How Stuff Works Repair Christmas Lights

We're all looking to bring a little extra brightness into the stop a difficult year. Just no matter what holiday you celebrate, there's a risk you may find yourself tangling with Christmas cord lights this season. Burned-out bulbs, strands that low-cal upwards only halfway (or non at all), and permit'southward non forget those knots.

You don't have to go besides far down the internet rabbit hole on Christmas lights before encountering complicated electrical diagrams and DIY'ers offering tips on how to rewire your plugs. Fascinating? Yes. How I want to spend my December? No.

For those of us non quite as skilled in the electric trade, here are some common issues with string lights and how to solve them.

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One seedling is out, but the rest of the string works

You're in luck. This is the simplest set, requiring yous to simply swap out the bulb for a new one. Assuming your bulbs are removable — non hardwired, as some LED strings are — there should be spare bulbs in the original box. You might also consider buying a strand of matching lights solely equally a source to pilfer extra bulbs.

Experts have an additional piece of advice hither: If y'all accept one or two burned-out bulbs on an otherwise performance strand, don't ignore them. The remaining bulbs could be contending with excess voltage that shorten their lifespan.

If simply half the strand is out...

If half a strand is working and the other half is not, you probably accept a loose or cleaved bulb. Start with the first unlit bulb and work your mode down, wiggling them to check for looseness. If information technology flickers, that's your cue to supervene upon it. If not, you have the more boring job of going down the row of unlit bulbs, one at a time, and swapping them for a known, skilful bulb until you notice the culprit. You'll know it when the strand lights back up.

If the whole strand is out...

If you detect yourself with a expressionless cord of lights, a number of things could be wrong. Start, try plugging it into some other electrical outlet. If that'due south non the problem, it could be a loose or broken bulb. Meet the previous section for instructions.

The trouble may also exist a bad fuse. Most string lights have two tiny fuses inside the plug. Typically, a box of lights is too packaged with a replacement fuse or two.

To replace a fuse, take a small set of pliers or flathead screwdriver and slide open the cover. And then gently pop out the fuse and supercede it with new ones. Slide the comprehend closed and plug it in. If you have only one extra fuse, try replacing them 1 at a fourth dimension. If you need more than one, replacements are typically available at most hardware and craft stores during the holidays.

A Christmas light fuse is easily replaced

Specialty repair tools that might speed things up

Unless you're replacing a unmarried burned-out bulb you can easily identify, hunting downwardly the problem bulb that killed your whole strand is ho-hum work.

A calorie-free tester, like the one from Light Keeper Pro, is relatively simple to operate and will salve you lot a lot of time for just $20. Spare fuses and bulbs are also recommended — only brand sure they correctly match the strand.

Dealing with non-removable bulbs

Some LED string lights have non-removable bulbs. Contrary to what you might recall, this tin exist more of a benefaction than an inconvenience. In fact, it'southward a standard for commercial lighting due to their higher reliability and longer lifespan.

Still, non-removable bulbs can eventually fire out or become damaged and take out the whole strand. For those cases, LED Keeper seems to exist the tool of choice.

Incommunicable tangles

A tangled string of Christmas lights really is its own special brand of torture. Unless you've been practicing your escape routines, yous could be at those knots for a long time. To make matters worse, vigorous tugging on the string will only further damage the bulbs.

Sorry to tell you now, only prevention really is the all-time medicine. Salvage yourself a headache side by side twelvemonth past wrapping them around something like a piece of paper-thin. But cut a small slit to stick the electric plug through, wrap your lights around, and so poke the other terminate through the same slit. Smash, you've just repurposed some cardboard and given yourself an early gift for the side by side holiday season.

David Kender is the editor in chief of Reviewed, a production review website and function of the USA TODAY Network. If you lot have a question about how your stuff works, or just want to know what to buy, email him at request@reviewed.com.