01-16-2010, 06:32 AM
Les,
Without having the current rating of the lamp, I would start out with a much higher value resistor. I'm guessing, but I'd say that a grain of wheat lamp would be in around the 50 milliamp range. If you have a resistor that's around 1K to 1.5K ohm, you might not get the brightness you want, but you won't blow the bulb either. I'd then drop the value a bit more, but a 330 ohm resistor in a 13.8 (12 volt nominal) circuit sounds a bit low.
If you are using a decoder, I'd listen to what Woodone has to say since he has the most experience with decoders than anyone else that I know.
Without having the current rating of the lamp, I would start out with a much higher value resistor. I'm guessing, but I'd say that a grain of wheat lamp would be in around the 50 milliamp range. If you have a resistor that's around 1K to 1.5K ohm, you might not get the brightness you want, but you won't blow the bulb either. I'd then drop the value a bit more, but a 330 ohm resistor in a 13.8 (12 volt nominal) circuit sounds a bit low.
If you are using a decoder, I'd listen to what Woodone has to say since he has the most experience with decoders than anyone else that I know.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD