Block for smooth ignition of halogen lamps. Smooth ignition of headlights. Installation and connection of the halogen lamp protection unit
Ilyich's light bulbs still remain leaders in popularity due to their price, but they have a very big drawback - a short service life due to the destruction of the filament during switching on. Currently, electronic devices have been developed for smoothly switching on incandescent lamps, which supply voltage to the coil from zero to maximum in a few seconds. Gradual heating of the filament allows you to extend the life of the light bulb several times, instead of the stated 1000 hours. Developed circuits for self-assembly have few parts and usually do not require adjustment. In this article we will look at how to smoothly switch on 220 V incandescent lamps with your own hands.
Attention! The devices in question have mains voltage on their elements and require special care during assembly and commissioning.
Thyristor circuit
In the circuit of the rectifier bridge VD1, VD2, VD3, VD4, EL1 is used as a load and current limiter. The rectifier arms contain thyristor VS1 and a shift chain R1 and R2, C1. The installation of a diode bridge is determined by the specific operation of the thyristor.
After applying voltage to the circuit, current flows through the filament and enters the rectifier bridge, then the electrolyte capacity is charged through the resistor. When the voltage reaches the opening threshold of the thyristor, it opens and passes the incandescent light bulb current through itself. This results in a gradual, smooth heating of the tungsten coil. The warm-up time depends on the capacitance of the capacitor and resistor.
Triac circuit
The triac circuit contains fewer parts due to the use of triac VS1 as a power switch. 
Element L1 for suppressing interference that occurs when opening the power switch can be excluded from the circuit. Resistor R1 limits the current to the control electrode VS1. The time-setting circuit is made of resistor R2 and capacitance C1, which are powered through diode VD1. The operating scheme is similar to the previous one; when the capacitor is charged to the opening voltage of the triac, it opens and current begins to flow through it and the lamp.
The photo below shows a triac regulator. In addition to regulating the power in the load, it also smoothly supplies current to the incandescent lamp during switching on.
Circuit on a specialized chip
The Kr1182pm1 microcircuit is specially designed for building all kinds of phase regulators.
In this case, the microcircuit itself regulates the voltage on an incandescent light bulb with a power of up to 150 watts. If you need to control a more powerful load, a larger number of illuminators at the same time, a power triac is added to the control circuit. How to do this, see the following figure:
The use of these soft-start devices is not limited only to incandescent lamps; they are also recommended to be installed together with halogen lamps for 220 V. Devices similar in operating principle are installed in power tools that smoothly start the motor armature, also extending the service life of the device several times.
Important! It is strictly not recommended to install this device with fluorescent and LED sources. This is due to different circuit designs, operating principles, and the presence of each device’s own source of smooth heating for compact fluorescent lamps or the absence of the need for this regulation for LEDs.
In addition to the aesthetic pleasures of the gradual lighting of the headlights, the ignition circuit also has practical value for lamps. There will be no sudden voltage surges on the lamps, which will increase its service life and protect against unwanted burnouts. To implement a smooth ignition circuit for car headlights, the most important element will be a field-effect transistor.
You need to take a fairly powerful transistor designed for currents up to 25 A. Naturally, the transistor will need to be installed on a heat sink, it will heat up decently. The circuit can also be used for LED lamps or strips, then such a powerful transistor is not needed, but we will still consider the circuit for powerful incandescent lamps, because it is valid in any case, regardless of what light source is on the load.
When setting the values shown in the diagram, the time to turn on/off the headlights will be approximately 3-4 seconds. The delay time is set by an RC circuit (in the diagram there is a 51 kOhm resistor and a 220 µF capacitor). You can experiment with the resistor value, choosing the turn-on and decay time you need. The smaller the resistor value, the faster the capacitor will charge/discharge.
The field-effect transistor was used brand IRF9540; as a bipolar transistor that controls the switching on of the field switch, you can take S9014 or the domestic analogue KT3102.
Please note that the capacitor is polar, incorrect polarity applied to the electrolyte will immediately explode it, be careful. A power of 0.25 W is enough for all resistors in the circuit. Before installing it in your car, be sure to experiment with how long the on/off time is. If the values are set incorrectly, the delay time can extend to a couple of minutes.
Halogen lamp protection block Granite
Halogen lamps have an unpleasant feature - they burn out when turned on. Conventional lamps, of course, also have this disadvantage, but not to such an extent.
Halogen and incandescent lamps, as a rule, burn out when turned on, when the filament is still relatively cold and its resistance is low. In this case, a large current jump occurs, and a short-term high power is released on the spiral. This effect is described in detail on SamElectric in the article.
