Led Circuitry.

[mike30]

Hi there can any one help ? I want to fix a led. into the charging circuit of my battery operated screw driver. The charging system is only 3.5 V. I want the led display so that I can see if the charger is working at a glance. Should the led be wired in series or parallel and what rating should the led be it
is a red led. Some say that a resitor should be fitted in the line, is this correct. I can be contacted
directly by e-mail          [email protected]
thanks,
mike.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Have you seen any particular LED you are interested in???

i.e.

Are you intending to mount into the charger housing itself...

or are you just hoping to build something into the output lead so that you can seen if a voltage is coming out of the charger?

The actual voltages and current that any particular LED can handle without frying itself will be down to the manufactures spec..

Have a quick browse of the specs on some of the LED's @ places like Maplin to give you an idea...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/components/optoelectronics/panel-mount-leds

It is almost certain the LED will need a current limiting resistor used with it as the LED only needs a few miliamps.

Do you suspect the charger is not working?

How old are the batteries in the screwdriver?

Could they be on their last legs??

is 3.5v the screwdriver battery voltage or the charger output  voltage?

opcorn