LED pilot light for 220 extension cord

[qguy]

Can anyone help me here, i have a 220v extension cord with switches that lights up when the outlet is on, sadly the LED is busted, I need to replace the LED but do not know the type of LED (Watts ? volts ?) to get, it has 3 legs, one leg is unused, second one is connected direct to live wire and third is connected to a resistor and then to live wire.. Thanks

 

[CoveAxe]

I think you're better off just buying a new one to be honest. Is it worth it to you to risk a fire in your home over a few dollars?

 

[qguy]

it is a busted LED, if I can get the correct value, there should not be any risk or issues.

 

[frank70]

Soldering looks pretty bad in there - like someone tried already to replace the LED, cold solder joints and all. It's not even obvious where that resistor wire goes on its left end - just seems to be hanging in space. I'd recommend just doing without the light or committing the whole thing to the circular file.

 

[Illum]

Better off putting a Neon in there than an LED.

 

[Qship1996]

Better off putting a Neon in there than an LED.

Why do you say that?

 

[mattheww50]

Neon can operate under a very wide range of voltages, and other than physical breakage, they are pretty much indestructible.

 

[FRITZHID]

Why do you say that?

Cause neon is more stable with A.C. Power, has longer lifespan, idiot proof, Proven tech, the list goes on.... However, in this situation, I'd suggest replacement red LED, since that's what was there in the first place. Neon is glass, and without a proper housing is prone to breaking. LED will NOT fracture the 1st time it's dropped.
There are cords like this with neon lights in the ends but they are incased in plastic.
Just replace with any standard red LED of the same size and style and you'll be fine. No need to over complicate this.

 

[Qship1996]

That was my main concern,neon being enclosed in a glass envelope vs an LED,especially on an outdoor extension cord which tend to see rough treatment at times.

 

[poiihy]

I've noticed some appliances and stuff like that use LEDs for indicators instead of neons. The LED is connected directly to mains with a resistor. How is this possible? Wouldn't the resistor make a lot of heat?

 

[poiihy]

Soldering looks pretty bad in there - like someone tried already to replace the LED, cold solder joints and all. It's not even obvious where that resistor wire goes on its left end - just seems to be hanging in space..

Maybe thats why the LED isn't working. Maybe the LED is fine and just has a bad connection.

 

[CoveAxe]

I've noticed some appliances and stuff like that use LEDs for indicators instead of neons. The LED is connected directly to mains with a resistor. How is this possible? Wouldn't the resistor make a lot of heat?

Not really. Assuming a 20mA current and a 170V maximum voltage, you're looking at ~8.5k resistor. Assuming the LED is only on for half a cycle, you're only looking at ~0.8W. Using 10mA or lower (since this is just an indicator and doesn't need high brightness), it can be much lower than that.

 

[qguy]

Maybe thats why the LED isn't working. Maybe the LED is fine and just has a bad connection.

Tested the LED, its dead as door knob

Just replace with any standard red LED of the same size and style and you'll be fine. No need to over complicate this.

Do I need to worry about the voltage of the LEDS ?
The current LED has 3 legs, one leg is unused. All the other LEDS in the cord follow the same setup, 3 legs,one leg is unused
I have several LEDS from 3 volts to 6 with 2 legs, would these work ?


thanks for all your help

 

[FRITZHID]

Tested the LED, its dead as door knob




Do I need to worry about the voltage of the LEDS ?
The current LED has 3 legs, one leg is unused. All the other LEDS in the cord follow the same setup, 3 legs,one leg is unused
I have several LEDS from 3 volts to 6 with 2 legs, would these work ?


thanks for all your help

Most LEDs "5mm" like that are pretty standardized. You should be fine with simple LED swap as long as you keep the resistor in place.

 

[poiihy]

3 legs? Are you sure? That's weird... aren't they only supposed to have 2 legs?

 

[qguy]

i know the 3 legged ones have dual color...

3 legs? Are you sure? That's weird... aren't they only supposed to have 2 legs?

 

[qguy]

thanks

Most LEDs "5mm" like that are pretty standardized. You should be fine with simple LED swap as long as you keep the resistor in place.

 

[FRITZHID]

thanks

Np. Worse case, you pop the LED and need to get a higher fv version .

 

[poiihy]

i know the 3 legged ones have dual color...

Oh, that's right; that must be a bi-color LED. Well that's a waste. They put in bi-colored LEDs (actually there are two leds inside the one epoxy casing) but only used one of the LEDs inside. So the other LED inside is never used!

 

[FRITZHID]

If they're just using the red one, there shouldn't be any issues