Control 3W RGB LED with arduino

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I’m not sure how to do this, I have this led 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000289954769.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dKIwSHh 

the 4 pin 3w rgb led.

I want to be able to control it using an Arduino (ideally I would control 4 – 6 leds).

By controlling I mean not only control the color but also turning it on and off.

arduinoledShareEditFollowFlagasked yesterdayGB53955 bronze badges

• 1I think this question can be answered with a quick google search. – Damien yesterday
• 3I’m voting to close this question because it lacks of research – Damien yesterday
• 2You need a 350 mA PWM low side driver for 3 ch. and a large heat sink. What’s the problem? Choosing a 1V 15A FET? – Tony Stewart Sunnyskyguy EE75 yesterday 
• 2You need 3 switches, controlled by arduino. Best choise MOSFETs. – user263983 yesterday
• 1Your web link is very good, because it shows a big variety of products, and also give detailed description of specifications of physical and electrical properties. For newbies, I would recommend to prototype with low power (1W per LED), and more pins (2 pin per LED). My suggestion is this one: 3W RGB 6 Pin 3V 350mA Power LED i.imgur.com/UgfFkHj.jpg. – tlfong01 yesterday    
• (1) I suggest low voltage (3V) and low power (1W), low current (350mA) because for higher power, 6V/12, 3~5A power LEDs you need 5V/12V power MOSFET PWM switches. (2) I suggest 6 pin, instead of 4 pin (fixed common Cathode/Anode) modules, because you have more flexibility in circuit design. (3) For playing with power LED PWM, I suggest to try the following cheapy (US$0.9) PWM module: AliEXpress Diymore LED Lamp Driver PWM Dimmer DC7-30V to DC1.2-28V 350mA 1W DC-DC Converter Buck Step Down Module / to continue, … – tlfong01 yesterday
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• es.aliexpress.com/item/… Have a great power LED lamp project. Good luck. Cheers. – tlfong01 yesterday   
• I forgot two more things. (1) For preliminary testing, you don’t need to use Arduino. You can use the following handy testing tool to get the Voltage/Current/Brightness charteristics: AliEXpres Diymore-DC-DC Step-Down Button Adjustable Power Supply Module with LCD Display DC5-23V to DC0-16.5V 3A US$ 2.84: / to continue, … – tlfong01 yesterday   
• es.aliexpress.com/item/…. – tlfong01 yesterday   
• If you later want to do precise PWM LED control, you can consider this cheapy US$2 goody: XY-LPWM 1Hz-150Khz, PWM Pulse Frequency Cycle Adjustable Signal Generator Module 3.3V-30V LCD Display US$1.72 es.aliexpress.com/item/…. Cheers. – tlfong01 yesterday  
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• TonyStewartSunnyskyguyEE75 That (Electronics is not my beach) and also the fact that I don’t really understand where for instance I would connect the signal data port from arduino to the led (according to the description one is the positive,which I assume cant be the signal port and everything else is ground?) and on my search i didnt found any project using rgb 3w with 4 pins explaining it. @tlfong01 thanks! I’m going to look through the material you recommended and see if i can come up with something. – GB5 23 hours ago
• @GB5, You are welcome. For newbies, I would recommend to start with just one single 350 mA LED, instead of all three R, G, B together. When you are going well, then you can of course do more LEDs, even 5!: i.imgur.com/eCLayJx.jpg. PS – to drive a 350mA load you need a transistor to help. eg Arduino drives 2N2222 (Ic 800mA max), which in turn drives one or two LED. Or you need more more powerful drivers to entertain more LEDs.. – tlfong01 7 hours ago 
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• @GB5, I must first confess that I have very little experience with power LED lamps. So my suggestions here might be simply wrong or misleading. Anyway, I am going to explore using my poorman’s cheapy tools. I will be writing some research reports now and then. It it only after I have some confidence that I am not doing stupid things, then I would consider writing an answer to you question, mainly for power LED newbies. Now I heard that Cree’s power LED is the best brand. So I googled to know more, like why there is an aluminium back plate and how to do the soldering. / to continue, … – tlfong01 5 hours ago   
• I am studying the Cree’s 5 x 3W models, before experimenting a single 1W model. 5x3W Cree XPE XP-E High Power LED Emitting Diode, Neutral White Cool White Warm White Red Green Blue Yellow with PCB – US$4.5/5 pcs es.aliexpress.com/item/… – tlfong01 5 hours ago 
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• I knew Cree’s 3W LED lamps would be too bright/dazzling for my eyes. So I decided to try the 1W LED’s first. I wired 4 single LEDs, R,G,B,Y and use the button adjustable regulator to test the brightness. I found the results very disappointing: (1) Red and Yellow turns on at around 1.7V, Yellow turns on above 3V, and Blue only turns on at around 3.3V. At this voltage, other three RGY become very dazzling and I need to use a shade, so not too blind my eyes. I have too many photos to upload in the comments here. So I am uploading them as part of my answer. – tlfong01 17 mins ago   

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1 Answer

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Question

How to use Arduino to control 3W RGB LED lamps?

Answer

I knew Cree’s 3W LED lamps would be too bright/dazzling for my eyes. So I decided to try the 1W LED’s first. I wired 4 single 1W LEDs, R, G, B, Y and use a button adjustable regulator to test the brightness.

I found the results very disappointing:

1. Red and Yellow turns on at around 1.7V,
2. Yellow only turns on at around 3V, and
3. Blue only turns on later at around 3.3V.

At this voltage level of 3V3, other three RGY become very dazzling and I need to use a shade to soften/darken the lights, so not to blind my weak eyes.

I have too many photos to upload with the comments. So I am uploading them as part of my answer here.

References

(1) AliExpress YD-XGJH RGB/RGBW/RGBWY LEDs, 3W/9W/12W/15W, 2/4/6/8 pins – US$5 ~ US$110 (The 3W RGB LED the OP hopes to control by Arduino)ShareEditDeleteFlagedited just nowanswered 8 mins agotlfong011,34411 gold badge55 silver badges99 bronze badgesadd a comment

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