WORKBENCH 01 / 3 min TO EXPLORE
Resistor Color Codes
Turn colorful bands into resistance. Learn to read a resistor, one stripe at a time.
- 01 Try an example
- 02 Change one thing
- 03 Understand why
Try it out
Start at the end with the band closest to the edge. The tolerance band usually sits farther apart.
Results update as you type. Try changing just one value.
SEE YOUR CIRCUIT
THE IDEA BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Each band tells part of the story.
On a 4-band resistor, the first two bands are digits. The third is a multiplier, and the last is the tolerance. A 5-band resistor adds a third significant digit before the multiplier.
For example, orange · orange · brown · gold is 33 × 10 = 330 Ω ±5%. Tolerance means its actual resistance can be anywhere from 313.5 Ω to 346.5 Ω.
Color is a clue, measurement is a check.
Lighting and faded paint can make colors hard to distinguish. With power disconnected, use a multimeter to verify the value. Components connected in parallel can affect an in-circuit reading.
Open the color code reference
| Color | Digit | Multiplier | Tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | ×1 | — |
| Brown | 1 | ×10 | ±1% |
| Red | 2 | ×100 | ±2% |
| Orange | 3 | ×1000 | — |
| Yellow | 4 | ×10000 | — |
| Green | 5 | ×100000 | ±0.5% |
| Blue | 6 | ×1000000 | ±0.25% |
| Violet | 7 | ×10000000 | ±0.1% |
| Gray | 8 | ×100000000 | ±0.05% |
| White | 9 | ×1000000000 | — |
| Gold | — | ×0.1 | ±5% |
| Silver | — | ×0.01 | ±10% |