To extend the life of halogen lamps, the following device was invented - halogen lamp protection unit. The principle of operation of the protection unit is extremely simple - since the lamp burns out at the moment of a sharp jump in current through it, this device is connected in series with the lamp and limits the current at the initial moment.
The current, and therefore the brightness, gradually increases over 1 - 2 seconds. Connecting the protection unit is not difficult. It has two terminals, polarity, input-output and phase-ground do not matter. It is better to connect it in series with the switch in a phase break.
Such a unit is sometimes called a soft starter, a protection device, or a protection device. The device is used not only for halogen, but also for conventional incandescent lamps.
Installation and connection of the halogen lamp protection unit
Physically, the protection unit can be installed in the ceiling, directly at the location where the lamp is installed. If there are several lamps, then the block is placed in front of the first lamp, as shown in the photo below.
Installing a protection unit in the ceiling
It is easier to place the protection unit in the mounting box under the switch, if free space allows and if the power of the unit does not exceed 300 W.
If a backlit switch is used, it is recommended to connect a resistor with a resistance of 33 kOhm - 100 kOhm and a power of 1-2 W in parallel to the unit. This is not done for the reason described in the SamElectric article. There's another reason. For the backlight to glow, current must flow through the lamp circuit, but the protection unit in the inactive state represents a break. As a result, without a resistor, the backlight will not work or will be very dim.
If 12 Volt halogen lamps are used for lighting, in this case a protection unit must also be installed. When using a conventional (electromagnetic) transformer, the unit is placed in the gap of the primary winding, as shown on the label shown.
Feron blocks are available in power ratings of 150, 300, 500, 1000 W
But when using an electronic transformer, a conventional protection unit with two terminals is not suitable. In the case of an electronic transformer, you need to use a special protection unit for electronic transformers. This block has 4 outputs.
The power of the protection unit is selected based on the total power consumption of all lamps. It is necessary to make a reserve of 30-50% in power.
Another subtlety of installation. It happens that a halogen lamp fails in such a way that the filament shorts out and turns into a short circuit. This may occur as a result of falling, shaking, etc. In this case, the protection unit burns out and the entire lighting line stops working. To eliminate such unpleasant things, it is better to do the following:
- It is better to install the protection unit in an easily accessible place - in a box with a switch (socket box) or in an electrical panel. Like any electronic device, the unit can fail for various reasons and at any time. And if it is sewn into the ceiling, getting there will be problematic.
- As mentioned above, there must be a power reserve. For example, if the total power of the lamps is 100 W, then it is better to install a protection unit not at 150 W, but at 300 W. Better - because it's more reliable. And a difference of 20 - 30 rubles will not play a role.
- If possible, it is better to install a separate circuit breaker for each lighting line. In this case, select the denomination so that the reserve is minimal. Moreover, there will no longer be a current surge at the moment of switching on. In the event of a short circuit, there is a high chance that the machine will work and save the death protection unit. It should be noted that in this case it will not be possible to install more powerful lamps (for example, not 20, but 35 W; not 35, but 50 W)
Selecting a halogen lamp protection unit
The choice in this case is made according to two criteria.
Power. This article says enough about this.
Manufacturer. But this criterion needs to be considered in more detail. Now on sale, in particular, there are protection units from the following manufacturers:
- Feron (China)
- Granite (Belarus)
- Camelion (China)
- Zipper (Russia – China)
- Shepro (Russia)
- Composite (Russia)
- Uniel
Let's consider only the first two, since I personally have not seen the latter on sale, and there are few reviews on them.
The advantage of Feron is undoubtedly the price. But this is the only advantage. The disadvantages should be listed (although, depending on your luck, they may not appear):
- flash when turned on, then normal operation (smooth increase)
- a large voltage drop, as a result - the lamps burn at half-glow, and the protection unit itself begins to heat up and even smoke
- flickering when turned on and during operation
- high level of interference emitted into the power grid
- poor quality of soldering and used parts
Feron – in a word, China!
Among the shortcomings of the Granite halogen lamp protection unit, only one can be cited. These are the dimensions. Maybe this is a trifle, but it won’t fit in the socket anymore. The price is not much higher, but the main thing is stability and reliability of operation!
Read also mine. And also an article about halogen lamps.
So, choose between quality and price and install!
Recently, xenon and LED lamps have become most popular in automotive lighting. However, not all car headlights are designed to install such light sources, because... Replacing lamps with non-standard ones leads to a change in the luminous flux of the head lighting. Also, the use of xenon headlights in some cases is prohibited by law and interferes with other road users. Therefore, halogen lamps with increased light output are used. However, such lamps are much more expensive than conventional lamps and have a limited service life.
