PDA

View Full Version : Broken Already?


olesmokey
12-31-2008, 11:03 AM
So half of my parts finally arrived today, they were under the blanket of snow we got last night.

I brought them all in, unwrapped them and was hit with this question
"Now what?"

Thats when I hopped on the forums and began compiling instructions. About a half hour later I wanted to do a little test run on my Luxeon star. I took the battery back and switch and began to ghetto-rig it together real quick. I turned it on and the light nearly blinded me, but the second time I did it, it was really dim and hardly there.

So I was wondering, did I accidentally burn out my Luxeon 3 already?
Donnovan Sunrider
12-31-2008, 11:41 AM
Did you put a resister in the circuit somewhere?
Did you try replacing the batteries yet? They may have been new, but it's worth a shot.
olesmokey
12-31-2008, 11:42 AM
I did not use a resistor the first time, and the batteries were my own. Brand new by the way.
Jedi-Loreen
12-31-2008, 11:43 AM
If you turned the LED on for more than a second, with out the resistor in the circuit, you could have burned it out.
Darth_DevilGuy
12-31-2008, 12:02 PM
my preliminary diagnosis is that you fried your LED, DON'T DIRECT DRIVE UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, if you ordered a kit or some sort of driver wire that up and see if it runs.
olesmokey
12-31-2008, 12:07 PM
Wired it again to the resistor, nothing still dim and crappy.

I guess I'll chalk this up to lesson learned, guess i'm gonna go order a new star later.

Thanks for the input everyone.
Lord Dottore Matto
12-31-2008, 02:42 PM
dude, that LED is toast for sure. More business for Tim!:p
Novastar
12-31-2008, 04:12 PM
Yup. The formula goes:

If (LED fwd V) < (Battery voltage)...
AND (Battery voltage) >>>>>>>>>> (LED fwd V)
AND (User DirectDrives) LED > 1 second...
AND (Resistor) <= 0

THEN

LED = Kerblooey.

:)
Matt Thorn
12-31-2008, 09:39 PM
What kind of Luxeon was it, and what were the type and number of batteries you used? TCSS has a very handy resistor chart here (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/resistor.aspx) that will help you avoid such mishaps in the future. Considering my own clumsiness and lack of electrical savvy, I'm surprised I haven't fried any of the Luxeons I own. ;) A generous dose of caution and double-checking before sending power into the circuit always helps. :p