Printer Friendly Forum Posts - flashing led to constant

I want to change a flashing led light to a constant on when it is active and turn off when it is not active.

Will the diagram for the pulsed to constant be the one I need to use? And if so, does the capacitor need to be just big enough to last between the next flash pulse?

Thanks

Shawn

What exactly are you trying to do?

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Kevin Pierson

I am trying to make a flashing led stay on constant. The output for the led is flashing. There is no way to change it. Its an aftermarket indicator light.

Shawn

If this is a 2-wire flashing LED, you can't - the flasher (chip) is integral to the LED.

What controls the LED now?

Are you trying to replace the flashing LED of an alarm with an aftermarket indicator light? Again, more detail would help here.

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Kevin Pierson

a capacitor across the leads of the led...check polarity of course. shouldn't need more than a 6 volt rated cap. be best to experiment with values of capacitance, use the minimum necessary to keep the led constant.

This is actually a 2 led setup. One Red one Green. The module indicates 4 different options. If option 1 is turned on, the red lights up constant, if option 2 is turned on the red flashes. And the 3 and 4 are the same with the green Led. These are merely indicators for a control module. They are just there to let you know what option is active.

Both Leds have 3 wires going from the module to the led. So it has a ground, a constant and a flashing wire.

I want to separate it into 4 leds. The one indicator will be on constant, and turn off when the second indicator is activated. But the second one is designed to flash, and I want that to be constant.

I want to mount the leds in an area of the car that will be easy for me to see while driving, but the constant flashing will bug me while I drive at night.

Ween, am I trying to match the capacitor to the time between flashes to keep it lit constant? Or do I want to use a capacitor that will not drain during the entire time that light will be lit up?

Shawn

First find out if the control side for the flashing is ground switched or (+) switched, and if the limiting resistor is part of the control module or if it's built into your LEDs.

Measure the voltage across the two wires going to the LED when it's on, and see if it shows battery voltage or some value below 4V. That'd tell you if the limiting resistor is in the module.

Then with the LED off, measure the voltage of either wire referenced to ground and see if it shows 0V or 12V. If it's 12V then it's ground switched, if it's 0V then it's using (+) switching.

edit: just read your description saying it has a ground wire connection, so it's (+) switching. Just see if it's showing full 12V across the LED when it's on then-

Thanks Dualsport.

Once I have everything in hand, I will find out that info. I am going by the wiring diagram that I was sent before I ordered it.

Just wanted to get some info before hand.

Shawn

Reading your description, there are 6 wires from the module going to the two LEDs; you need to see what they measure when they're on.
If the flashing control wire is a steady output, the flashing is integral to your LED like ole' sparky said, so you wouldn't use that LED input wire if you want it to be steady on. In that case you would just wire the control wire to your added LED.

The fact that the LED has three wires on it makes me think that the actual outputs are constant. If the module was capable of pulsing the LED why would they include an extra wire? They could either hold the output on or pulse it and make a simpler LED. Most likely the LED has some extra hardware that the third pin is hooked to and that causes it to flash when energized.

Can you post the diagrams that you have? How detailed are they?

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Kevin Pierson

It sounds strange to me too.

I can't find any 3-wire flashing LEDs. The only multi-wire LEDs I find are multicolor etc.

I suspect that unless the diagrams are posted, we will have to wait until blowndakrt has everything in hand.

As for capacitor delays, I think an RC feeding a transistor etc for the 3rd wire - but that all depends.....

Blowndakrt - why not use another module or LEDs?
What is special with this module as opposed to installing your own LEDs?

Like I said before, the leds are simply indicators. They are imbedded into a 3 way toggle switch controller. The wires come from the brain to the toggle with a connector on each end. It has 10 wires that goes to it. I don't want to use the LED in the toggle switch, but have 4 Leds of my own mounted in a different location. I just don't want them to flash.

Black - Ground
Blue/White - option 1 indicator
Blue/Green - option 2 indicator
Blue/Black - Indicator 1 ground
WHITE/ Red - option 3 indicator
WHITE/ Blue - option 4 indicator
WHITE/ Black - Indicator 2 ground
Yellow - Power
GREEN/ YELLOW - Option Select up
GREEN / WHITE - Option Select down

Shawn

blowndakrt wrote:

Like I said before, the leds are simply indicators.....

blowndakrt wrote:

Both Leds have 3 wires going from the module to the led.

I suggest a diagram, else a clear unambiguous description....
(ie, redo your last and add the from & to info (switch to module, module to g-LED etc).

All the above wires go from the module to the rocker switch. The leds are inside the rocker switch. It basically has a small harness that goes from the module to the rocker switch. Both have a connector on each end. One that plugs into the module and one that plugs into the connector for the rocker switch.

There is another connector on the module, but that is for power, ground and outputs going to whatever you want the different options to turn on or off.

From what was described to me by the tech, the only thing that is transmitted to the module from the rocker switch is the GREEN/ YELLOW and the GREEN / WHITE. Both are negative pulses. That is how you select which option you want.

