# Electron And Car Battery **URL:** \ **Category:** Hardware\ **Tags:** electron\ **Created:** [January 24, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341 "2020-01-24T04:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![n1849778](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/n1849778/32/2868_2.png) [@n1849778](https://community.particle.io/u/n1849778)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/1 "2020-01-24T04:42:00Z")
This questions is about the Particle Electron Asset Tracker shield. Am I able to connect the car battery directly to the Electron 12VDC terminal (blue terminal). See image below. I read the spec for the shield and it says 5 to 12 VDC. Recognizing that the the car battery voltage is any where between 13.7 to 14.7VDC when the vehicle is running, and is usually above 12.6VDC. If it cannot be connected to the car battery, is there other suggestions that I can employ? Maybe a buck convert or additional battery perhaps? ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/3X/f/3/f3c9f1ec0d453947997280ee76518924403477ab.png) ---
**Author:** ![ScruffR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/scruffr/32/6952_2.png) [@ScruffR](https://community.particle.io/u/ScruffR)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/2 "2020-01-24T05:17:25Z")
I wouldn't directly connect it. The nominal voltage range of the car battery is your least concern - you should be much more concerned about the transient voltage spikes during cranking which can go _ **much** _ higher. Have a look here > [@Connect to your car with Carloop](https://community.particle.io/t/connect-to-your-car-with-carloop/19457/10): > > The regulator design is from the open-source OpenXC project by Ford research. I used that for the 1st version since it’s an automotive-grade design. The big cap is to survive low voltages during cranking. The power supply is one area I’m changing in successive PCB revisions. I’m looking for a good balance between component size, cost and ability to survive automotive transients like these: [image] ---
**Author:** ![rickkas7](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rickkas7/32/8681_2.png) [@rickkas7](https://community.particle.io/u/rickkas7)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 11:24am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/3 "2020-01-24T11:24:36Z")
What ScruffR said is correct. We do not recommend connecting a vehicle supply directly to an Electron or AssetTracker shield. This application note is more geared toward Gen 3 devices (Boron), but would also work with the Electron and AssetTracker. [AN006-Vehicle-Power](https://github.com/particle-iot/app-notes/tree/master/AN006-Vehicle-Power) ---
**Author:** ![dougal](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/dougal/32/20713_2.png) [@dougal](https://community.particle.io/u/dougal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/4 "2020-01-24T19:54:31Z")
I picked up one of these step-down modules designed for automotive use a while back. Less than $10 on Amazon: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M03288J/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_asin\_title\_o02\_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M03288J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) ---
**Author:** ![n1849778](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/n1849778/32/2868_2.png) [@n1849778](https://community.particle.io/u/n1849778)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/5 "2020-01-24T21:02:55Z")
Just ordered on from Amazon. I will test her out and see how it pans. ---
**Author:** ![Mjones](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/mjones/32/21658_2.png) [@Mjones](https://community.particle.io/u/Mjones)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/6 "2020-01-24T23:58:57Z")
Does the asset tracker shield use the same voltage regulator as the relay shield? ---
**Author:** ![ScruffR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/scruffr/32/6952_2.png) [@ScruffR](https://community.particle.io/u/ScruffR)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/7 "2020-01-25T06:13:57Z")
You can look at the BOM in the open source repo 😉 > **[particle-iot/shields](https://github.com/particle-iot/shields)** > > Repo for shield files for the Particle boards. Contribute to particle-iot/shields development by creating an account on GitHub. ---
**Author:** ![Mjones](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/mjones/32/21658_2.png) [@Mjones](https://community.particle.io/u/Mjones)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/8 "2020-01-25T13:52:26Z")
I was just curious, because if so it should be able to handle up to 24vdc. I have a relay shield running off of 24v for several years now. ---
**Author:** ![ScruffR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/scruffr/32/6952_2.png) [@ScruffR](https://community.particle.io/u/ScruffR)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/9 "2020-01-25T14:02:22Z")
That might be, but even 24V wouldn’t suffice when _directly_ connecting to the car’s power rail. ---
**Author:** ![n1849778](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/n1849778/32/2868_2.png) [@n1849778](https://community.particle.io/u/n1849778)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/10 "2020-02-03T03:55:48Z")
Hi Dougal, I bought the hardware you recommended and it did not work. We were applying 12.57VDC using the car battery as an input to the step-down module and the output we were getting is 0VDC. The step-down module is right out of the box. Any idea what we are doing wrong here? ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/3X/b/a/baeee9708bbd636f1bce282902cd663ebf214432.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/3X/5/8/5880471f4dee882f7627d04a6685c1d15d6aa8b8.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Rftop](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rftop/32/16896_2.png) [@Rftop](https://community.particle.io/u/Rftop)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 12:33pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/11 "2020-02-03T12:33:43Z")
@n1849778, It appears that you have a “bad one”. I’ve used about 10 of these same modules with no problem yet. I know that’s not a huge sample set. ---
**Author:** ![peekay123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/peekay123/32/810_2.png) [@peekay123](https://community.particle.io/u/peekay123)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/12 "2020-02-03T12:37:40Z")
@n1849778, you could try putting a load on the 5v output like an LED and resistor to see if the converter “wakes”. ---
**Author:** ![n1849778](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/n1849778/32/2868_2.png) [@n1849778](https://community.particle.io/u/n1849778)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/13 "2020-02-03T15:50:55Z")
Tried putting an LED and the it did not wake up. I have tried connecting the Electron and it did not work either. ---
**Author:** ![n1849778](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/n1849778/32/2868_2.png) [@n1849778](https://community.particle.io/u/n1849778)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/14 "2020-02-03T15:51:55Z")
I am just pondering. I am plying 12.57VDC. Do I have to apply at least 24VDC to get 5VDC? For you case where you tried 10 of these deivces, were to connecting them to the 12VDC car battery? ---
**Author:** ![peekay123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/peekay123/32/810_2.png) [@peekay123](https://community.particle.io/u/peekay123)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/15 "2020-02-03T18:34:11Z")
@n1849778, the device should operate at 12v. You should disconnect everything but the LED and resistor (\> 1K ohms) to the output. Make sure you have the correct polarity when connecting the LED. ---
**Author:** ![n1849778](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/n1849778/32/2868_2.png) [@n1849778](https://community.particle.io/u/n1849778)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-and-car-battery/54341/16 "2020-02-03T19:53:32Z")
Polarity in LED is correct and resister in series. No dice. I think the converter is bad. I have contacted Amazon for refund and have ordered another one.