\u00a9 2021 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Assuming it did not fix the problem means it is most likely okay. If this is your problem, carefully replace the bulb after first unplugging the string of lights. Sometimes, the LED Christmas light bulbs just get a little lose, and the strand of lights stops working because the bulb isn’t adjusted right. I notice they don't eat what are called dome lights, the LEDs with just the small button of LED light and those strings have been much more reliable but not perfect. Gimme' my old 2-wire 'screw-in's' ANYDAY, 1 -out, 1-in, fixed, ta-da ! I have tried to buy replacement bulbs but I can not find them on an shelves where I bought them. The prongs from the extension cord do not fit into the end of the LED string. Four of the 5 which didn't light acted that way. Yeah, that's what I do too now is just buy 25 light strings, but thanks for the NOMA 'tip' didn't know that ! A wide range of strings are available, but this article is about the new "LED" bulb strings. What I did was to take out each unlit bulb and reinserted in a lit up area. The four wire/three wire thing is because every 4-wired-together pair of sockets is in parallel with itself and in series with every other pair of 4-wire-connected sockets (called a 2-parallel, 25-series arrangement), so that if one lamp falls out, the string continues to light, but with the remaining lamp of the affected pair being a bit brighter now. You're done with this exercise when you find the bad light and the string comes back to life. Good evening to all, and may all your lights work. The repair process is a little tedious but effective. The led bulbs are polarized, so they will work in one direction. After splicing, replacing, shortening, enlarging these pieces of CHINA CRAP thatpromise great hours per dollar and savings...... well here is the real fix friends. Still haven't figured out the problem with a middle section yet.using a voltage detector to find a pattern. Phyllis Kandul. I listened to all the answers and none actually solved the problem. Last night I had the good ole plug them in and 2/3 of the lights do not come on AFTER testing them in the garage. I am a senior citizen and my fingers just cannot pull out all the lights on 9 sets, thats 630 bulbs !! Start with the strands that might include a dimly lit or non-working bulb. RoddyMacRoddy. In theory, this means you can cut off the non-functioning half of the light string and splice in a new end plug or half string of lights. All bulbs now burn. The so called dome lights (not sure whay they are called that. References. It won't cause the current to go up on the circuit. I can't keep the nutty looking ones going for even a couple of years. Some LED strings are wired with both halves (or more) in polarity, and some out of polarity. Step 2 Okay. Many finger shredding aggravating afternoons later has led me to the conclusion that decorative holiday lights are fleeting and disposable. Please consider making a contribution to wikiHow today. half of my string of lights was not working. The fuse is actually a 1.2 ohm 1/4 watt resistor and in the set I hacked is present at each end. Shunts are small backup wires inside each incandescent bulb that are meant to take over if the filament in the bulb fails, thereby maintaining a completed circuit. Corrosion on the plug prongs adds resistance that may prevent the necessary voltage from flowing through the light string. So, I believe GE has a bad design here which allows water into the area of the socket which makes connection to the bulb. This change can be verified with a magnet, and is probably at least partly responsible for LED string prices not having dropped as fast as we expected over the years. They always have 50 lamps per section, though the string might be 100 lamps. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. It might be best to get rid of those offending string(s), or give them to someone who knows what they are and how to properly use them. I had the same problem with three different sections of my LED lights. Replace the bulbs in question with a new bulb or one borrowed from a working strand. Attari have you looked at your plug of the light string. Bend the leads back slowly. That is why lights are sold as 25's or 50's or .... their current draw is balance for that many lights. @oldturkey03. They are 'Commercial quality' lights and wiring , and even have C-7 and C-9 'screw in base' bulb replacements for those smart enough to have KEPT their old incandescent light strings ! If you use 2.5-volt bulb on a light string rated to carry 3.5 volts, the higher … You can remove any bulb in the darkened section, or even a lit bulb that’s near the darkened section. Testing a bring of LED's would require setting up your multimeter as an ammeter, breaking and testing the light string only (not the other two lines. Good luck! Power is received at BOTH ends , but no lights, or only half of either end . Peter Vincernt This does not make sense to me. You can use a hose like the ones used for small water lines in landscaping. You may be instructed to trigger several pulses through the light string. LEDs cost more to produce because components are often assembled by hand. The plastic that protects the led was loose. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. I will not buy Noma lights again if I can find a replacement maker other then Noma . wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. The fuse was there to prevent further damage (fires). Mark each one with masking tape so you know which ones to replace. Even the 1940’s single wire lights were easier to repair than these ridiculous 3-wire LED ones ! 12/07/2010 by If an LED tree is not lighting, check to make sure all wires are plugged in and fuses are securely seated. with a power tester find the light that is dead, cut the wire on each side and marret the two ends together the string should work fine minus 1 light .i have fixed 10 failures this way. https://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2018/12/how-to-fix-a-dead-half-string-of-led-christmas-lights.html, https://www.familyhandyman.com/electrical/home-lighting/how-to-repair-christmas-tree-lights/, http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/RADELECT/LITES/LEDLITES.HTM, http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/RADELECT/LITES/XMSLITES.HTM, https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to/a3231/how-to-fix-a-string-of-christmas-lights-14774047/, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. P.S. Once you clear the corrosion away, your lights may work again! Took lights down and plugged them into a house outlet -- they all worked. If there was a problem with one of those sub-sets, just that set would not light. After pre-testing and hanging all 4 strings initially worked. Having said that, I have a string up now on its fifth year. Yes, LED christmas light strands are often two independent circuits. The problem here is the manufacturer used a GLOBAL rectifier that affects, not only the LEDs in that particular section (25, 30, or 35 LEDs typically), but the add-on socket at the end as well, which unfortunately for most people is a standard Edison type connector! Yes, I have done this and it works. 6). I bought a two-prong outdoor extension cord to run between the shrubs. I continued to do that until the whole section lit up. RoddyMacRoddy Once more, excellent answer ;-) It's time for you to make a guide for ifixit that shows how to repair those buggers. It is always a good idea to keep spare bulbs available for last-minute emergencies and to inspect every string of Christmas lights carefully before adding it to the tree or stapling it to the roof outside. Pull the bulbs from the extra string(s), put them in a labeled bag, and store the bulb-free string(s) for use if the wiring on one of your other strings goes bad. I would hope when they get down into those 25-light C9 strings, and especially the 15-LED icicle sets, that they're including reverse blocking diodes to protect the LEDs but... who knows?!? So don't go thinking these strings would be good with your light show controller if it does any dimming at all. If it's last one in the string, you'll be wondering if you shouldn't have just gone out and bought a new string. 9 times out of ten. And bright loud and hot makes you go oooh! So far found the string is broken up into 5 sets of 30 each. NOBODY seems to know the reason for this , and everybody seems to experience it . The light guys know this. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. If the leads are rusty, the LED's will need to be replaced. and then retreat to find a quiet soft lighted place to have good conversation. Fixing a Damaged Shunt Purchase a holiday light repair tool. Why? The best part is that I was able to live up to the expectation of my 7-year-old granddaughter who was observing the process. Any savings on electricity has been eaten up by replacing LED lights every year. That website/blog has all the possible variations of everything that can possibly happen with these lights and how to actually fix them. I just snipped the light out of the circuit and spliced the two wires together, with success. C6 bulbs are strawberry shaped.. C7 and C9 bulbs have the traditional shape you might have grown up with—larger than the strawberry-shaped C6, with the C9 the largest of all. 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