Identify the resistor’s bands
Determine the number of bands
Read from the side with the band closest to an edge
Use the first two bands as digits
Use the third band as the multiplier
Use the fourth band as tolerance if present
For 5-band resistors, use the first three bands as digits
For 6-band resistors, use the first three bands as digits and the sixth band as temperature coefficient
Match each color to its digit value
Black = 0
Brown = 1
Red = 2
Orange = 3
Yellow = 4
Green = 5
Blue = 6
Violet = 7
Gray = 8
White = 9
Match the multiplier color
Black = ×1
Brown = ×10
Red = ×100
Orange = ×1,000
Yellow = ×10,000
Green = ×100,000
Blue = ×1,000,000
Gold = ×0.1
Silver = ×0.01
Match the tolerance color
Brown = ±1%
Red = ±2%
Green = ±0.5%
Blue = ±0.25%
Violet = ±0.1%
Gray = ±0.05%
Gold = ±5%
Silver = ±10%
No band = ±20%
Multiply the digit value by the multiplier
Add the tolerance value
Verify the result with a resistor color code chart
Use a multimeter to confirm if needed