I have a problem a I don’t understand concerning light replacement with LED’s. I have a voltage the current lights of 2.8vdc. I have noticed that LED lights have voltage requirements of 1.2vdc to 3.9vdc depending on the color of the bulb. Can I just replace any bulb regardless of the voltage? I would like to change the color but don’t know if I can.
Welcome to the forum 🙂
LED's are current driven and the voltage dropped across the LED is a function of the colour.
Sometimes LED's are used in critical parts of a circuit as a type of voltage reference, however if your LED is simply a visual indicator (on/off light) then almost certainly you can swap for any colour you want.
Be aware that modern LED's can be really efficient (very bright for little current) and so you may need to add an extra series resistor to dim it down.
If we know what the equipment (have a circuit) is we can advise in more detail 🙂
LED's are current driven and the voltage dropped across the LED is a function of the colour.
Sometimes LED's are used in critical parts of a circuit as a type of voltage reference, however if your LED is simply a visual indicator (on/off light) then almost certainly you can swap for any colour you want.
Be aware that modern LED's can be really efficient (very bright for little current) and so you may need to add an extra series resistor to dim it down.
If we know what the equipment (have a circuit) is we can advise in more detail 🙂
What is the voltage across that 120 Ohm resistor? You need to calculate how much current is flowing there, and adjust that resistor to get current suitable for your chosen LED.
Yes, post the entire schematic. You can use any LED color if you adjust the resistor,
but the LEDs will be very bright if the resistor is too small.
Also, you'll need a separate resistor in series with each of the LEDs.
but the LEDs will be very bright if the resistor is too small.
Also, you'll need a separate resistor in series with each of the LEDs.
So any colour LED will work here.
Practical problems... if these bulbs illuminate meters then you need to think carefully about what type of LED you might replace them with. Bulbs give a wide spread of light, LED's are more point source.
You can get dedicated LED replacements for Festoon type bulbs and so on. Worth searching for.
LED's have no 'thermal inertia' like a bulb filament and that means flicker might be visible if those are fed from an AC winding on a transformer which that diode suggests. That is easily fixed.
LED's use so little current compared to a bulb that it is entirely feasible to run LED's from a higher voltage DC rail in the amp. 10 milliamps flowing in a modern LED can be blindingly bright whereas the bulb might be drawing a couple of hundred milliamps or more.
You can use multiple LED's in series as long as you have sufficient voltage available.
Ultimately its a dead easy replacement as long as you are aware of the practicalities. If we know the actual amp we can advise more.