some simple technical questions

[Robatman]

I am wondering how people measure current draw of the bulb/led? I have a multimeter but not sure how people measure it, eg "it is drawing xxxmA at the tailcap or drawing xxxmA etc?

My other question is an embarrasing one but i need to know if i'm going to start making lights- is the negative of the battery connected to the head/driver (or direct to bulb) via the tailcap and then through the conduction of the body? how is the circuit completed?

Thanks for any help

 

[Glen C]

Hi Robatman, I measure the amps drawn by incans usually by placing the multimeter in between the lamp and battery, I imagine the tailcap would work just as well.

Yes, the body completes the circut. Be aware that incans don't mind which way the battery is connected generally (unless regulated), LEDs require forward voltage so generally have the positive connected to the head. Good luck on your mods.

 

[DonShock]

When I build my multi-LED lights, I like to put a removable jumper between two of the LEDs. I use the pins and jumpers from computer circuit boards. This way, I can remove the jumper to easily connect a multimeter to measure LED current when I am setting the driver. Then I just have to install the jumper for normal operation. There is probably a little bit of extra loss due to the extra connections, but I think it's pretty negligable.