DIN 48083 Part 4 are recommended

Performance tests

IEC 61238-1 series (EN IEC 61238-1-1 up to 1 kV)

Every DIN 46235 lug is stamped with a die code. Fit the die with the same number, crimp, and the die prints its number back onto the barrel so an inspector can check it afterwards. A marking such as KL 22 12-150 means maker KL, die code 22, M12 bolt, 150 mm².

• Die codes belong to DIN 46235 lugs only. Standard (non-DIN) tube lugs have different tube sizes and are crimped to the lug maker’s own chart.
• DIN compression lugs are longer than standard tube lugs and need more crimps; the number and width of crimps is marked or given by the maker.
• Aluminium lugs use their own codes (DIN 46329 tube sizes): never use the copper code for an aluminium lug.

Standard

UL 486A-486B, harmonised with CSA C22.2 No. 65 and NMX-J-543-ANCE

Sizes

AWG and kcmil; metric ratings may be added but AWG/kcmil ratings are mandatory

Ferrules

UL 486F covers bare and covered ferrules

Copper compression lugs in North America carry a coloured band and a die number. The matching die is painted the same colour and embosses the same number, so a red 21 lug takes a red 21 die. Color-Keyed is a Thomas & Betts (now ABB) system; Panduit and other makers use the same colours on their dies.

• Colours and numbers here are for copper code-conductor lugs. Connectors for aluminium conductors use other colours, for example gold, tan, olive and ruby, so never assume a colour means the same size on an aluminium part.
• Two-hole lugs for equipment pads are drilled to NEMA spacing: 1/2 in bolts on 1-3/4 in centres for the common large pattern.
• Long-barrel and short-barrel lugs of the same size can need a different number of crimps. Follow the chart for the lug and tool.

Issued by

Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand

Type

A test standard reproduced from IEC 1238-1:1993 (now IEC 61238-1), for copper from 10 mm² and aluminium from 16 mm². It does not set lug dimensions. Listed as withdrawn in Australia in 2025: check its current status

Lug styles

Standard copper lugs and bell-mouth lugs for flexible cable

Tooling

Some local makers, such as CABAC, make lugs to Australian dimensions for Australian dies

Local lug ranges are often made to suit local tooling, so an imported DIN or North American lug may not match the die in an Australian crimper. Always use the die the lug maker specifies. Bell-mouth lugs, with a flared entry, are the usual choice for fine-stranded flexible cable.

• Pre-insulated terminals follow the worldwide red, blue and yellow convention.
• Bootlace ferrules are sold in both French and German colour codes, so check the table on the box.
• Large flexible cables may not fit the nominal lug. Makers advise a bell-mouth lug or their own oversize method rather than trimming strands.

Issued by

Standardization Administration of China

Scope

Power cable conductors up to 35 kV (Um = 40.5 kV); copper 10 to 630 mm², aluminium 16 to 630 mm²

Trade names

DT copper lugs, DL aluminium lugs, DTL copper-aluminium lugs

Chinese tube lugs are commonly sold by type letter and size, for example DT-95 for a 95 mm² copper lug. The barrels differ from DIN 46235 lugs, so use the die set recommended for that lug.

• GB/T 14315-2008 replaced the 1993 edition. The “ferrules” in its title are joint sleeves (connecting tubes), not bootlace ferrules.
• DTL lugs join aluminium cable to copper busbars or studs. Do not use a DT copper lug on aluminium conductors.
• We could not confirm a national colour code for Chinese lugs from the sources checked.