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Wiring led with dcc???

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  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Wiring led with dcc???
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 6, 2004 3:34 AM
[V] How can know wich side is the cathode of a Led?

If i wire it the wrong way, will i damage the decoder or the led?

thanks for your help guys...
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 6, 2004 10:25 AM
Cathode (negative) is shorter
Anode (positive) is longer
  • Member since
    August 2004
  • 232 posts
Posted by ckape on Saturday, November 6, 2004 11:25 AM
If you wire the LED backwards it will simply not light up until it is wired correctly, nothing will be damaged.
  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
  • 13,757 posts
Posted by cacole on Sunday, November 7, 2004 8:23 AM
Don't forget, you will need a current limiting resistor on that LED or you can damage the decoder. A typical LED draws 1.3 Volts at 75mA or less. A typical decoder's headlight circuitry puts out 12-14 Volts at 100mA. Most decoder documentation recommends a resistor value of 220 to 270 Ohms, to protect the decoder.

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