Read the bands from the side where they sit closer to the edge of the body: the last band (tolerance) is set apart from the rest and is often gold or silver.
Color code reference
| Color | Digit | Multiplier | Tolerance | TCR, ppm/°C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | ×1 | — | — |
| Brown | 1 | ×10 | ±1% | 100 |
| Red | 2 | ×100 | ±2% | 50 |
| Orange | 3 | ×1 kΩ | — | 15 |
| Yellow | 4 | ×10 kΩ | — | 25 |
| Green | 5 | ×100 kΩ | ±0.5% | — |
| Blue | 6 | ×1 MΩ | ±0.25% | 10 |
| Violet | 7 | ×10 MΩ | ±0.1% | 5 |
| Grey | 8 | — | ±0.05% | — |
| White | 9 | — | — | — |
| Gold | — | ×0.1 | ±5% | — |
| Silver | — | ×0.01 | ±10% | — |
How to read
On a 4-band resistor the first two bands are digits,
the third is the multiplier and the fourth is the tolerance. Precision resistors
with 5 bands have three digit bands; 6-band resistors add the TCR - the temperature
coefficient of resistance (how many ppm the resistance drifts per degree). Example:
brown-black-red-gold is 10 × 100 = 1 kΩ ±5%.
Which side to read from
The first band is closer to the edge of the body, and the tolerance band is separated from the group by a wider gap. When in doubt, read it both ways: usually only one direction gives a standard E24-series value (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.7, 3.0 and so on). The most reliable check is a multimeter.