I'm trying to actuate a solenoid lock with the following specifications from the vendor's page:
- Working voltage: 12 Vdc
- Starting current: 0.9 A
- Steady current: 0.12 A
For this application, I'm using a circuit based on the answer to the question in this link: MOSFET to run 12 V, 0.5 A door lock
My circuit diagram is as follows, with the solenoid wires connected to the J2 borne connector:
However, the IRLML2502 MOSFET is not able to actuate the solenoid lock when a logic pulse is supplied to its gate. The original idea is to operate it using 3.3V, but I also tested it using 5V to no success.
From what I understood, the datasheet gives a maximum of for
, resulting in a voltage drop of 0.08 at 1 A.
Using a DMM, I measured the solenoid's current draw from activating the MOSFET gate using 5V logic on a protoboard. As soon as the 5V pin switches, the DMM shows the current of 9.9 mA, then goes out of the 200 mA range and settles at 182.1 mA for the rest of the pulse. The solenoid does not fully actuate in this setup, only when supplied 12.1 V (measured) directly from a 2.5 A DC power supply.
I'm suspecting here of the MOSFET not being able to handle the higher starting current. Am I missing any information here? What parameters should I consider in this case? Is it possible to use IRLML2502 MOSFET for this application? If not possible, any substitute parts reccomendations are greatly appreciated.