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want to put LED's on my atv.

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Need4skis

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how do i go about doing this? i think i want to limp off of the headlights, idk what the specifics are about them, i will try to find out, but its all off of a 12v battery. just wondering what kind of setup i would need. kim thinking some resistors so i dont fry the leds's. any ideas? am i on the right track? thanks
 
Yes your on the right track you will need some resistors not sure how many you plan on running because that will affect what value/s you need do you plan on using them for headlights ? becuase they won't be very bright they are more for accent lighting what are your plans purposes so we can help you better
 
so we need to know how many you want so we can determine what resistor you need

for example

Working voltage aka voltage needed for one LED = 1.6volts

Desired current flow = continous amperage needed probley around 18ma or .018amps

and your supply voltage 12 volts

supply voltage minus working voltage = 10.4

10.4 divided by current flow = 577 ohm 1/4 watt resistor your going to get around 6 before the number becomes negative and you need to start a new series of leds
 
so that means if i work 577 ohms off of the 12v i can use 6 LED's before i run out of juice? what if i put some on the back? probably the same thing if i were to limp off of the tail light?
 
10.4 divided by current flow = 577 ohm 1/4 watt resistor your going to get around 6 before the number becomes negative and you need to start a new series of leds


i dont have a 577 ohm resistor, how can i get to 577 ohms, i have a whole bunch,but i dont think they make anything like that do they? any help would be appreciated because i want to get going on this today because i have the time
 
https://www.eecs.tufts.edu/~dsculley/tutorial/voltageDividers/voltdiv2.html
i read here that i can just line up resistors and the add the ohms for a total, does that sound right, so i just want to add resistors until i get to 577? can it be a little off or do i want exactly 577?

so tell me if it would work; if i sliced the positive wire going to the headlight, ran enough resistors that add up to 577, then make a string of six LED's and run the negative from the end of the LED, into the spliced negative wire for the headlight.
 
First problem you have is that any color other than red LEDs need more than 1.6V each. You should check the data sheet. If you haven't got access to the data sheet tell us the color and how old the LED is and someone will guess. Also, your LEDs might be best at a current other than 18mA.

Second, when choosing a series resistor for LEDs you can easily go +/- 10%; more if you're not trying to match brightness. You could use 560, 620, or 680 ohms if brightness isn't critical.

When the motor is running the voltage will be close to 14V so re-do the calculations for that.
 
okay, so there are four LED's after this series of resistors, 577 ohms was recommended but this combination of 588 was the best i could do, i would like some confirmation that i read the color code right and have 5880hms worth of resistance. but since im not using six LED's, will it be too much juice? please reply. thanks
 
First problem you have is that any color other than red LEDs need more than 1.6V each. You should check the data sheet. If you haven't got access to the data sheet tell us the color and how old the LED is and someone will guess. Also, your LEDs might be best at a current other than 18mA.

Second, when choosing a series resistor for LEDs you can easily go +/- 10%; more if you're not trying to match brightness. You could use 560, 620, or 680 ohms if brightness isn't critical.

When the motor is running the voltage will be close to 14V so re-do the calculations for that.

thanks, i attatched an image but it looks like its not showing up, i will try again, there are four red LED's, brightness isnt critical, id rather be on the safe side, so after you have read this, does it sound safe and good to go?
 
this is the set of resistors i have
 

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Looks to me like you have 68 (blue-gray-black-gold), 10 (brown-black-black-gold), and 520 (green-red-brown-gold). Is that correct? That would be 598.

Please note that I'm recommending that you don't need to get the exact value, just use the nearest value or the next higher one. A 680 ohm (blue-gray-brown-gold) is close enough and a lot fewer connections to give you trouble.
 
Looks to me like you have 68 (blue-gray-black-gold), 10 (brown-black-black-gold), and 520 (green-red-brown-gold). Is that correct? That would be 598.

Please note that I'm recommending that you don't need to get the exact value, just use the nearest value or the next higher one. A 680 ohm (blue-gray-brown-gold) is close enough and a lot fewer connections to give you trouble.

is the only problem with more connections just more of a chance to break? because i dont realy mind having so many connections as long as it will work
 
Will it work yes is it the best way to do it no. but also make sure none of them short eachother out. It may blow your leds and all your work will be for nothing.
 
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