RESISTOR

Resistor is an electrical
component that reduces the
electric current.

The resistor's ability to

reduce the current is called
resistance and is measured
in units of ohms (symbol:
Ω).
COLOR CODING OF RESISTORS
The resistance value, tolerance, and wattage rating are generally
printed onto the body of the resistor as numbers or letters when the
resistors body is big enough to read the print, such as large power
resistors. But when the resistor is small such as a 1/4 watt carbon or
film type, these specifications must be shown in some other manner
as the print would be too small to read.
COLOR CODING OF RESISTORS

To overcome this, small

resistors use coloured painted
bands to indicate both their
resistive value and their
tolerance with the physical size
of the resistor indicating its
wattage rating.
COLOR CODING OF RESISTORS
An international and universally accepted resistor colour code scheme
was developed many years ago as a simple and quick way of
identifying a resistors ohmic value no matter what its size or condition.
It consists of a set of individual coloured rings or bands in spectral
order representing each digit of the resistors value.

The resistor colour code markings are always read one band at a time
starting from the left to the right, with the larger width tolerance band
oriented to the right side indicating its tolerance. By matching the
colour of the first band with its associated number in the digit column
of the colour chart below the first digit is identified and this represents
the first digit of the resistance value.
COLOR CODING OF RESISTORS
COLOR CODING OF RESISTORS
The first and second band represent the numerical value of the resistor, and the color of
the third band specify the power-of-ten multiplier. The color bands are always read from
left to right starting with the side that has a band closer to the edge.

Digit, Digit, Multiplier = Colour, Colour x 10 colour in Ohm’s (Ω)

For example, a resistor has the following coloured markings;

Yellow Violet Red = 4 7 2 = 4 7 x 102 = 4700Ω or 4k7 Ohm.

COLOR CODING OF RESISTORS
The fourth and fifth bands are used to determine the percentage tolerance of the resistor.
Resistor tolerance is a measure of the resistors variation from the specified resistive value
and is a consequence of the manufacturing process and is expressed as a percentage of
its “nominal” or preferred value.

For carbon-composition and carbon film resistors, the common tolerances are 5%, 10%,
and 20%, indicating that the actual value of the resistor can vary from the nominal value by
±5%, ±10% and ±20%. If the band is gold, it specifies a 5% tolerance; silver specifies a
10% tolerance; if no band is present, the tolerance is 20%.

Note that the color-code system for capacitors is very similar to that of resistors except
there is a fifth band representing the temperature coefficient. This band is the first one
closest to one end of the capacitor. The other four fall into the same order as mentioned for
resistors. In this case, the second, third, and fourth bands are used to determine the
capacitance. The fifth band represents the tolerance of the capacitor.
TESTING OF RESISTORS
To check to see whether a resistor is good or not, we need to only
perform one test and this is to check the resistor's resistance value,
using the ohmmeter of a multimeter.

Analog Multimeter Digital Multimeter

TESTING OF RESISTORS
Testing a Resistor with an ohmmeter is the best, easiest and most effective way to tell whether a
resistor is good or not.

To set up for the check, we take the ohmmeter and place its probes across the leads of the
resistor.
TESTING OF RESISTORS
The resistance that the ohmmeter reads should be close to the rated resistance
of the resistor. For example, the following resistor above is a 1KΩ resistor with a
tolerance rating of 5%. Therefore, the resistance of the resistor can vary
between 950Ω and 1050Ω.

If the ohmmeter is reading in the value and tolerance range of the resistor, the
resistor is good.

If the ohmmeter is reading (especially drastically) outside of this range, the

resistor is defective and should be replaced.
TESTING OF RESISTORS
Testing whether a Resistor is “Open” or “Shorted”

If a resistor is reading a very high resistance, above its rated value, it is open. It
is defective and, thus, should be replaced.

If a resistor is reading a very low resistance, near 0Ω, it's shorted internally. It is
defective and, thus, should be replaced.

A resistance test is the only test that is needed to determine whether a resistor
is good. If you want to examine more advanced features of a resistor, then
additional tests may be necessary, but for all basic purposes, this test is
sufficient for checking resistors.