Button Led Wiring question

[takanuva588]

Noobish question but just trying to be sure I have my leds wired correctly. I have 8 IL-lumination 5vdc leds from Paradise Arcade wired in series with each other going from the +5v 15 amp terminal on the switching power supply to ground. Is this wired up right? Pic of how it looks

[mahuti]

Do your LEDs have built-in resistors? If not you will need to add them between the LED And the power.

A quote from groovygamegear on the subject:

LED’s are like goldfish. They don’t know when to stop consuming and will “pop” if you feed them too much.  For this reason, you must install a resistor in series with the LED to limit the current to an amount that will make the LED bright and happy.

RESISTOR VALUE = (5v - LED VOLTAGE) / LED CURRENT RATING

With his leds the resistor would be: 5v-3.2v led =1.8 / .2 (20ma rating) =90 ohms. Since you won't find a 90ohm resistor... go up to 100 Ohms... if they are wired in parallel.

In your case: 8 leds x volts per led is how many volts you'll need to power them fully if they are wired in series. In which case you may not need resistors. But they may not go to their full brightness if underpowered.

[Nephasth]

Run them in parallel, not series. IL-Lumination LEDs have built in resistors. Ignore the post above.

[mahuti]

Don't ignore my post. Just note that it's irrelevant for your current situation since Nephasth confirms your leds have resistors. My post may be useful to you in the future