Summary of Simple Arduino Traffic Lights
This article describes building a traffic light system for a Lego city using an Arduino board. The project involves connecting three LEDs (red, yellow, green) to digital pins 8, 9, and 10 via 220 Ohm resistors, with all cathodes grounded to simulate real-world traffic signals.
Parts used in the Arduino Traffic Light Project:
- Arduino board
- Red LED
- Green LED
- Amber (Yellow) LED
- Three 220 Ohm Resistors
- Breadboard or Protoboard
- Protoshield (Optional)
- Wire (Optional)
Have you ever made a city out of Legos? I know i have built many of them but they all missed something… Traffic lights!
So i decided to make my very own traffic light setup from my arduino board.
Step 2: Get the components
I assume you already have an adruino board, and maybe also a Protoshield.
You’ll need the LED’s and resistors
the 220 Ohm resistors are color coded so: Red, Red, Brown
Step 3: Hook up to the board
Since this is a really simple project we only need 3 digital pins and ground.
Put the LED’s in the breadboard/protoboard and use the resistors to connect them to the digital pins,
Green to pin 8
Yellow to pin 9
and Red to pin 10
then connect all the negative pins of the LED’s together and to ground.
You will need:
You will need:
An arduino board
Red, Green and amber LED’s
Three 220 Ohm Resistors
Optional:
Wire
and an Protoshield
For more detail: Simple Arduino Traffic Lights
- How do I color code the 220 Ohm resistors?
The 220 Ohm resistors are color coded as Red, Red, Brown. - Which digital pins should I use for the LEDs?
Connect Green to pin 8, Yellow to pin 9, and Red to pin 10. - What is the best way to connect the negative pins of the LEDs?
Connect all the negative pins of the LEDs together and then to ground. - Does this project require a Protoshield?
No, a Protoshield is optional; you can use a breadboard or protoboard instead. - Can I build this without an Arduino board?
No, the article assumes you already have an Arduino board as a requirement. - What components are needed for the major parts of the project?
You need an Arduino board, red, green, and amber LEDs, and three 220 Ohm resistors. - Why did the author decide to make this traffic light setup?
The author built it because their previous Lego cities missed traffic lights.

