Orange marks the circuits that can seriously injure someone who touches them. In an electric vehicle, the traction battery, inverter, motor and on-board charger run at several hundred volts DC, far above the 12 V or 24 V of the conventional electrical system. Vehicle safety standards treat anything above 60 V DC or 30 V AC as high voltage, and SAE J1673 specifies orange for high-voltage cable in road vehicles. The convention is now followed across the industry.
The colour is a warning for mechanics, crash responders and recyclers: an orange cable must not be cut, pierced or disconnected until the high-voltage system has been isolated and proved dead. The colour does not change the cable's rating. The cable still has to be designed for the system voltage, temperature and mechanical duty of its location. For EV assemblies, see harness for automotives and EV.