Hi

I'm new to electronics and new to this site. I set up a circuit with transistors and capacitors in order to create a blinking LED and hooked it up to a 9v battery. When I was done I unhooked the wire to the negative terminal but left the positive plugged into the circuit. When I came back to the circuit the next day the battery was quite hot. I can't seem to find an answer online about why this is. I would be grateful for any advice!

thanks!

 

Hi
When I came back to the circuit the next day the battery was quite hot. I can't seem to find an answer online about why this is. I would be grateful for any advice!

thanks!

Left on a sunlit window sill maybe?
Was the voltage still at 9v?
Max.

 

Hi

Thanks for getting back to me! No there was no sun... and the battery had drained to 8.5v.

 

you know, if there is no other explanation then I must have created a short by pushing the circuit aside when doing something else.
Thanks for your help. Lesson learned!

 

Post a photograph of your setup. You are obviously overlooking something.

 

Shorted battery terminals?

 

Shorted battery terminals?

Until next day and still 8.5v?
Max.

 

I think I had created an accidental short. Thanks for all the help.

 

Until next day and still 8.5v?
Max.

No I must have knocked it and created a short but probs that same day so it would have been for long.Thanks!

 

An aside for anyone still following: 9V batteries are somewhat prone to open circuit failures from mechanical shock due to their multi-cell construction (typically 6 AAAA cylindrical cells with 12 spot welds).

This is of course not what occurred in the instant case.