The resistor color code is basically a tool that helps us find the resistance value of any resistor by checking different colored bands on the resistor. Other types of resistors exist, and each comes with a certain resistance value, so before using a resistor in a circuit, we need to find the resistance value. Resistor color codes help us to find resistance by getting details from different colors on the resistor since each color has a certain number of values that are arranged to find the final resistance of the resistor.
In this tutorial, we will cover details of resistor color codes and find its practical importance for getting the resistances of different resistors. So let’s get started.
What is a resistor?
- A resistor is an electronic component that limits current flow in a circuit. When a resistor makes a connection with a circuit, the resistor’s resistance is fixed through two points that restrict current in the connected components of the circuit.
- Suppose your circuit has a fixed resistor with a constant resistance value. while the variable resistor is called a potentiometer.
- An ideal resistor shows linear operation in a circuit; this resistor has a direct proportional relation between the current flowing in the circuit and the applied voltage.
- The primary purpose of a variable resistor is to provide voltage at different levels.
- Each resistor comes with a certain value of resistance that determines whether the resistor is applicable for our circuit or not.
- Different resistor color codes exist on resistors that help to find the resistance value of certain resistors.
Factors that affect resistance
- Different factors affect the resistance of a resistor, like the length of the conductor, the material, the temperature conditions, and the cross-sectional area.
- A term or physical quantity is used to define the temperature effect on resistance, which is called the temperature coefficient.
- The temperature coefficient is basically the percentage of resistance that varies with an increase of one degree in temperature.
What is a resistor color code?
- Perhaps you’ve noticed that a resistor is a small component, making it challenging to print any numbers or letters on it, or the print is not easily visible.
- To easily understand resistance values in the 1920 Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA) resistor color code system.
- There are different colored bands on the resistor that help to find the resistance of the resistor; each colored band defines a certain decimal value.
- These color codes help us find resistance values through an easy understanding of these colors. Either the resistor is connected with the circuit or also damaged due to a short circuit.
- The resistor color coding method is used for carbon film resistors, metallic oxide film resistors, etc.
- To find the resistance value, we read each band’s color codes one by one from the left side and the tolerance band on the right side.
Resistor Color Code Chart
Here we have made chart for resistor color codes
| Color | Digit | Multiplier | Tolerance | Temp. Coefficient (ppm/°C) |
| Black | 0 | ×1 (10⁰) | — | 250 |
| Brown | 1 | ×10 (10¹) | ±1% | 100 |
| Red | 2 | ×100 (10²) | ±2% | 50 |
| Orange | 3 | ×1,000 (10³) | — | 15 |
| Yellow | 4 | ×10,000 (10⁴) | — | 25 |
| Green | 5 | ×100,000 (10⁵) | ±0.5% | — |
| Blue | 6 | ×1,000,000 (10⁶) | ±0.25% | 10 |
| Violet | 7 | ×10,000,000 (10⁷) | ±0.1% | 5 |
| Gray | 8 | ×100,000,000 (10⁸) | ±0.05% | — |
| White | 9 | ×1,000,000,000 (10⁹) | — | — |
| Gold | — | ×0.1 (10⁻¹) | ±5% | — |
| Silver | — | ×0.01 (10⁻²) | ±10% | — |
| No Color | — | — | ±20% | — |
4-Band Resistor value
| Band | Meaning |
| 1st | 1st Digit |
| 2nd | 2nd Digit |
| 3rd | Multiplier |
| 4th | Tolerance |
Example:
Red – Violet – Orange – Gold
2 – 7 × 1,000 = 27,000 Ω (27kΩ) ±5%
5-Band Resistor
| Band | Meaning |
| 1st | 1st Digit |
| 2nd | 2nd Digit |
| 3rd | 3rd Digit |
| 4th | Multiplier |
| 5th | Tolerance |
Example:
Brown – Green – Black – Red – Brown
1 – 5 – 0 × 100 = 15,000 Ω (15kΩ) ±1%
6-Band Resistor
| Band | Meaning |
| 1st | 1st Digit |
| 2nd | 2nd Digit |
| 3rd | 3rd Digit |
| 4th | Multiplier |
| 5th | Tolerance |
| 6th | Temp Coefficient |
Example:
Orange – Orange – Black – Brown – Red – Brown
3 – 3 – 0 ×10 = 330 Ω ±2%, 100 ppm/°C
Resistor Color Bands
- A carbon-made resistor comes with four to six bands. The five-band resistor has more accurate results than the four-band resistor since the five-band resistor uses the 3rd significant digit.
