Hello, I am fairly new to electronics. I am trying to make a super bright led flashlight and in the process of buying the materials I bought a Lights of America 2001LED53IN-65K LED Bulb only to find out that I it ran off AC. Now, I want to power a 12v 105 mAh ac led bulb with a dc power source. How can I do it the simplest way?

I could try opening it to modify it but I don't want to risk voiding the warranty.

If you suggest using an ac to dc converter can you please suggest a circuit?

Thanks!

 

Hello,

Do you have a link to the datasheet?
This way we can see if there is an alternative way of powering the lamp.

Bertus

 

I have tried many times to search for data sheets but cant find it.

 

Have you tried feeding it current? Start with 20ma to be safe, it will tell you if you need AC or not. It may be possible this has a diode bridge built in. Minor bad news, you will likely have to up the battery voltage to compensate if it does. If it doesn't I can show you how to build a circuit that will drive it.

I contacted the parent company, they say I'll have an answer in 48 hours. We'll see.

 

I tried feeding it 75mAh with about 27 volts and nothing happened, that's how I realized it must use AC.

 

If you look on this page it says 12VAC/60Hz >> http://lightsofamerica.com/en/Products/2001LED53IN-65K.aspx near the bottom where it says specifications...

Since this is an MR16 replacement bulb you should look at the low voltage MR16 specs...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR16

MR16 lamps most often operate at 12 volts, although they are also available in other voltages. The common 12-volt MR16 lamps therefore require a magnetic or electronic transformer (sometimes misnamed as a ballast) to convert the 120 or 240 volt mains voltage to the very low operating voltage required by the lamp. Note that although halogen MR16 lamps can usually operate on either AC or DC voltage, LED devices require DC voltage and as such will require a rectifier in the unit if AC is to be used.

these LED lights must have the rectifier built in in order for it to be AC powered...
B. Morse

 

I tried feeding it 75mAh with about 27 volts and nothing happened, that's how I realized it must use AC.

Did you feed it both ways? It may use a capacitor to limit current.

In that case, would a 60 Hz 24VAC P=P square wave work you think?

 

It shouldn't be too hard to find a wall wart that's just a transformer that outputs the requisite 12 VAC. I just typed "12 vac wall wart" into google and snagged a fish on the first try: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/st...&catalogId=10001&productId=101258&pa=101258PS

 

I think the OP wants a flashlight. It would be overkill to build circuitry, it would be cheaper just to buy another bulb. However, I'm working on some similar stuff right now, for inverters. Just replace the transformer with your LED bulb and it would work.

 

CircuitMaker123

There are instructions for making a LED bulb at

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-your-own-LED-lightbulbs/

It may or may not be what you are looking for.

williamj

 

OK, got a reply, but I suspect it is less than helpful.

The specification:
Wattage: 1 W
Voltage: 12 v ac/dc
Color Temp: 6500K
Base: GU5.3

Thanks.

Technical Support
LOA

According to these guys it should take 12VDC, which the OP has tried. Since it is 1W it will pull around 83ma. This implies it should work with at least one polarity on the leads. I'm inclined to believe the OP, I've had too many quick answers from places like this. Having said this, it might be worth repeating your experiments.

Did you use a resistor? I suspect it is included in the package since it is meant to replace an existing bulb, but they didn't say.