Ledengin 10w wring problem

[Darth Solace]

Hello again everyone.
As the subject implies, I have an ledengin 10 w gggg that I am attempting to wire at full powah. I followed the tutorial at tcss and wired each pair of dies in series. When I attach the leads to a battery pack, they all come on, but are so dim that you barely notice they're on at all. However, when I touch the battery leads to the individual pads on the led, one die will come on and is extremely bright.
I am convinced that I am doing something wrong, though I am not sure what. The voltage I am using is a 4aaa pack, around 6 volts. Since all the LEDs come on it seems that I wired it properly. Is 6 volts not enough? Please help.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

What board are you using? If you are not using  a soundcard, then no, around 6V is not enough.

[CHEWBACCA]

they should not all be in series.  You should have a series/parallel circuit.

make two pairs in series then wire those series in parallel. 


                   

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

they should not all be in series.  You should have a series/parallel circuit.

make two pairs in series then wire those series in parallel. 
               

I think that's what he's describing - 2 series pair in parallel.

[Solan Starr]

I think you have 2 problems with that battery solution. Under voltage and under current. LedEngins are notoriously voltage hungry. You're probably looking at a forward voltage on the green of 4.2 volts each. Paired up, you're looking at 8.4 volts, or a 2 cell li-ion pack. Wired that way, your led is probably wanting 3 amps. AAs wouldn't provide that discharge rate, let alone AAA.  At a minimum, I would use 2 AW 18650s in a pack. the panasonics from TCSS might work. I haven't messed with LedEngins in a long time and I've never wired for FullPowah(tm) so I'm not the definitive answer. I'm sure someone else will be along shortly whose word I would take over mine. Good luck.

[Darth Solace]

No board. The only one I have at the moment is an mr vader board which I'm assuming won't work. I was only using the 4aaa battery pack as a test, not necessarily my final power solution. And yes, there are two pairs wired in series and ran in parallel to the battery. It's my first attempt at a ledengin so I'm not real familiar with what it needs. I had been hoping to use it to replace a Red Seoul in one of my sabers. It is using rechargeable li-ion though I'm not certain what type. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be.

[COUNT DOOKU]

Pretty simple fix sir, You don't have enough voltage, (and perhaps current) going to your LED. the MR vader board could be wired in with a 5V regulator, but you would have to run the circuits separately (or use a Relay) so the LED could get enough juice. Kinda complicated. :P A Nano Biscotti is what you want. ;)

One LEDengine Green die need ~3.6V, wired in series Both would need 7.0-7.4v. I can't remember the exact specs right now. A AAA Battery pack only outputs 6V MAX. So you are underpowering your LEDs. In addition, AAA have very small capacities, so their ma output is most likely limited.

I recommend a TCSS 7.4V Li-ion pack. 18650 if you can fit it. That will provide the 7.4v which you need. And of course, resistor accordingly.

[Darth Solace]

Count dooku, you are truly wise. I've been wanting to purchase a nano for a while, now I have a good reason to do it :) I'll definitely try this. One other question however. What if I wired all 4 dies in parallel? Would that then require 4 times the current?

[COUNT DOOKU]

That is correct. Parallel wiring setup require MORE current and LESS voltage. Series wiring setups require MORE voltage and LESS current. The trick is finding the balance between the two.

4 Dies in parallel, means the LED will want 4000 milliamps, or 4Amp. Most cells that I know of, have their PCB protection setup to cap the ma output at 3 Amps. So, if you go that route, I would check the specs on the cells you choose to ensure they can output that much. Worse case, as far as I understand it, is you have 3A being spread across 4 LEDs which means they would each get 750ma. Not shabby, but not full powah like you are trying to achieve either.

Or, with the new NB v2, you can wire up some FOC goodness. Which brings a whole new life to the look of any saber.

[Darth Solace]

Awesome. Thank you all for your help.