Electricity > Capacitor Value Tables
This section provides the value of alphanumeric coded capacitors. They come in many sizes, shapes, values and ratings, but like resistors, you can identify the values by looking at either the colour codes or be reading and understanding the alphanumeric values printed on the case.
The tables below show you how to decipher the value of different types of capacitor.
Ceramic capacitor codes using numeric coding
If the capacitor reads â102Kâ, the first two Digits are the significant number, the third is the amount of zeros to put after that number and the letter is the tolerance.
Therefore 102K = 1,000ρF @ 10% tolerance
Multiplier Table
| Number |
Multiply By
(Additional no. of Zeros) |
| 0 |
None (0) |
| 1 |
10 (1) |
| 2 |
100 (2) |
| 3 |
1,000 (3) |
| 4 |
10,000 (4) |
| 5 |
100,000 (5) |
| 6 |
1,000,000 (6) |
Tolerance table
| Code |
Tolerance |
| C |
±0.25ρF |
| J |
±5% |
| K |
±10% |
| M |
±20% |
| D |
±0.5ρF |
| Z |
+80% / -20% |
6-DOT RMA-JAN-AWS Standard Capacitor Colour Codes
| Colour |
Type |
1st Digit |
2nd Digit |
Multiplier |
Tolerance (percent) |
Characteristic or Class |
| Black |
JAN Mica |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Brown |
|
1 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
Applies to |
| Red |
|
2 |
2 |
100 |
2 |
Temperature |
| Orange |
|
3 |
3 |
1000 |
3 |
coefficients or |
| Yellow |
|
4 |
4 |
10000 |
4 |
methods of testing |
| Green |
|
5 |
5 |
100000 |
5 |
|
| Blue |
|
6 |
6 |
1000000 |
6 |
|
| Purple |
|
7 |
7 |
10000000 |
7 |
|
| Grey |
|
8 |
8 |
100000000 |
8 |
|
| White |
RMA mica |
9 |
9 |
1000000000 |
9 |
|
| Gold |
|
|
|
.1 |
|
|
| Silver |
AWS paper |
|
|
.01 |
10 |
|
| Body |
|
|
|
|
20 |
|
5-Color Capacitor Colour Codes
| Colour |
1st Digit |
2nd Digit |
Multiplier |
Tolerance (percent) |
Voltage |
| Black |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Brown |
1 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
100 |
| Red |
2 |
2 |
100 |
2 |
200 |
| Orange |
3 |
3 |
1000 |
3 |
300 |
| Yellow |
4 |
4 |
10000 |
4 |
400 |
| Green |
5 |
5 |
100000 |
5 |
500 |
| Blue |
6 |
6 |
1000000 |
6 |
600 |
| Purple |
7 |
7 |
10000000 |
7 |
700 |
| Grey |
8 |
8 |
100000000 |
8 |
800 |
| White |
9 |
9 |
1000000000 |
9 |
900 |
| Gold |
|
|
.1 |
|
1000 |
| Silver |
|
|
.01 |
10 |
2000 |
| Body |
|
|
|
20 |
|
Ceramic Capacitor Colour Codes
| Colour |
1st Digit |
2nd Digit |
Multiplier |
Tolerance over 10ρf |
Tolerance under 10 ρf |
Temperature |
| Black |
0 |
0 |
1 |
± 20% |
2.0ρf |
0 |
| Brown |
1 |
1 |
10 |
± 1% |
|
-30 |
| Red |
2 |
2 |
100 |
± 2% |
|
-80 |
| Orange |
3 |
3 |
1000 |
|
|
-150 |
| Yellow |
4 |
4 |
10000 |
|
|
-220 |
| Green |
5 |
5 |
|
± 5% |
0.5ρf |
-330 |
| Blue |
6 |
6 |
|
|
|
-470 |
| Purple |
7 |
7 |
|
|
|
-750 |
| Grey |
8 |
8 |
.01 |
|
0.25ρf |
+30 |
| White |
9 |
9 |
.1 |
± 10% |
1.0ρf |
+500 to -330 |
| Gold |
|
|
|
|
|
+100 |