To test brightness, can i wire 12v LED directly to battery?

[Oh Danny Boy]

Hi,

Firstly, to clarify, i will not be installing the interior electrics myself, it is beyond me, and is being done next week by an auto electrician (who is currently on holiday - hence i cannot ask him this myself).

So i have got all my lights etc together, ready for the install. HOWEVER, to check i have indeed purchased enough lights, i would like to test the LED brightness before it all gets installed.

In short, Can i take the Positive and Negative wires from an LED spotlight and directly attach them to the Positive and Negative on the leisure battery? Or Will it blow? Will it knacker my new leisure battery? Am i in danger of receiving the biggest shock since learning President Sarkozy mangaed to pull Carla Bruni?

Do i need anything in between the LED cables and the terminals on the battery? Or is wiring directly to leisure battery ok for my purpose?

This is only to test brightness, and not a permanent solution - but i do not want to bugger anything up by trying. If i cannot directly wire the LED to the battery, what should i get in between? (in laymans terms please )

Cheers,

[AdrianC]

In short, Can i take the Positive and Negative wires from an LED spotlight and directly attach them to the Positive and Negative on the leisure battery? Or Will it blow? Will it knacker my new leisure battery? Am i in danger of receiving the biggest shock since learning President Sarkozy mangaed to pull Carla Bruni?

Yep, you can - it's effectively what'll happen when it's all installed anyway.

[billybigspud]

Don't forget they are diodes so you need to get the polarity round the right way

[jamesandtheopenroad]

Fused?

[Oh Danny Boy]

Thanks everyone, so i took it i can indeed test the lights by just attaching directly the LED cable to the Battery without anything in between...until i read @Jamesandtheopenroad's comment - "Fused?".... Are you suggesting i should fuse the connection first? This isn't a permanent or even semi permanent solution i am looking for. Just a quick few seconds to see the light brightness (without any risk of blowing the LED).

On another site, before my original post, i had read someone going on about a resistor being needed because the power drawn from the battery would light the LED for a moment before blowing it. Is that wrong then?

I apologise for my naivety.

Cheers,

[nutbox]

Hi there,
A fuse is only needed for long term because it is a safety thing to stop the electrical items getting damaged if a sudden short or high current happens,where's you are only connecting them for a few seconds you should be alright.
As for resistors if the LEDs are ready made to run on 12v they should have them already installed.
Hope this helps

[Titus A Duxass]

A fuse is needed!

Place a fuse as close to the battery as possible.
If you get a short to earth - first the insulation on the wire melts giving off copious amounts of evil smoke, then the wire begins to glow like an electric fire and then ......

[AdrianC]

A fuse is needed!

Once they're wired in to the van, definitely - but I wouldn't bother for just testing the leds like that.

If you get a short to earth - first the insulation on the wire melts giving off copious amounts of evil smoke, then the wire begins to glow like an electric fire and then ......

You swear and drop it, breaking the circuit...

[Oh Danny Boy]

Thanks for the help everyone.

In the end i just went ahead and tried it direct to battery. No issues/problems trying 3 different styles of LED lighting - just for the few seconds to test. Thought i update should anyone else be in the same shoes.

cheers,

[billybigspud]

I use a jump pack for testing all my stuff. You can move it around easily then.