How to Reduce 12 Volts to 9 Volts

You can make a voltage divider out of nothing more than two resistors.
••• resistor image by Witold Krasowski from Fotolia.com

There are a variety of reasons you might want to change 12 volts to nine volts. Perhaps you have 12-volt batteries, but power tools that run off nine volts. Perhaps you have a solar panel that produces 12 volts and you need to charge nine volt rechargeable batteries with it. Whatever your reason, you can step the voltage down without the trouble of finding a different sized power source.

    Measure the resistance of the device or circuit that you will be powering with nine volts. Use the multimeter on its resistance setting to do this. This resistance, called the "load resistance," will help you put together a voltage divider.

    Select a resistor, any resistor. The actual value of its resistance doesn’t matter, as only the ratios of the resistances in a voltage divider determine the output voltage.

    Multiply the resistance of the resistor you chose by the load resistance. Divide the result by the sum of the load resistance and the random resistance you just selected. The result is the parallel resistance of these two resistances.

    Divide the parallel resistance by three. The result will be the value of the second resistor you need for your circuit. If you cannot find a resistor with this value, then try calculating the parallel resistance of your load with a different randomly selected resistor.

    Solder both resistors into an empty circuit board by touching the hot soldering iron and the solder to the resistor legs where they meet the circuit board. It does not matter what way the resistors are facing. Connect one leg of the first resistor with one leg of the second resistor by touching the iron and solder to both legs at once. Attach one terminal of your 12-volt battery to the unconnected leg of one resistor and the other battery terminal to the unconnected leg of the other resistor. Connect your load circuit or tool to the two legs of the resistor you chose at random. The load will now receive nine volts from your 12-volt battery or other power source. The other three volts are dissipated as heat on the other resistor.

    Things You'll Need

    • Multimeter
    • Selection of different valued resistors
    • Calculator
    • Empty circuit board
    • Soldering iron
    • Solder

    Tips

    • Resistors have colored bands on them that show how much electrical resistance they have.

    Warnings

    • Do not touch any bare metal on the circuit when power is flowing through it. This could result in an electric shock, which could prove to be dangerous. If your circuit starts getting hot, your load circuit is drawing too much current. Rebuild the circuit with higher resistances.

Related Articles

How to Reduce Battery Voltage
How to Calculate Resistors in Parallel
How to Convert Ohms to Kilowatts
How Much Resistance Is Needed to Change From 12V to...
How to Calculate the Size of a Cable
How to Reduce 12 Volt to 6 Volt
How to Install a Voltage Reducer in a 12-Volt System
How to Convert 12 Volt to 6 Volt
Homemade Heat Tape
How to Calculate Milliamps
How to Test Multimeters
Simple Electrical Projects
How to Make a Simple Machine Project for School
How to Find the Missing Side of a Right Triangle
How to Calculate Load Current
How to Calculate 30 KW to Amps
How to Wire a Battery in Series
How Do Pliers Work As a Lever?
How to Calculate How Long a Battery Will Last
Why Do Birds Sit on Electrical Wires?

Dont Go!

We Have More Great Sciencing Articles!