color Coding of Resistors: Tolerance

and Temperature stability of

Resistors

Electrical Circuit
Analysis
El181302
Authors: [Group No. 3 (19-27)]
• BHASKAR GOGOI 190610003023

• BHASWATI DUTTA 190610003024

• BIKASHMONI SARMAH 190610003025

• BISHAL KUMAR BHARALI 190610003026

• DADU PATHARI 190610003027

• DEBASHISH BAYAN 190610003028

• DEBASHREE SHARMA 190610003029

• DEJOY HASNU 190610003030

• DHARITREE KANNYA GOGOI 190610003031
 CONTENTS

❖ INTRODUCTION
❖ COLOR CODE RESISTORS IN EARLY TIMES
❖ IMPORTANCE OF COLOR CODING IN RESISTORS
❖ RESISTORS COLOR CODE CHART
❖ RESISTANCE TOLERANCE & TEMPERATURE
COEFFICIENT
❖ READING OF COLOR CODES OF RESISTOR
❖ RESISTOR COLOR BAND EXCEPTION
❖ DRAWBACKS OF COLOR CODING RESISTORS
❖ INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS AND USES OF RESISTORS
IN DAILY LIFE
❖ CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
Many electrical circuits contain multiple variations of resistor
network. Resistors play a vital role in the distribution and limiting of electric
current in a circuit. It is passive two terminal component used to reduce
current flow, adjust signal levels, bias active elements and terminate
transmission lines, among other uses.
There are many thousands of different types of resistor and are
produced in a variety of forms because their particular characteristics and
accuracy suit certain area of application, such as high stability, high
voltage, high current etc, are used as general purpose resistors where
their characteristics are less of a problem. All modern fixed value resistors
can be classified are; carbon composition resistor, film resistor, wire
wound resistor, semiconductor resistor.
The color code was developed in the 1920’s by the Radio
Manufactures Association (RMA) as a three band code for resistor values.
In 1930’s the first radios with RMA color coded resistors were built. Over
many decades, as the organization
name changed so was the name of the
code. In 1952, it was standardized in IEC
62:1952 by the International
Electrochemical Commission(IEC) and
since 1963 also published as ‘EIA RS-
279’.Originally only meant to be used for
fixed resistors, the color code was extended to also cover capacitors
with IEC 62:1968.
 SOME POPULAR COLOR CODE RESISTORS IN EARLY
TIMES
OHIOHM RESISTOR
This 1932 OHIOHM resistor RMA color code resistor wheel chart
from the Ohio carbon Co.
Three color wheels show end
and dot color markings for
early resistor. The back has
instruction for setting and
reading the wheel chart.
RESIST-O-GUIDE
The 1946 ‘Resist-O-Guide’ from International Resistance
Company (IRC) shows the resistance color
markings for standard carbon resistor. It is
rectangular and has three wheels to spin for
finding colors and resistance values. The
back has a chart and has a diagram
comparing the new color codes to old color
codes used in ‘Dog-Bone’ resistors.
OHMITE ‘LITTLE DEVIL’
This small coder from OHMITE shows for the resistance color
markings for standard carbon resistor. It is rectangular and has three
wheels to spin for finding color and
resistance values. The back shows a
diagram showing the meaning of four
standard color bands.
 IMPORTANCE OF COLOR CODING IN RESISTORS

An electronic color code is used to indicate the values or ratings

of electronic components, usually for resistors, but also for capacitors,
inductors, diodes and others. To identify resistors value, through holes
resistors have color code. But why are they marked like this? Like red stop
signs and yellow lines down the middle of the road, it just seems like it has
always been that way when, in fact, it hasn’t. So what's its importance?
Since resistors are far too
small to allow to print the
resistance on them in text - so in
order to know what value they are
- we have to learn to “read” the
colored stripes. The stripes not
only tell the resistance - but also
how accurate the resistor actually
is. This color codes tells us the
resistive value and their tolerance
with the physical size of the
resistor indicating its wattage rating.
The colors are sorted with ascending values in the order of the
visible light spectrum to make them easy to remember and to reduce the
significance of possible read errors due to color shifts and fading over
time: red (2), orange (3), yellow (4), green (5), blue (6), violet (7). Black
(0) has no energy, brown (1) has a little more, white (9) has everything
and grey (8) is like white, but less intense.
RESISTORS COLOR CODE CHART
RESISTANCE TOLERANCE:
Tolerance is the percentage of error in the value resistance.
Tolerance is how much we can expect a resistor’s actual measurement .If
the Tolerance is 5% then it means we can expect 5% change in the value
of resistance. If the Tolerance is less than 2% in a resistor then this type
of resistor is called as precision resistor.
**If Tolerance band is not given then Tolerance value should be
taken as +20%.

TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT:
The sixth band is of shows the temperature coefficient of the
resistor. The temperature coefficient is the change in Resistance per
Kelvin change in temperature. If the temperature changes by 1 Kelvin and
the sixth band is black, then there will be the change of 250
parts per million in resistors. This band is also found in high
precision resistors.
 READING OF COLOR CODES OF RESISTOR
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 we
will find a multiplier band to signify moving the decimal right or left. The
last bands represent tolerance and the temperature coefficient.

3-Band Resistor Color Code:

For a 3-band resistor color codes, the first two bands always
denote the first two digits of the resistance value while the third band
represents the multiplier.

AB × C ± 20%

Here the bands are: A: 1st band – 1st significant digit: 1

B: 2nd band – 2nd significant digit: 0

C: 3rd band – multiplier: 101

 Here, in the figure, we have the bands are brown, black and
brown. The first band is the brown band closest to the edge. We look up
our resistor color code chart, and find that brown has the 1st significant
value of 1 and black has the second significant value of 0. The third band
is brown, which means that the multiplier is 1. As the 3-band resistor has
no fourth tolerance band, the default tolerance is taken to be at 20%.

Using the formula, the calculated resistance is: 10 × 101Ω ± 20%

4-Band Resistor Color Code:

The 4-band resistor color code is the most commonly used

resistor. Similar to the 3 band resistor, the first two bands always give the
first 2 digits of the resistance value. The third band represents the
multiplier while the fourth band represents tolerance.

AB × C ± D%

Here the bands are: A: 1st band – 1st significant digit: 1

B: 2nd band – 2nd significant digit: 2

C: 3rd band – multiplier: 105

D: 4th band – tolerance: 5%

For a 4 band resistor color code, we can begin by first finding

the tolerance band as it is usually gold or silver. The tolerance band is
also easily identified due to the increased gap between the tolerance band
and the multiplier band. In this example, it is gold and thus gives a
tolerance of ±5% when we look up the resistor color code chart. Starting
from the other end, the first band is thus identified to be brown which has
a 1st significant digit of 1. The second band is red and has a second
significant digit of 2. The 3rd band is green which means that the multiplier
is 105. Using the formula, the resistance obtained is 12 × 105 = 1,200 kΩ.
Finally, the tolerance band which we identified to be gold gives a tolerance
value of ±5%.

So the total resistance is found to be: 12 × 105Ω±5%=1,200 kΩ ± 5%

5-Band Resistor color code

A 5 band color code resistor has 4 color bands on left side and
one color band on right side. The 4 color bands on left side are very close
to each other and the 5th color band on right side is separated from the
first 4 bands with some space.
 The 4 color bands on the left side are grouped together to
represent the resistance value of a resistor and the 5th color band on the
right side indicates the tolerance of the resistor.
Here,
A: 1st band: 1st significant value.
B: 2nd band: 2nd significant value.
C: 3rd band: 3rd significant value.
D: 4th band: multiplier.
E: 5th band: resistors tolerance.
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd color bands together make up a 3 digit
number and the 4th color band or multiplier is multiplied with this 3 digit
number to obtain the resistance value of the resistor.
In this example, the tolerance band is brown and is identified by
the increased space between itself and the multiplier band. From the
resistance color code chart, we obtain a tolerance value of ±1% for brown.
Beginning from the other end, the first band and second band is yellow
and violet, which gives the 1st and 2nd significant digit of 4 and 7
respectively. The extra third band is blue and so the 3rd significant digit is
5. The fourth band is black and gives the multiplier value of 100. Using the
formula, we get the resistance value of 475 × 100 ± 1% = 475 Ω.
6-Band Resistor color code

A 6 band color code resistor consists of 6 color bands. The 4

color bands on the left side are
grouped together to represent the
resistors resistance value. The 5th
color band on the right side represents
the tolerance of the resistor and the 6th
color band represents the TCR
(Temperature Co-efficient of Resistance).
A 6 band color code resistor consists of 6 color bands. The 4
color band on the left side are grouped together to represent

• 1st band: 1st significant value of the resistors value.

• 2nd band: 2nd significant value of the resistors value.
• 3rd band: 3rd significant value of the resistors value.
• 4th band: decimal multiplier.
• 5th band: resistors tolerance.
• 6th band: the T.C.R. (Temperature Co-efficient of Resistance).
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd color bands together make up a 3 digit
number and the fourth color band is multiplied with this 3 digit number to
get the resistance value of the resistor.
 Example: If the colors on a 6 band resistor are in this order: green,
brown, violet, black, gold and orange. The values of color bands will be
like this: Green = 5, Brown = 1, Violet = 7, Black = 100, Gold = 5%, Orange
= 15ppm.
In the color code table, green has a value of 5 which is the 1st
digit, brown has a value of 1 which is the second digit. In the color code
table, green has a value of 5 which is the 1st digit, brown has a value of 1
which is the second digit and violet has a value of 7 which is the 3rd digit.
The first, second and third color bands together make up a three digit
number 517. The 4th color band black has a value of 100. This value is
multiplied with the three digit number 517 I.e., 517 x 100 = 517 ohms. Gold
specifies that the tolerance is 5% and orange specifies that the TCR is
15ppm.
Therefore, the resistor color coded with green-brown-violet-
black-gold-orange would have a resistance of 517 ohms with a tolerance
of 5% and TCR (Temperature Co-efficient of Resistance) of 15ppm.

