Resistor Color Code Chart

The electronic color code is used to indicate the values or ratings of electronic components, very commonly for resistors. Below will describe how to obtain a resistor value based upon the color bands and the standard electronic color chart.

To distinguish the left from right on a resistor there is a gap between the C and D bands.

• band A is first significant figure of component value (left side)
• band B is the second significant figure
• band C is the decimal multiplier
• band D if present, indicates tolerance of value in percent (no band means 20%)

For example, the resistor above with bands of red, violet, green, and gold will have first digit 2 (red in table below), second digit 7 (violet), followed by 5 (green) zeros= 2,700,000 ohms. Gold signifies that the tolerance is ±5%, so the real resistance could lie anywhere between 2,565,000 and 2,835,000 ohms.