Reverse Polarity Protection Circuits

Reverse Polarity Alarm

You Don't Need an Alarm to Protect Your Circuit!

Many circuits can benefit from protection against accidental reverse polarity.While most can be protected by polarized connectors to the power source, many hobbyist circuits and kits can be powered by jumper wires, thus eliminating this simple type of polarity protection. In these cases, a reverse polarity circuit would be a very useful addition to your circuit.

In this guide, we will explore three simple methods for adding this protection to your projects. This overview will only cover protection circuits on the high (positive) side of the circuit. Each of the protection methods can also be applied to the low (ground) side. The low side versions of these circuits offer the benefit of using NPN & N-channel devices instead of their PNP or P-channel equivalents, the former which are often cheaper, more readily available and sometimes higher performance. However, low side circuits change the voltage level of the ground path which could cause issues for some circuits.

If you wish to study low side approaches, App Note AN636 from Maxim is a good one to consult. I think for most circuits, the high side versions work very well and will prevent any possible problems with a low side approach. Therefore, we will only be covering the high side circuits. I just wanted to mention the low side in case your particular needs might require something different.

Diode

Reverse Protection Using a Diode

Reverse Protection Using a Diode

The first circuit we’ll consider is the ordinary rectifier diode. Simply using a diode as shown is often a good approach. Its advantages are simplicity and low cost. It contains only one component costing only pennies.

One of the biggest disadvantages is a substantial voltage drop. Since rectifier diodes typically drop around 0.8 volts, your resulting Vcc will be lower by 0.8 volts. That voltage could also vary depending on the diode, the temperature, and the load.

Another factor to consider is the extra power consumption for circuits with high current loads. Simply multiply the diode’s forward voltage (Vf) by the current you expect to draw, and you can see how much extra power this diode will use. For currents greater than 500mA, you will even need to use a larger power diode.

You can improve this circuit somewhat by using a Schottky diode instead of a rectifier diode. It has a lower voltage drop – usually about 0.6 volts, but you can get some that are even lower than that. There is one potential problem with using Schottky’s though. They have more reverse current leakage, so they may not offer sufficient protection. If you want to try a Schottky diode, you will need to examine its leakage current and your circuit to see if it can handle it without damage. Making such a determination is not very easy, and as we’ll see, there are much better approaches. Therefore, I would shy away from using Schottky diodes in most cases.

PNP Transistor

Reverse Polarity Protection using a PNP Transistor

Reverse Polarity Protection using a PNP Transistor

A greatly improved protection circuit to a blocking diode can be provided by using a pnp transistor as a high-side switch as shown. The saturated voltage drop across the transistor is much lower than it is with diodes and the part cost is still very modest.

In normal operation, the base is at a lower voltage than the emitter so the transistor turns on. When the circuit is reversed, the transistor is reverse biased and it effectively shuts down the rest of the circuit.

The limitations of this approach is the fact that there is some power loss from the base current, and that loss is constant regardless of the circuit’s current power draw. In circuits where a very low quiescent current is typical, this approach could greatly increase its level.

Also, like the diode circuit, there is still some voltage drop (maybe a couple of tenths), and for higher power circuits the transistor will not be able to handle the high current loads. For circuits which are usually active in their power usage and that draw modest amounts of current, this simple type of protection is hard to beat.

To choose the bias resistor, estimate your circuit’s maximum current and divide by the transistor’s minimum gain. Provide a little margin, and calculate your resistor accordingly. For example, if you expect a maximum current of 100mA for my circuit, and the typical minimum hFE of your transistor is 50, then the base current should be at least 2mA. Let’s use 4mA for the base current to provide some margin. If the supply voltage is 5 volts, then the base bias resistor should be 5v / 4mA = 1.25k or something thereabouts.

