Capacitor Color Coding
Capacitors may be marked with 3 or more colored bands or dots. 3-color coding encodes most significant digit, second most significant digit, and multiplier. Additional bands have meanings which may vary from one type to another. Low-tolerance capacitors may begin with the first 3 (rather than 2) digits of the value. It is usually, but not always, possible to work out what scheme is used by the particular colors used. Cylindrical capacitors marked with bands may look like resistors.
| Color | Significant digits | Multiplier | Capacitance tolerance | Characteristic | DC working voltage | Operating temperature | EIA/vibration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | 1 | ±20% | — | — | −55 °C to +70 °C | 10 to 55 Hz | |
| Brown | 1 | 10 | ±1% | B | 100 | — | — | |
| Red | 2 | 100 | ±2% | C | — | −55 °C to +85 °C | — | |
| Orange | 3 | 1000 | — | D | 300 | — | — | |
| Yellow | 4 | 10000 | — | E | — | −55 °C to +125 °C | 10 to 2000 Hz | |
| Green | 5 | — | ±0.5% | F | 500 | — | — | |
| Blue | 6 | — | — | — | — | −55 °C to +150 °C | — | |
| Violet | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Grey | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| White | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | EIA | |
| Gold | — | — | ±5%* | — | 1000 | — | — | |
| Silver | — | — | ±10% | — | — | — | — | |
*or ±0.5 pF, whichever is greater.
Read more about this topic: Electronic Color Code
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