How To Wire Resistor Load In LED Lights

LED (light emitting diode) lights are low-current electronic components. As such, they cannot be connected directly to a typical household battery without running the risk of burning out from too much current. To prevent a single LED (or chain of LEDs) from burning out, a resistor load is placed in the circuit to limit the amount of current that flows through the LED(s). Typical LEDs operate within a range of a few milliamps of current and under 3 volts of direct current power from a battery. A resistor load of approximately 100 ohms will prevent a common 5 mm red LED from burning out.

Step 1

Tin a 100-ohm resistor and a red LED by melting solder over their leads.

Step 2

Solder one lead of the resistor to the short lead of the red LED. Resistors are non-polar, so either end will do. LEDs, however, are polar; therefore, polarity must be observed in the connections. The short lead of the LED is the cathode (negative) lead.

Step 3

Solder one end of a copper wire to the remaining resistor lead. Solder one end of a second copper wire to the long lead of the red LED. The long lead is the cathode (positive) lead of the LED.

Step 4

Hold the negative side LED/copper wire to the negative terminal of a 1.5 to 3.0 volt battery. Hold the positive side LED/copper wire to the positive terminal of the battery. The red LED will light and will not burn out.