I am setting up a new electronic ign system, and have the facility to use a couple of shift lights. I have sourced some led 1 watt lamps, 12v . A thought has just occurred to me that on a household led lamp I have used a driver , would this be necessary in this case , or just use the 12v source. Any help would be appreciated.

MikeF

1 Watt 12V sounds like a hell of a lot of power!! I wouldn't want to plug that into a battery and just rely on the resistance of the battery to drive it!!!

Why use such massive LEDs? Some teeny tiny ones would do the job and could be driven using suitable resistors...


For something as large as 1 watt I would want to be using a properly designed LED driver circuit....

1 watt LED will be extremely bright, but for a shift light in bright day light may be okay.

As mentioned though, that sort of LED usually needs a heat sink and I would certainly use a driver. They cost peanuts on ebay.

Thanks for your replies .I am obviously out of my depth here. One watt seemed quite small to me. Could you give me an idea of what driver I would need, or do you think it better to buy some different lamps , I think these are for side lights.

MikeF

10x Pre wired 3mm Bright Yellow LEDs Prewired 12V LED | eBay
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If they are advertised as 12V LEDs then they will have a current limiting resistor (or possibly electronic driver) already included, and are therefore safe to connect to 12v. 1 Watt is an extremely powerful LED however, the kind of brightness that would completely dazzle you at night, and even during the day would be quite distracting.

A link to the lights you have bought would be useful.

[Edited on 2/3/13 by MikeRJ]

Thanks all. will have a look at the wired LEDs , and will post a link to the ones I have bought later today.

Mikef

Mornin all.

Here is the link to the LEDs.

Super Bright T10 1W LED Car Auto Wedge Indicator Light Bulb Lamp White DC 12V | eBay

Mike F