Resistor Color Bands Chart

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Algernon Alcala

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Aug 3, 2024, 10:50:49 AM8/3/24

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Resistors are available in many different values, shapes, and physical sizes. Practically all leaded resistors with a power rating up to one watt have a pattern of colored bands that are used to indicate resistance value, tolerance, and sometimes even the temperature coefficient. There can be anywhere from three to six colored bands on the body of a resistor, with four bands being the most common variation. The first few bands always represent digits in the value of resistance. Then you will find a multiplier band to signify moving the decimal right or left. The last bands represent tolerance and the temperature coefficient.

The first two bands always denote the first two digits of the resistance value in ohms. On a three or four-band resistor, the third band represents the multiplier. This multiplier will basically shift your decimal place around to change your value from mega ohms to milliohms and anywhere in between. The fourth color band signifies tolerance. Keep in mind that if this band is absent and you are looking at a three-band resistor, the default tolerance is 20%.

Resistors with high precision have an extra color band to indicate a third significant digit. If your resistor has five or six color bands, the third band becomes this additional digit along with bands one and two. Everything else shifts to the right, making the fourth color band the multiplier and the fifth band the tolerance. A six-band resistor is basically a five-band type with an additional ring indicating the reliability, or the temperature coefficient (ppm/K) specification. Using brown, the most common sixth band color, as an example, every temperature change of 10C changes the resistance value by 0.1%.

Easily recognized by their single black band, zero-ohm resistors are basically wire links used to connect traces on a printed circuit board. They are packaged like a resistor so the same automated equipment used to place resistors can also be used to place these on the circuit board. This design prevents the need for a separate machine to install a jumper wire.

Military specified resistors often include an extra band on four-band resistors to indicate reliability, or the failure rate (%) per 1000 hours of service. This is seldom utilized in commercial electronics.

This tool is used to decode information for color banded axial lead resistors. Select the number of bands, then their colors to determine the value and tolerance of the resistors or view all resistors DigiKey has to offer.

By using the Co-Browse feature, you are agreeing to allow a support representative from DigiKey to view your browser remotely. When the Co-Browse window opens, give the session ID that is located in the toolbar to the representative.

A resistor is identified by its pattern of color of bands. There are 4, 5 and 6 band resistors. To calculate the resistance of a resistor, you can select the appropriate color bands in the above resistor color code calculator.

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The online resistor calculator is a tool by Utmel Electronic used to calculate resistor values for 4 band, 5 band, and 6 band resistors, in the range of ohms, Kilo Ohms, and Mega Ohms typically. And this resistance calculator is developed to calculate the color code using the resistor color codes on their surface.Just select the right color corresponding to each column and you can get the Resistor value on the right of the calculator immediately.

Take a 4-band resistor as the example, 10k ohm resistor color code 4 band is: Brown-Black-Orange-Red. So the 1st band of Color: Brown, 2nd band: Black, Multiplier: Orange and Tolerance: Red. Thus, the output of resistor value is 10K ohms 2%. And the below picture shows you the 100 Ohm Resistor Color Code for 4-band resistors.

Resistors are usually used in electrical components with the aim of restricting the flow of electric current. They are usually tiny components with wire leads protruding from all sides. Resistors are special electronic components in circuits. It is made with the purpose of a precise quantity of electrical resistance.

The range of resistors may be from less than 1 Ohm (Ω) to over 20 mega Ohms (Ω) or 20 million Ohms (Ω). And there are two types of resistors: variable resistors and fixed resistors. A variable resistor can provide different values of resistance, however, the fixed resistor just has a single value. Meanwhile, there are 4 main classes of fixed resistors: carbon-composition resistors, Film resistors, wire wound resistors, and surface-mount resistors.

Generally, the carbon-composition resistors have 3 to 6 resistor color bands. And the below electrical color code resistor chart shows you the resistor strips of the 3 band type, 4 band type, 5 and 6 band type. Compared with a 4-band resistor, a 5-band type is more precise because of its third significant digit. And a 6-band resistor has the 6th band, which is a temperature coefficient band.

From the following Resistor color code chart Calculator, we know that each color for resistor represents a number if it's found on 6-band and 5-band type from 1st to 3rd band or a 4-band resistor from the 1st to 2nd. And it is a multiplier if it is located on the 4th band of 5-band and 6-band type or the 3rd band of a 4-band resistor. You can get the tolerance values of a resistor on the 4th band for the 4-band type according to the 4 band resistor color code chart and the 5th for the 5-band and 6-band type through the below resistor color chart 5 band and 6 band. A 6-band type resistor has the 6th band, which shows you the temperature coefficient. And this value indicates how much the actual resistance value of this 6-band resistor changes when the temperature changes.

The easiest way to identify a resistor Color code is to know which colors represent the most significant digits. The following steps will guide you in reading a resistor color code.
1) Look for the colored bands on the resistor's body.
2) Determine which of these colors have a leading role in representing numbers.
3) Identify the numbers represented by these colors and their position.
4) Read off each of these digits from left to right on the band where it's located.

Resistors are available in four, five, or more color bands, with a four-band color code being the most common. The first and second bands represent the first and second significant digits of the ohm value, respectively, while the third band represents the decimal multiplier. After that, there's a slight gap to help you distinguish between the component's left and right sides, followed by the fourth band, which indicates the resistor's tolerance.

IEC 60062 defines the color coding for resistors as an international standard. Different colors reflect significant figures, multiplier, resistance, reliability, and temperature coefficient in the resistor color code shown in the table below. The location of the color band on the resistor determines which of these the color refers to. There is a spacing between the third and fourth bands in a standard four-band resistor to show how the resistor should be read (from left to right, with the lone band after the spacing being the right-most band).

The first and second bands in a standard four-band resistor reflect significant figures. Refer to the figure above with the green, red, blue, and gold bands for this illustration. The green band represents the number 5 in the table below, while the red band represents the number 2.

The fourth band isn't always visible, but when it is, it stands for tolerance. The resistor value can be varied by this percentage. In this case, the gold band shows a tolerance of 5%, which is indicated by the letter J. As a result, the value 52 MΩ will differ by up to 5% in either direction, resulting in a resistor value of 49.4 MΩ - 54.6 MΩ.

The 5 band code is used to produce precise and high-quality resistors with tolerances of 1%, 2%, or less. The regulations are the same as in the previous system, with the exception of the number of digit bands. The first three bands will represent the value, the fourth will be the multiplier, and the fifth will be the tolerance.

The failure rate per 1000 hours is specified by the reliability band (assuming that a full wattage being applied to the resistor). This stripe is most commonly found on 4-band resistors designed for military purposes and is rarely seen in consumer circuits.

Temperature coefficients are becoming more frequent, particularly on high-quality 5-band resistors, as they become an essential element in precision components. For a resistor with a temperature coefficient of 200 ppm, a temperature change of 50C results in a 1% change in value. The color chart above shows the most frequent values for this band.

For high precision, Resistors with 6 bands usually have 6 band color codes. And mostly, the 6th band is colored with brown, which means that the resistance value can change 1000 ppm = 0.1%, for a temperature change of 10 C. For example, a 6 band resistor colored Orange-Red-Brown-Brown-Green-Red would be 3.21 kΩ with a tolerance of 1% and a 50 ppm/C temperature coefficient.

Despite the fact that current resistor technology allows for extremely tight tolerance levels, there is still a significant benefit to employing resistors from the E3 series. It streamlines the purchasing and production procedures by reducing the number of various types of resistors used in a design. Typically, designs strive to stick to the E3 or E6 standard resistor values, only employing the E12, E24, E48, or E96 if absolutely necessary.