Are LED's damaged if you deliberatly don't connect them to ground

Thread Starter

m1la

Joined Oct 4, 2009
2
Hi,

I have four different LED's in a circuit I'm making and I want to use a switch that could stop them from being connected to ground and so that they don't turn on. Then if I flick the switch when they are in use they will turn on as the circuit is complete. Will not connecting them to ground and putting electricity into them damage the LED?

Thanks,

m1la
 

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
It should not matter to the LED if you break the current path on the ground side as opposed to the voltage side.

It is more conventional to always switch the power in because then no part of the isolated circuit is electrically hot. This makes no difference in low voltage applications in terms of safety, but makes a hazardous condition in high voltage situations where you can come in contact with a dangerous voltage point when working on the circuitry.

The switch opening up the voltage source can also protect the power source by preventing accidental short circuits from causing problems, like destroying the power supply.

So, for the LED's, it does not matter a bit. For good practice and for forming good habits, always switch power, not ground.
 
If you are considering using an actual switch for the control logic, you may want to consider adding a 1uf capacitor to avoid flickering when they are turned on.
This will help "debounce" the switch contacts.
 
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