- While for the six-band temperature coefficient band uses. Here you can see different bands of resistors.
| 4 Band | 5 Band | 6 Band | |
| 1st band | 1st significant digit | 1st digit | 1st significant digit |
| 2nd band | 2nd significant digit | 2nd significant digit | 2nd significant digit |
| 3rd band | multiplier | 3rd significant digit | 3rd significant digit |
| 4th band | tolerance | multiplier | multiplier |
| 5th band | – | tolerance | tolerance |
| 6th band | – | – | temperature coefficient |
- Each band color shows a certain number of exists from the first to the second band. If your resistor is a four-band resistor, it is the first to the third band for five- and six-band resistors. Different band colors and their values are shown in the first 2 columns.
- In case of a four-band color existing on the 3rd band or for a 5- or 6-band type on the 4th band, it is the multiplier seen in the 3rd column of the table below.
- In resistors with 4th band, also for the 5th band of 5, 6 bands are tolerance values. It comes in gold or silver. for gold ±5% and silver ±10%
- In a 6-band resistor, the 6th band is used as a temperature coefficient to find the effect of temperature on resistance with changes.
| Color | Value | multiplier | tolerance value | |
| Black (2nd and 3rd bands only) | 0 | x1 | N/A | N/A |
| Brown | 1 | x10 | ±1% | 100 ppm/ºC |
| Red | 2 | x100 | ±2% | 50 ppm/ºC |
| Orange | 3 | x1000 | ±3% | 15 ppm/ºC |
| Yellow | 4 | x10000 | ±4% | 25 ppm/ºC |
| Green | 5 | x100000 | ±0.5% | N/A |
| Blue | 6 | x1000000 | ±0.25% | 10 ppm/ºC |
| Violet | 7 | x10000000 | ±0.10% | 5 ppm/ºC |
| Grey | 8 | x100000000 | ±0.05% | N/A |
| White | 9 | x1000000000 | N/A | N/A |
| Gold | ±5% | |||
| Silver | ±10% |
How to Read Resistor Color Code
Resistor color code bands are used for different circuits to connect the right resistor for projects—four-band color codes for a commonly used resistor type. Five- and six-band resistors are also used in circuits where high accuracy is needed.
Here we have explained the process for reading color codes of different band resistors to find the proper circuit resistance.
Four-band resistor color code Reading
- A four-band resistor has 4-band color codes that are commonly used. In this resistor, we read colors from left to right.
- The first color of the band defines the largest digit of resistance value, the 2nd is the significant digit of resistance, the 3rd is the multiplication factor, and the 4th is the tolerance.
- Suppose we have a resistor with the first band green, which is number five according to the above shown table; the 2nd band is blue with the number 6, the 3rd is brown with the number 10, and the 4th is red, which shows a tolerance range of ±5%.
- This resistor has a resistance value of
- 560±2% Ω or 260 Ω.
Five-band resistor reading
- The fifth band resistor uses five color codes that provide highly accurate results. In five-color bands, resistance value is measured from left to right.
- In a five-band resistor, there is one extra band compared to a 4-band resistor that denotes the 3rd digit.
- The first 3 colors show the largest number; the 2nd digit and 3rd digit are the resistor values.
- The 4th and 5th bands show the multiplication factor and tolerance.
