Circuit Wiring Solution

Why Build a Power supply Protection Circuit Diagram. When using a regulated supply to reduce a supply voltage there is always the danger of component failure in the supply and consequent damage to the equipment. A fuse will protect when excess current is drawn, but might be too slow to cope with over voltage conditions. The values shown are for a 12 V supply being dropped to 5 V.

Power supply Protection Circuit Diagram



The trip voltage is set to 5.7 V to protect the equipment in the event of a regulator fault. The 330 ohm resistor and the 500 ohm potentiometer form a potential divider which samples the output voltage as set by adjustment of the potentiometer. The SCR is selected to carry at least twice the fuse rating. The full supply voltage is connected to the input of the regulator.

The 2N2906 is held bias off by the 10 k resistor and the SCR so that the LED is held off. If the output voltage rises above a set trip value then the SCR will conduct, the fuse will blow, and the 2N3906 will be supplied with base current via the 10 k resistor, and the LED will light up.