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What happens when operating IC below operating temperature?

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joecool85

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I'm thinking about having a LM3914 meter in the truck to monitor battery voltage but temperatures here get to as low as -20F in the winter. The LM3914 datasheet indicates it is good down to 32F. What happens below that? If its just that it won't be accurate or won't work, that's fine...but if it is going to cause a short and maybe a fire in the truck, that's not fine.
 
most likely it'll be inaccurate, or not work because all the transistors (inside the chip) will have a higher Vbe than normal and refuse to turn on. if you have a freezer you can get down to that temperature you could test your circuit without having to wait for winter. of more concern to me would be electrolytic caps, and whether the cold temperature would damage them, since they contain a fiber strip impregnated with a water based electrolyte.
 
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most likely it'll be inaccurate, or not work because all the transistors (inside the chip) will have a higher Vbe than normal and refuse to turn on. if you have a freezer you can get down to that temperature you could test your circuit without having to wait for winter. of more concern to me would be electrolytic caps, and whether the cold temperature would damage them, since they contain a fiber strip impregnated with a water based electrolyte.


From the data sheets I've looked at, most electrolytic caps are good down to -40C, well below the -20F I require and 32F the LM3914 is rated for.
 
I have had electronics working below -40.
The parts may not work "right", but they work.
Some types of capacitors have a small value but they are a capacitor.
Op-amps may not work with a very low supply voltage but they work with higher supply voltages.
 
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