Resistor Color Band Exception

Zero-Ohm Resistors
Zero-ohm resistors are resistors
that can be easily recognized by their single
black band. Basically, it is a wire link with the
only function of connecting traces on a
printed circuit board. But why not use a
regular jumper wire for that purpose?
 The reason behind why they are fashioned to look like
resistors is because components in most printed circuit boards are placed
using automatic insertion machines instead of being manually placed by
hand. By looking like a resistor, manufacturers can make use of the same
automated machine to place for placing components on a circuit board.
This eliminates the need for a separate machine for installing jumper
wires.

In addition, zero-ohm resistors can be more easily removed

than jumper wires. This enables any design changes to be easily made if
necessary. The zero-ohm resistor can be easily removed and replaced by
new components.

Drawbacks of Color Coding Resistors

Due to some drawbacks color coding resistors are cannot be

used in all types of circuits. There are some drawbacks of color coding
resistors which are discussed below:
➢ Deviating Colors: In order to prevent metal and other particles
from getting in the coating of high voltage resistor, the gold and
silver bands are often replaced with yellow and grey bands. The
colors become very difficult to determine if the resister has been
overheated - for instance, yellow or red may appear as brown. Color
bands on small low wattage resistors are hard to distinguish after
the resistors have been in service for an extended period of time.
 ➢ Reliability Band: When resistors are produced in accordance to
military specifications, they will often include a band that indicates
reliability. This band is specifically for failure rate percentage per
1000 hours of service. This band is almost never used in commercial
electronics.

➢ Sensitive to Temperature: Color code resistors are sensitive to

temperature change and also easily overheated.

➢ Difficulty for Color Blind People: For color blind people it is

very difficult to make distinction of colors and take accurate results
in value of resistors.

➢ Power Dissipation: The power dissipation capacity of color

code resistor is small.

Industrial Applications and Uses of

Resistors in Daily Life
Resistors are present everywhere in our life. Some applications of
resistors are discussed below:

• Sensors: Resistors are often used as sensors for a wide range of

applications from gas sensors to lie detectors.

• Circuit Functions: There are various types of resistors that work
according to the usage range. In that, we can set the resistance by
using a knob kind of feature. Changing resistance will affect the flow
of current inside the circuit. For example, this type of resistor is used
in controlling the speed of a motor, pitch of a musical tone, loudness
of an amplifier, etc.

• Heating: Because of the nature of generating heat when

conducting current, resistors are used in a heater, toaster,

microwave, electric stove, and many more heating appliances. In a
light bulb, the metal filament glows white-hot due to the very high
temperature produced from the resistance when electricity is
passed through it.

• LEDs and Transistors: Too much current passed inside a LED

or transistors can be dangerous because they are very sensitive to
electric current. The use of a resistor in the circuit will help the LEDs
and transistors and other types of semiconductors to function in the
desired current range ideal for them.

• In laptop and mobile charger: In daily using laptop and mobile

phone charger contains a number of resistors that are responsible
for controlling required amount of current.

• Fuses: Specially designed resistors are commonly used as single-

use fuses. The conductive element in a fuse is designed to destroy

itself once a certain current threshold is reached, essentially
sacrificing itself to prevent damage to more expensive electronics.
 Conclusion
Impact on Society & Environment
World’s population is increasing rapidly and there are emerging
contemporary problems which are caused by humans. One of the most
important problems that the world is facing nowadays is the electronic
waste or the so-called e-waste. And the resistors also play a major part in
increasing the e waste exponentially since only 12% of these electronic
devices are recycled. In addition to that, depending on the exposure level,
health and physiological impacts of these substances are very high.
Human health and environment should be protected especially in today’s
world where e-waste have become a problematic and complex for
countries with a high density of population.
The resistors do play much important role as far as the circuits
are concerned and without any ambiguity. Without proper load or proper
biasing no active circuit can work out in a stable manner as without proper
biasing. In most cases circuits without resistors can be open and will do
no significant work as well.
In this report, we have discussed the color coding of resistors,
tolerance, and temperature stability of resistors including the history of
resistors also. So, that’s all for our report on resistors color codes !!
 References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistor

http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/resistors/res 2.html

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/reference/chpt-2/resistor-color-

codes/

http://learnabout-electronics.org/Resistors/resistors 06.php