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Will this a 12VDC 1A Adapter break my LED?

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Discussion in 'LEDs and Optoelectronics' started by DiamondsareMine, Jul 21, 2015.

Jul 21, 2015 #1

DiamondsareMine

12

0

Jul 19, 2015

Noob question: I have a red LED that runs at 12 VDC max and 20mA with a integrated resistor. Does the 1A on the adapter mean that it is capable of bringing up to 1A on a device or it will it burn out my LED when I wire the Adapter onto my LED?
Jul 21, 2015 #2

Colin Mitchell

1,417

313

Aug 31, 2014

The LED and resistor will only take 20mA, even if the adapter is capable of delivering 5 amps.
It is the resistor that limits the current to 20mA
Jul 21, 2015 #3

DiamondsareMine

12

0

Jul 19, 2015

Colin Mitchell said:

The LED and resistor will only take 20mA, even if the adapter is capable of delivering 5 amps.
It is the resistor that limits the current to 20mA
Click to expand...

I totally forgot about the properties of a resistor. Thanks!
Jul 21, 2015 #4

Gryd3

4,098

875

Jun 25, 2014

DiamondsareMine said:

I totally forgot about the properties of a resistor. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'll add on to this.
The property of the resistor is entirely dependant on the supplied voltage!
If the voltage goes up, so too will the current which equals a damaged LED.
If you need to use a higher voltage, replace the resistor, or add an additional resistor in series

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