I am not sure what I should refer to the leds being besides an indicator light. Cause they indicate what option the module is currently on. When on option 1 the red led is on constant, when on option 2 the red blinks, when on option 3 the green lights up constant, when on option 4 the green blinks.

I do not want to use the leds in the rocker switch. I plan to install my own leds in a different location. My plan was to use the signal coming from the module to either power or ground my own leds, depending on what pulse the indicator wires are seeing. The tech had said the option 2 and option 4 indicator wires send the pulsed signal to the led so it will flash. So if I used those wires on a different led, I want to stop them from flashing.

Shawn

So the LEDs have TWO terminals - not three? (!!)

I honestly can't say how many terminals are on the actual led. They are built into the rocker switch.

But I would assume that that since the Blue/White is for option 1 indicator and Blue/Green is option 2 indicator, which are both the red led, the led has 3 connections because the Blue/Black is the ground for indicator 1.

Shawn

Ah well, now that you have corrected you previous information...

But whilst we are at it (and before I go further) - why do you want to use this module?
Why not wire up separate red green whatever LEDs to your 12V battery etc?

I don't think you are following what I am actually doing with the leds.

I plan to use my own leds, but they would have to be connected to the module to let me know what option is selected. I could wire up all the controls with separate toggle switches with leds, but then I would have 4 rocker switches instead of 1. That is the reason to keep the module. But the flashing lights while I was driving at night would be annoying.

As far as correcting my previous information, I am not sure what I said incorrectly before. Could you explain?

Shawn

I don't think you are answering my question. Again.

Why are you persisting with that module?
What does it do that you so desperately.... (we need more emoties!)?

I thought I did answer your question.

Like I said in my previous post, it has 4 outputs that can be controlled through a single rocker switch. It has indicators that lets you know what output is on.

Its specific use has not yet been decided. If I am not able to get the leds to stop from flashing, I will not use it and try to find another way to do it.

But I think I am just gonna try playing with some capacitors to see if I can figure it out on my own.

Thanks to everyone that contributed information to help out.

Shawn

IMO you said it did that, but NOT that that was WHY you wanted it.

Okay, so the workaround is more complex than a new solution (a 4017 etc etc).

As I said before, the best is probably some "small" RC delay that controls a transistor etc. Ideally it would only react to the pulsing mode, and doesn't use voltage reversal....

Anyhow good luck. You'll find a solution.

Over & Out.

With only one toggle switch how to you cycle through the outputs?

What kind of outputs are they (relay, (-) x00ma, etc)?

Is it possible to somehow use the 4 outputs to drive LEDs directly?

Do you have a link to the product - I would like to read more about it.

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Kevin Pierson

Damn- so much for unlinking from posts!

KP - the unit sounds like a typical modern LED module for whatever function - whether pushbike lights, personal torches, Christmas tree lights etc - one button cycles through the different operational (lighting) modes.

They used to be done with f.ex a push button clocking a CD4017 (1 of 10 decade counter) etc and each selected output with its own function (flash, red, green, of, etc.

(I just bought another "head torch". Alas I knew it had off, half & on modes; but I didn't see its flash node... But that's the last cycle so you merely hit it (its button) twice.

KPierson wrote:

With only one toggle switch how to you cycle through the outputs?

What kind of outputs are they (relay, (-) x00ma, etc)?

Is it possible to somehow use the 4 outputs to drive LEDs directly?

Do you have a link to the product - I would like to read more about it.

The module sees the negative pulses and switches to the other option. Its a 3 way rocker. You can hit the button in one direction to turn on option 1, hit it in the same direction again, it turns on option 2. If you want options 3 or 4 you hit the switch in the other direction once or twice.

I don't have a link because the product is still in development. I was lucky enough to get one to play with to see if it would be something we would use at our shop. When I suggested to them to not have the leds flash, they said it would greatly increase the cost as they would have to use 4 different colored leds to show option selection. So I was trying to find a work around for my own personal tastes.

Shawn

They could binary code the LEDs if only four modes are to be displayed.

Both LEDs off (00) = mode 1
Left LED off, right LED on (01) = mode 2
Left LED on, right LED off (10) = mode 3
Both LEDs on (11) = mode 4

Of course that means there's no mode where all outputs are off, but it doesn't seem like that's an option in the setup described now.

Adding a couple extra LEDs doesn't seem like it'd be a huge dent in the bankbook though, unless it's just because they want to use up a stockpile of lighted rocker switches they already have-

Well that type of thing is beyond me. LOL.

They are going with the 2 leds to keep everything contained in the one rocker switch. Which makes sense if you are wanting to control 4 outputs in as small as package as you can.

I did however find out that the wire colors he sent me are incorrect. Apparently that was an older version.

The newer version is now only using 1 wire per led. So that means the flashing portion is inside the module. I don't know if it is a negative trigger or positive. But since they run both power and ground to the rocker, I am assuming they are using one of those wires to complete the circuit for the leds.

So keeping one from flashing is now a mute point. I don't believe there is a way to split up those signals to the led.

I do appreciate the help offered.

Thanks

Shawn