Design of A Colour Sequence Detector for a 5-core Harness Cable
Low-cost tester for verifying the colour sequence and continuity of 5-core harness cables at both ends of a wire roll.
This device verifies that both ends of a cable have the same wire color sequence and ensures continuity.
It was developed in 2019 as a more efficient alternative to the manual continuity tester used by the Harness Department at Cable Solutions (Pvt) Ltd.
- A 555 Timer generates clock pulses.
- Two CD4017 Decade Counters are clocked together:
- One drives the positive side of LEDs.
- The other (through a NOT gate) drives the negative side.
- When the wire order matches at both ends, the corresponding LED lights up.
- Tests 5 cores (expandable to 10 for a single CD4017).
- Detects sequence and continuity.
- No microcontroller → reduced cost.
- Powered via 9V battery.
- Tested via Proteus 8 Professional simulation and breadboard prototype.
- 1 × 555 Timer IC
- 2 × CD4017 Decade Counter IC
- 5 × NOT Gate IC (each per core)
- 5 x LEDs (each per core)
- 5 x Resistors (each per core)
- Jumper Wires, Breadboard
- 9 V Battery
Simulation (Proteus 8 Professional):
Breadboard Prototype:
- Expand to test up to 10 cores.
- Build into a durable production-line-ready enclosure.
- Simulation Software: Proteus 8 Professional
This project is shared for educational purposes. Please give credit if you use it.
If you have feedback or suggestions, feel free to open an issue.