Krambo Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 Well, I am installing multiple LED's for my nitrous system to act as indicators and thought I would share the importance of using resistors. Most LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) require some type of resistor in order to prevent it from burning up. There are some that do not require resistors or already have them integrated. The diodes I used do require a resistor so I used this calculator to find out what wattage and resistance I needed: LED resistor calculator LINK Click on the little "?" boxes if you get stuck on items such as forward voltage. They are pretty darn close to the specs that came with my diodes. For voltage, I use 13.5 however you can use what you feel is right for you. In that same link, there is another calculator if you are doing LEDs in series (which require different resistance values). From my experience, I always default one "size" larger than the calculator finds to keep things cool (i.e. use 1/2 watt over 1/4 watt). Those little buggers get real hot and I do not want to melt down my hard work. I also default to higher resistance if the calculator gives me a value I cannot locate readily. Resistors are very inexpensive (around $0.10 each) and can be found in stores such as Radio Shack. Feel free to add your experiences! Just putting this in the SSS archives in case someone searches for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevrolet SS Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 cool calculator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndySilveradoSS Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 I'm an electrician and found this calculator very helpful. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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