P-Channel FET

Reverse Polarity Protection Using a P-channel MOSFET

Reverse Polarity Protection Using a P-channel MOSFET

For the ultimate in low voltage drop and high current capability, replacing the PNP transistor with a P-channel MOSFET as shown in this circuit, can’t be beat. Please note that the FET is actually installed in the reverse orientation as it would normally – the drain and source are reversed. This orientation is necessary so that the slight leakage current through the FET’s intrinsic body diode will bias the FET on when the polarity is correct and block current when reversed, thus shutting off the FET.  Here is a real nice video tutorial of how the magic works.

If the supply voltage is less than the FETs maximum gate to source voltage (Vgs), you only need the FET, without the diode or resistor. Just connect the gate directly to ground. I have found that most smaller FETs maximum Vgs is 12 volts or less, which can be a problem for 12 volt (or higher) supplies. If after checking your FET’s spec sheet, you find that Vcc could exceed the maximum Vgs, then you must drop the voltage between the gate and the source.

The circuit shown does exactly that by a very clever means. By inserting a zener diode with a voltage less than the maximum Vgs, it limits the voltage to a safe level between the gate and the source. You will need to calculate the resistor value so that it will provide enough current to properly bias the zener diode chosen. The zener diode’s spec sheet will provide the minimum current required to achieve the zener breakdown voltage, and you can then calculate your resistor value from that.

Choosing the Best Circuit

Each of these circuits offer a different set of advantages and disadvantages. I have listed them in order of increasing complexity and cost. In choosing what is best for your circuit, examine what your voltage and power needs are. Then match it with the simplest circuit that will suffice for those needs.

For example, if your circuit can handle the voltage drop from a diode, and your circuit is low current, just use a blocking diode. Don’t think that just because the FET circuit is the best in terms of performance, it is the best choice. That performance also comes at with a greatly increased cost and complexity.

Good engineering tries to minimize both of those factors. Choose the approach that meets your design requirements the best.

Please contribute your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Reverse Polarity Protection Circuits by Provide Your Own is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This entry was posted in Tech and tagged . Section: . Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

16 Comments

  1. Xavi
    Posted November 2, 2012 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

    I wanted to avoid the losses in the diode and the circuit with MOSFET it’s perfect for it. Many thanks.
    It has just one drawback: If your circuit is intended for voltages, let’s say above 50V, and you need low Rdson (around 10 mOhm or less) it is relatively difficult to find suitable P-channel MOSFETs and they are quite expensive.
    A solution (I will try it next week) could be using an N-channel MOSFET instead connecting it between load (Source) and GND (Drain) and gate to the positive battery terminal.

    • Posted November 8, 2012 at 12:01 am | Permalink

      Yes, that is an appropriate solution to your problem. I did not mention the n-channel version since it raises ground above its normal reference which can cause its own set of problems. Also, most circuits don’t face such a high voltage – for those the P-channel FET is readily available and inexpensive. You’ll still need the zener diode voltage regulation if your maximum Vgs is less than your battery voltage.

  2. Posted March 18, 2013 at 5:35 pm | Permalink

    Is there anyone who markets a kit or a printed circuit board in order to use the P Channel MOSFET in reverse polarity protection? I would like to use one on several of my 12 v. transceivers but my skill in producing printed circuits is non existent. I would like to protect my HW9 Heathkit and HW8 from the reality of being fried by a reverse connection disaster.

    • Posted April 24, 2013 at 12:41 pm | Permalink

      I am planning to put such a circuit on my next PCB order. I’ll add it to the store when it is available.

      • Bill D. K4MH
        Posted March 24, 2014 at 8:40 pm | Permalink

        I’m planning to protect several QRP rigs with Mosfets. I like to keep it tidy and small, no breadboards or such. A small board with in power cube and out power with the MOSFET plug , perhaps the Zener and resistor could be marketed in a kit or assembled . Put it in a little plastic box with a male 2.1 mm power jack on one side and a female on the other, it could be used as an external device. No more smoked QRP rigs or other 12v devices. What would you pay for this insurance? How about 150.00 to repair a Heathkit? I would market it for 12 v , up to 3 amp protection if I were in the business. There is very little investment and there is a demand. Let me know if something develops. K4MH

        • Bill D. K4MH
          Posted March 24, 2014 at 10:09 pm | Permalink

          I’ve ordered some FQP47P06 P ch MOSFETS. VGS -250 micro amps -2 min -4 v Max. VGS on 0.021 to 0.026 Amps You will have about .01 watts dissipation . Compare this to 1 watt with a Schottky or 2 watts with a diode. Do you want .5 to 1.8 v drop or almost nothing? Two watts on a 12 v battery is a lot of dissipated power , not to mention the voltage drop, which is the real issue on battery power. Con , at 3 dollars it’s expensive but can’t compare to a hundred bucks or more for repair of fried circuits. Some N ch MOSFETS are much cheaper for reverse polarity protection but I only need two or three. I’ll try the P ch MOSFET for now .

  3. Owen Hann
    Posted June 27, 2013 at 10:24 pm | Permalink

    For low voltage circuits, such as gadgets operating from a single cell (1.5 or even 1.2 volts), reverse polarity protection is a very tough nut to crack. You need to suck every electron possible from the battery. A schottky wastes too much power because of the voltage drop and the battery appears dead flat long before it really is. Biasing a transistor wastes significant energy in the base current – the resistor needs to be quite a low value to deal with a battery going flat, hence it draws a lot more current than needed when the battery is new. The FET idea is good, but I believe there is a problem with operating FETs at very low voltages? Any insights?

    • John-Paul Gignac
      Posted July 9, 2013 at 11:23 am | Permalink

      You need a FET with a low gate-source threshold voltage (often abbreviated Vgs(th)). Some can be as low as 0.4V. Anything below 1V is probably suitable for your application.

  4. Posted September 23, 2014 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    Thanks for sharing your info. I truly appreciate your efforts and I am waiting for your next write ups thanks
    once again.

    Review my web-site – how To download a 3ds emulator (smartmobi.info)

  5. Posted October 12, 2014 at 1:44 pm | Permalink

    They also add sunscreen and other protective elements to try and
    create what consumers will think is a more. In the sixties and seventies Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel were
    psychologists, studying personality development.
    Article Source: Saunders and her team of award winning designers help authors
    and small business owners design their books, build
    their brand, launch their website and market their business.

  6. Posted November 25, 2014 at 2:21 pm | Permalink

    What’s up, all is going perfectly here and ofcourse
    every one is sharing facts, that’s actually good, keep up writing.

  7. Posted December 5, 2014 at 11:17 am | Permalink

    Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google,
    and found that it’s truly informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels.
    I will appreciate if you continue this in future.

    A lot of people will be benefited from your writing.

    Cheers!

  8. Posted January 17, 2015 at 6:52 am | Permalink

    Some genuinely quality blog posts on this web site , saved to my bookmarks .
    Binghamton iPhone 4s Cases Primary Mark http://www.westgatelabs.co.uk/shop/cases/Binghamton-iPhone-4s-Cases-Primary-Mark.html

  9. Posted February 9, 2015 at 7:12 am | Permalink

    An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague
    who has been doing a little homework on this. And he actually bought me lunch due to the fact that I discovered it for him…
    lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!
    But yeah, thanx for spending time to talk about this subject here on your blog.

  10. Posted June 3, 2015 at 6:44 pm | Permalink

    Thanks for this explanation and lesson. Now I can save my Arduino’s lives for a little longer.

  11. Jim Pack
    Posted April 14, 2017 at 8:38 am | Permalink

    What would be a good mosfet for protecting a tp4056 board from putting an 18650 battery in backwards? I’ve burned up half a dozen boards from doing this, (and these are the new boards with the internal protection built in – I guess not).

    Thanks,
    Jim

2 Trackbacks

  • […] Reverse Polarity Protection Circuits – … – Many circuits can benefit from protection against accidental reverse polarity.While most can be protected by polarized connectors to the power source, many hobbyist … […]

  • […] like this product. It is ever cool. Contacts do not spark or shock users. Finally, because it has reverse polarity protection, it does not damage downstream circuits as some low-grade chargers often do. This is currently the […]