I have 14 eaches, squeeze LED lights. Two flat thin cells, I think are CR-2016. Is it cheaper to replace the batteries, or should I pitch them and buy new?
The LED can be removed relatively easily. Can that run on three D cells for a super long lasting night light? I remember something about a current limiter resistor.
Andy comments:
I'l like to present something here that is of general interest.
The LED flashlights that one gets for free from Harbor Freight have 9 LEDs , in paralled, run by three AAA cells with no current limiting resistor. The current draw is in the neighborhood of 160 ma.....
I fabricated a piece that can be inserted into the back of the flashlight without modification of the original unit.
It is a piece of double sided G-10 board, approx the size of a dime, with the copper trimmed slighly away from the edges to keep copper on each side from shorting to the case of the light. A small notch is cut, and a 100 ohm resistor is inserted so that the current will flow from one side, thru the resistor, to the other side.
The "coin" is then inserted into the BACK of the flashlight and the back cap screwed back on...
This effectively inserts a 100 ohm resistor between the negative terminal of the battery and the negative terminal of the flashlite
--- a current limiting resistor....
The resultant current is 16 mils (approx) to the nine LED array, total.....
The light output decreases, but still puts out enough to read by, or find one's way in the dark. My guess is about
1/3 or the original, by eyeball only......The batteries are no longer working into a short circuit, but only supplying about 1/10 of the original current, and should last at least
10 times a long as before....If one wants to restore full brightness, one has only to remove the "coin" insert....
I've done this with about a dozen LED flashlights that I keep in the car, house, pocket, garage, etc.... It works well..
Give it a try. If you have a more simply, or more innovative way to accomplish this, I'd be most interested in learning about it...
Andy in Eureka, Texas P.E.
Great idea! I'd use a 25 - 50 ohm resistor to get more brightness and still have longer life than the original. My experience always seems to be the battery self-destructs after a couple of years before I use the light enough to drain the battery from actual use.
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