Hello,
I am trying to make my own bike light using a Toshiba MR16 LED light (9W/12V) and 10 AA Eneloop batteries. I’m using speaking wire with a DC connector to plug it ON and OFF. The batteries are held together by a 10AA battery pack.
Problem : When I plug the DC connector together, the MR16 lights bright for a brief second and then dims to a very low brightness and stays there. What could I be missing in the assembly?
Any suggestions to troubleshoot would be greatly appreciated.
BTW, I checked over the solder points and connections. Everything appears to have checked out OK.
Ohm’s law says at 12 vdc and 9 watts you are trying to pull .75 amps from your battery pack. I doubt if AA batteries can supply that much current. You might try checking the voltage at your light with a volt meter and see what the voltage is when the light dims down. If it drops down from 12 volts alot then you will have to use “D” cells or a small lead acid battery.
Thank you very much for your note, Jackpot. I had a feeling the light was not getting the power it needed to fully illuminate.
Would you suggest any particular capacity for a sealed lead acid battery? I was trying to avoid an SLA battery due to weight, but may not have a choice to get the most from the LED.
Well it depends on how long you would like your light too last before the battery runs down. Most lead acid batteries are rated in AH ( amp hours). So a small 2.5 AH SLA battery would last about 3 hrs before needing recharge. (2.5 AH / .75 = 3.33hrs)
Hope all this is ZWAVE related or you might be on the wrong forum. ???