fstfrddy

OK Today I went to Radio Shack and bought an assorted package of LED's and some 470ohm resistors to fool around with. I soldered a resistor to the positive side thinking I was all set to run it on 12 volts, NOT, Did I get the wrong resistors? Rep's for advice

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rustler753

No, unless you picked up red or amber LEDs. They usually run off of 2 volts each so you would need different resistors. But if they are blue and greens or standard stuff, you can expect 3.3 volts to run them and a 470ohm resistor is perfect for that. Thats what I used for all my LED mods. Like you said though, it was an assortment so what are the voltages of the LEDs? Make sure they are 3.3v and then you are good to go with the resistors you currently have.

Edit: I can't see the voltages on that packege, but if you want LEDs to fool around wit I sudjust going with Ebay and what not or LEDSET.com and you will be assured of the voltages the LEDs you are getting.

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fstfrddy

Thanks, There is no voltage listed on the package,I read from the bin and it did say 3.3, of course thaat doesent mean that they were not mixed up. I did get 4 of them wired in series to light and they run off 2 button cells, I will try another resistor. It doesent matter which way the resistor is right? as long as it is on the + cathode side?

Chipp

If the resistor has the terminals marked, line it up, but otherwise the direction won't matter.

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-Thrilla-

if ur using normal LEDs, dunno about that
and go to www.besthongkong.com
50LEDs for $10, free shipping, 100 12v resistors for $1

rustler753

yeah hit rs on that website, its a good one. Also wired in series or parrallel? Make sure and if you wire them up correctly, four of them should not require a resistor....take a look at this diagram...

DIAGRAMS!!!

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fstfrddy

Yeah I have been there and seen their diagrams and I just tried another one but no luck, Is it possible that all these resistors are bad? Shouldn't I get a 470ohm reading on my meter?

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rustler753

Well You are just using your voltmeter right, well can it supply a 12v current through that resistor? I would think you would need to solder it to a 12v source to get any resistance readings out of a voltmeter?

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fstfrddy

As you can see I have the meter set ohm's it uses the battery in the meter to
measure resistance, when resistance is zero ie: with the leads crossed it is 0 resistance, but anyway I will hook one up to power and see what I get, should get 3 volts right?

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fstfrddy

OK I cant even get one volt through them more like 3/4 and I get a full 12 without it, maybe they are in the wrong package?