To increase the service life of halogen lamps with increased luminous efficiency, various devices called dimmers are used. These devices ensure smooth heating of the lamp filament, which prevents the destruction of the cold filament at the moment of switching on. The market for such devices is represented quite widely, and each device has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantages are large dimensions and complexity of installation. Often, intervention in the standard electrical wiring is required, which can lead to disruption of the operation of many systems and components of the car and can cause problems with the warranty.
Taking into account all the above features, we developed and put into production controller for smooth switching on of halogen lamps - KPVL.
Distinctive features of our soft ignition device are small dimensions and ease of installation without making any changes to the vehicle's electrical wiring. The delivery set consists of two identical devices that are installed in each car headlight and connected to the lamps via connectors.
The use of modern electronic components has made it possible to obtain high reliability of the controller smooth ignition, wide operating temperature range and small size. The power components used in the device allow you to connect lamps with a power of up to 100W to it.
The operating principle of the controller is as follows: when turned on, the device ensures an increase in current from 0 to the nominal value within 5 seconds, which leads to a smooth heating of the filaments of the lamps, eliminating excess current surges through the cold filament, and also reduces the peak load on the generator and electrical wiring. In turn, a smooth increase in voltage across the lamp eliminates the destruction of the filament at the moment of switching on and significantly increases its service life.
We also took into account peculiarity of the operation of lamps with a double spiral (H4), which consists in the fact that only one thread (low or high beam) works at a time. Some similar devices, when switching the light from high to low, begin smooth ignition again, which leads to a short-term loss of road lighting at night, which, of course, can cause emergency situations. Our device has a function to control the inclusion of high beams on such lamps, and such a situation is excluded.
It should also be noted that a smooth increase in the brightness of the lamps creates beautiful visual effect, which of course will give your car individuality.
The topic is actually not mine. I wouldn’t even tell all the people about, for example, my cooking of cabbage soup if I’m a complete zero in cooking! So that no one accidentally gets poisoned...Did I say that the scheme (both) is bad??? I just said that it (them) should not be used for car headlights.
I spoke out after I saw another assessment of the “work of smooth switching on of headlights” by a person who, to put it mildly, was deceived. (Nowadays it is generally not considered shameful to lie, steal, rob, kill - the excuse is: “this is the time.”)So.
You provided a link to a forum where someone “made a device” according to the second (of the ones discussed here) scheme. After some time, he assessed its “work”: “...I think that when using high-glow lamps, this smooth ignition will extend its service life by no more than 30-40 percent, because after ignition the lamp operates in normal mode ..." Before this message, he spoke a couple of times: "...Maxim! I called Andrey! He is now installing transistors on radiators, because at 14.2-14.3 V they heat up like a child. He makes a separate block for each headlight, two headlights at once, one block can’t stand it. Something like this....” and “...The lamp flares up in 1-1.5 seconds and it’s visually difficult to catch this moment...” That is, it was easy for the “master” to scratch his tongue, but it DIDN’T work out to make a normally working device! The lamp flares up not only in 1 second, but in 0.2 seconds - very noticeable!!! (What was done can be seen very well: in the “second circuit” only the transistor IRF4905 and resistor R2 were left (see diagram). That is, a simple SWITCH was made on the transistor! Because even the slightest delay in opening the transistor leads to a strong Such a product cannot be heated and given to the customer who paid for the work (if it’s free, or “post the diagram on the internet” - then you can!).What I would suggest (it’s clear that putting on the Internet a diagram and a program that was not created for free (talking about money, of course, is a waste, but which of you, us, does not work for a salary???), I’m not entirely comfortable , but I don’t want to spew nonsense about making piston bulbs and other electronic components at home):
1. The link http://silich.ru/drl-free.html has already appeared here. The circuit uses a power smart switch BTS555, which has both a driver and current protection - the device is worthy of consideration. PWM control of the power switch here is provided by the processor. The circuits of such devices produced by serious companies are much more complex (I’m not talking about scammers and Ketais - everything is quite simple for them).
2. So that the “assessments” that I mentioned at the beginning do not appear, maybe it makes sense not to engage in the production of what there is no understanding of? And don’t fall for “masters” who are ready to make anything “for beer” - even make any electronic unit, even sing an aria from an opera...
3. Let me remind you of an old joke about opera:
- I heard this Pavarotti - so, some kind of bullshit.
- And where did you hear him?
- That’s what Rabinovich sang to me.
