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Installing LED headlights

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#3 ·
LED Source

Coaltrain22 said:
I have a B'mann Consolidation with an Airwire900 board powered with a 14.8v battery. I want to install a 5mm LED headlight but don't know what size resister to install. any help would be appreciated
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Do a search on Amazon.com...........I bought LEDs from a vendor very reasonably priced with the needed resistor already inserted in one of the for each LED. Reduces the work to insert them yourself in the wires
 
#4 ·
I've always used 1K ohm resistors with my LEDs. Those tend to work up through all the track voltages common to large scale. If you know you're going to be running on lower voltages (battery power, for example) you can use lower-value resistors, but you don't really save anything by doing so--except time if you can't find your blasted stash of 1K ohm resistors and can only find 680 ohm resistors. (Purely hypothetical situation, mind you.)

Later,

K
 
#5 ·
A 1k resistor on a 10ma led is not enough!!


10 ma leds need 100 ohms for each volt dropped.
20 ma leds need 50 ohms for each volt dropped.


So, a 24 volt source with a 2 volt led at 10 ma needs 22 volts times 100 ohms, 2200 ohms!!!!
 
#9 · (Edited)
Yeah, I never use resistors anymore. Too much math! ha. I order the CLs in bulk from mouser. Great little devices.


I also do the LED strings like Kevin said, Lowes and Home Depot have the warm white strings all year. The after xmas stuff is also great, you get some nice colored ones for signals and signs and stuff.
 
#13 ·
Be sure to tie them to dc voltage in series with the led/leds.
I wire 3 leds in series to the CL2-N2 (some engines have 3 headlights). Also, these are digital and have V+ at 24 volts so I could have 6 in series if needed.
 
#14 ·
I have stopped using resistors too. The CL2 limits current, and work for anywhere from one to a dozen LEDs in parallel. Yes, they cost more than resistors, but for me, the ability to use them anywhere for any number of LEDs make them much more useful.
 
#16 ·
There's millions of different leds, normally pick a "warm white" for a diesel, and a yellower one... they are cheap, buy a few and see if you like them.


The CL2 should only have the LED on it, you seem to be asking to power the entire esc...


The CL2 sets a constant CURRENT, not voltage.


Greg
 
#18 ·
The CL2 is a 20 milli-amp limiter and you need to be careful to not use a single 10ma led.
I used 2 10 ma identical leds in parallel with a cl2 with no problem. Also as I am DCC i sometimes put 20ma leds in series. This can make for simple wiring.
 
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Dan Pierce
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