johnmastodon, The very simplified color code guide for working with Arduino gadgets:
Red (R) is always positive, although it could also be black (B), never white (W)
W is always negative, although it could also be B
Orange could be used as R, B or W
Purple, yellow, green, gray or blue must be used for I/O pins, although they could be used as R, B or W, but only with express permission from Arduino
When lacking different colors, connect everything with W cables, or B, or R!