Natwerk Designs

Will an LED work as a flywheel diode?

I'm designing a circuit to control stepper motors, and I thought it would be nice to light LEDs when each coil is energized. Will these be sufficient to also function as flywheel diodes to prevent voltage spikes from going back into my Darlington transistors? I'm only studying mechanical engineering; EE is a bit out of my field.

Public Comments

1. You didnt give the voltages or the amperages ........ depending on that I would say yes.
2. LED's will not have the current carrying capability to prevent inductive spikes.
3. LEDs have higher forward voltages, which is probably OK in this instance, but they do not have nearly has high peak reverse voltages (PRV) as rectifier diodes. The first large forward inductive spike that comes along will probably put the LED into zener (reverse conduction), possibly blow it out, and there still might be enough energy (current) left to damage the output darlington. .