Question 1

How do I read a resistor color code?

Accepted Answer

Hold the resistor with the gold or silver tolerance band on the right. For 4-band resistors, the first two colors are digits, the third is the multiplier (power of 10), and the fourth is the tolerance. For 5-band resistors, the first three colors are digits, then multiplier and tolerance.

Question 2

What do the resistor color bands mean?

Accepted Answer

Black=0, Brown=1, Red=2, Orange=3, Yellow=4, Green=5, Blue=6, Violet=7, Gray=8, White=9. Gold is the 0.1 multiplier and Silver is 0.01. Gold tolerance is ±5%, Silver is ±10%.

Question 3

What is the difference between 4, 5 and 6 band resistors?

Accepted Answer

4-band resistors have 2 significant digits, a multiplier, and a tolerance. 5-band resistors have 3 significant digits, a multiplier, and a tolerance — used for higher precision. 6-band resistors add a temperature coefficient (ppm/°C) band at the end.

Question 4

Is the resistor color code calculator accurate?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The tool uses the standard IEC 60062 color code table. All calculations happen in your browser and no data is sent to any server.