• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Circuit Ideas for You

Get free circuit ideas online.

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
Home » Simple LED Voltmeter Circuit

Simple LED Voltmeter Circuit

Last updated on 19 June 2025 by Admin-Lavi Leave a Comment

This Simple LED Voltmeter Circuit is like small battery checker but with cool lights.

Not like phone bar this one is used in many tiny lights like LEDs to show how much battery is still there.

More lights turn ON when battery is more full and each light become ON at different voltage.

It also use special diodes called Zener and some resistors to give right power to lights so they shine good.

So just take a small look and we can know how much power is left in the battery

Circuit Working:

Simple LED Voltmeter Circuit Diagram

Parts List:

CategoryDescriptionQuantity
Resistors (All resistors are 1/4 watt)150Ω, 120Ω, 82Ω, 33Ω1 each
CapacitorElectrolytic 100µF 25V1
SemiconductorsZener diode 9V, 10V, 11V, 12V1 each
LEDs 5mm 20mA (Red 10.6V, Orange 11.6V, Yellow 12.6V, Green 13.6V)1 each

This is simple LED voltmeter it checks how much charge is in lead acid or tubular battery.

It have got four small lights like LEDs to show battery voltage.

Lead acid battery are full at 13.8V and tubular one are full at 14.8V.

This voltmeter uses four Zener diodes each one turn ON LED when voltage hit the diodes breaking point.

But for Zener to break and work the voltage must go 1.6V higher than its number.

If battery have 13.6V or more then all Zeners break down and all lights will turn ON.

If battery goes down below 10.6V then no lights will show and all will be OFF.

So lights turn ON or OFF one by one depends how much voltage battery have.

Formula:

This circuit uses resistors and LEDs to show battery voltage.

When voltage across resistor reach certain point then LED will turn ON.

Resistors divide battery power.

We can find voltage on each resistor using this formula:

V = I * R

where:

  • V is voltage on resistor
  • I is current going through
  • R is resistor value

Current connects same through all resistors and LEDs because they are in series.

When LED gets current it drop some voltage and this is called forward voltage.

Red LED usually drop around 1.8V.

To know voltage across LED uses this formula:

V = Vf + Vr

where:

  • V is voltage across LED
  • Vf is LED forward voltage
  • Vr is voltage drop on resistor with LED.

Capacitor C1 help remove noise from battery voltage.

When we choose capacitor think about what kind of filtering we need.

How to Build:

To build a Simple LED Voltmeter Circuit follow the below mentioned steps:

  • First connect battery positive side to one end of resistor.
  • Then connect other side of resistor to long leg anode of first LED.
  • Now connect short leg cathode of first LED to long leg anode of first Zener diode.
  • After that connect short leg cathode of first Zener to long leg anode of second Zener diode.
  • Do same steps for next LEDs and Zener diodes and connect them one after another in line.
  • At end connect short leg cathode of last Zener diode to battery negative side.

Note:

  • Before using with battery test circuit with power supply.
  • If LEDs do not turn ON at right voltage then change resistor values to fix.

Conclusion:

Simple LED voltmeter circuit is cheap and easy way to check the power voltage.

It uses LEDs and Zener diodes to show voltage with lights so we can see voltage level easily.

It is very useful in many things like cars, battery chargers and other devices where we need to watch voltage.

This circuit give simple and good way to know if voltage is high or low.

References:

Digital Voltmeter – TriColor LED Output

Voltmeter

Filed Under: Indicator Circuits

About Admin-Lavi

Lavi is a B.Tech electronics engineer with a passion for designing new electronic circuits. Do you have questions regarding the circuit diagrams presented on this blog? Feel free to comment and solve your queries with quick replies

Previous Post: « Simple Power Strip Surge Protector Circuit
Next Post: Simple IC 555 PWM Generator Circuit »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar




Categories

  • Alarm Circuits (30)
  • Amplifier Circuits (67)
  • Arduino Projects (29)
  • Audio Circuits (93)
  • Automobile Circuits (19)
  • Battery Charger Circuits (48)
  • Free Energy (13)
  • Heater and Temperature Controllers (9)
  • Indicator Circuits (38)
  • Inverter Circuits (13)
  • LDR Circuits (13)
  • LED and Lamps (111)
  • Meters and Testers (27)
  • Motor Controllers (18)
  • Oscillator Circuits (32)
  • Power Supply Circuits (91)
  • Remote Control Circuits (6)
  • Security and Protection (23)
  • Sensors and Detectors (71)
  • Solar Circuits (16)
  • Timer Circuits (27)
  • Transistor Circuits (56)
  • Transmitter Circuit (12)
  • Tutorials (4)
  • Water Level Controller (4)

Copyright © 2025 | New Circuit Ideas