- Here we have a practical example for understanding five bands.
| Band | Color | Meaning |
| 1 | Yellow | 4 (1st digit) |
| 2 | Violet | 7 (2nd digit) |
| 3 | Black | 0 (3rd digit) |
| 4 | Brown | ×10 (multiplier) |
| 5 | Brown | ±1% (tolerance) |
Calculation
Digits: 4 7 0 =470
Multiplier: ×10 = 470 × 10 = 4,700 Ω
Tolerance: ±1%
Answer:
4.7 kΩ (kilo-ohms) ±1%
Six-band resistor color code reading
- Six color bands are used for high-level projects since they are high-cost resistors. If we compare 4- or 5-band resistors, we find that a 6-band resistor has one more band that shows the temperature coefficient.
- • The commonly used color for the 6th band is brown, showing a temperature change of ten degrees. The resistor will change 1000 ppm = 0.1%.
5 Band Resistors Color Code chart
| Color | 1st Band | 2nd Band | 3rd Band | 4th Band | 5th Band |
| (1st Figure) | (2nd Figure) | (3rd Figure) | (Multiplier) | (Tolerance) | |
| Black | 0 | 0 | x 1 | ||
| Brown | 1 | 1 | 1 | x 10 | ±1% |
| Red | 2 | 2 | 2 | x 100 | ±2% |
| Orange | 3 | 3 | 3 | x 1k | |
| Yellow | 4 | 4 | 4 | x 10k | |
| Green | 5 | 5 | 5 | x 100k | ±0.5% |
| Blue | 6 | 6 | 6 | x 1M | ±0.25% |
| Violet | 7 | 7 | 7 | x 10M | ±0.1% |
| Grey | 8 | 8 | 8 | x 100M | ±0.05% |
| White | 9 | 9 | 9 | x 1G | |
| Gold | 0.1 | ±5% | |||
| Silver | 0.01 | ±10% |
Color sequence recognition tips
In some conditions, the sequence of resistor color codes is not clear, which can cause errors. Follow these tips for finding accurate color sequences.
- First of all, a tolerance color band for finding the sequence of the color code. The tolerance band is normally colored gold or brown, and silver; the most common is a silver or gold band. since these colors are normally the first color band that we consider as last when reading the resistor.
- • The brown color also shows the resistance and tolerance that exists at the first and last, so it causes difficulty in finding the first. So it detects with band distance, like if a resistor is 5 bands, the difference between the 4th and 5th bands is larger as compared to the 1st and 2nd bands. It helps to find the sequence of the color code.
- You can also use some color-first-letter sequences for finding color codes, BBROY GBV GW, that are easy to remember.
10k Ohm Resistor Color Code
- The four-band resistor color code for a 10k ohm resistor is brown, black, orange, and red.
- Here, the first band is brown, the second is black, the third is the multiplier, and the fourth is the tolerance.
- So resistance is 10k ohms with 2 percent tolerance.
Purpose of resistor color codes
- Normally, resistors come with different colored bands, like 4, 5, or 6, that are used for finding the resistance value. Four-band color-code resistors are commonly used.
- In resistors first and 2nd bands denote the first two digits with the ohm value, and 3rd denotes the decimal multiplier.
- Some difference exists, which helps to differentiate the left and right sides of the 4th band that shows the tolerance value of the resistor.
FAQs
How to read resistor color codes?
Hold the resistor with the gold or silver band to the right and read the color codes from left to right. Select the color codes from the bands on the resistor. Read the colors from left to right. The resistance value based on the color code provided is now displayed.
What is a resistor color code?
- The resistor color code is basically a tool that helps to find resistance by using different color bands of the a resistor.
What is the design of a 1k resistor?
- A one-kilo-ohm resistor comes with a brown, black, and red color combination.
- A five-band, one-kilo resistor has a one percent tolerance. Its first three bands give resistance value.
What is the resistor value?
- Resistors are an electronic component that stop reverse current flow. Larger-value resistors provide high resistance for current flow. The resistor value is given in ohms and called resistance.
