Tutorial 5: 555 LED Flasher

Created on: 31 July 2012
Updated on: 14 January 2023

A 555 LED flasher circuit for beginners in electronics. In this tutorial, a 555 (triple five) timer IC (integrated circuit) is used to flash or blink an LED on and off. The circuit is easy to build on an electronic breadboard for beginners.

The video below shows the 555 LED flasher circuit in action:

In this tutorial you will learn:

  • About integrated circuits (ICs)
  • More about circuit diagrams.

Prerequisites

Complete tutorial 2 and read about integrated circuits.

555 LED Flasher Circuit Components

In addition to a breadboard, wire links, 9V battery and battery clip, you will need:

Qty Part Designator Notes Type
1 10k resistor (brown - black - orange) R2 1/4W, 5% or better Resistors
1 4k7 resistor (yellow - violet - red) R1 1/4W, 5% or better
1 1k resistor (brown - black - red) R3 1/4W, 5% or better
1 100uF C1 Electrolytic, 16V or more

Try using different capacitor values to see the LED flash at a different rate - e.g. try 10uF for a faster flash rate
Capacitors
1 10n (0.01uF) C2 Non-polarized
1 NE555 U1 555 timer IC Semiconductors
1 5mm red LED D1 Other colored and sized LEDs could also be used, e.g. 3mm green LED

555 LED Flasher Circuit Diagram

The 555 LED flasher circuit diagram is shown below. Note the following:

  1. The connection point for the positive terminal of the 9V battery is displayed as a circle at the end of a line with the label "+9V". This is just another way of showing where to apply power to the circuit.
  2. The 0V or "GND" of the circuit is shown as an inverted triangle at the bottom of the circuit. This is where the negative lead of the battery must be connected.
  3. The schematic symbol for the 555 timer IC is not drawn to the layout of the physical 555 IC. I.e. it does not have pins 1 to 4 on one side and pins 5 to 8 on the other. Schematic symbols for ICs are often laid out differently to the physical IC. This makes it easier to read the schematic diagram. Even though the pins are in different places in the schematic, they still have the correct pin numbers and names as the physical IC.
555 LED flasher circuit diagram
555 LED Flasher Circuit Diagram

This picture shows a top view of the physical 555 timer IC with pin numbering. Compare it to the schematic symbol.

555 timer pinout
555 Timer IC Pin Numbering

Building the 555 LED Flasher Circuit

Plug the 555 timer IC into the breadboard across the middle insulating channel. None of the IC's pins will be shorted out because of the middle insulating channel. Using wire links, connect pin 8 of the IC to the top rail and pin 1 of the IC to the bottom rail. Get a wire link ready to connect between pins 6 and 2 of the IC.

Insert the IC
Insert the 555 Timer IC and Two Wire Links into the Breadboard

Use the wire link to join pin 2 of the IC to pin 6. Get the 10nF capacitor ready and some wire links.

Insert wire link
Join Pin 2 of the 555 IC to Pin 6

Connect one pin of the 10nF capacitor (C2) to pin 5 of the IC and the other pin of the capacitor to the bottom rail of the breadboard . This is done using two wire links in the photo. Get wire links ready to connect pin 4 of the IC to the top rail.

Insert the 10n capacitor
Wire the 10n Capacitor

Use wire links to connect pin 4 of the IC to the top breadboard rail. In the photo, three links are used to do this. Get resistors R1 (4k7) and R2 (10k) ready.

Insert wire links
Wire Pin 4 of the 555 IC to the Top Breadboard Rail

Connect the 10k resistor (R2) between pins 6 and 7 of the IC. Connect the 4k7 resistor (R1) between pin 7 of the IC and the top breadboard rail. Get the 100uF capacitor ready.

Insert resistors
Connect Resistors R1 and R2 to the Breadboard Circuit

Connect the positive lead of the 100µF capacitor (C1) to pin 2 of the IC and the negative lead to the bottom breadboard rail. Get the LED and the 1k resistor ready.

Insert 100uF capacitor
Connect the 100µF Capacitor (C1) to the Circuit

Connect the 1k resistor (R3) to pin 3 of the IC. Connect the other pin of the resistor into a free connecting strip of the breadboard. Connect the anode of the LED to the free end of R3 and the cathode of the LED to the bottom rail.

Check the 555 LED flasher circuit that you have built against the schematic diagram. Go around the IC and check that each pin is connected to what the schematic says it must be connected to.

If you are sure that your circuit is correct, connect the positive lead of the 9V battery to the top breadboard rail and the negative lead to the bottom breadboard rail and watch the LED flash on and off.

Try a different value capacitor for C1 to see the rate that the LED flashes change. For example try a 10uF capacitor to see the flash rate speed up.

Connect the battery
Connect the Battery to the Completed 555 IC Circuit