It is the holiday season and many have already begun decorating their home and lighting up the neighborhood. For many it seems like every year you have strands of Christmas lights that will not work. It may seem as if you have to replace Christmas lights every single year. For those who are tired of replacing your Christmas lights, Burley Electrical Services would like to help you troubleshoot why your lights might not be working and even share what you can do to repair them.
How to Fix Christmas Lights that Dont Work
Christmas Lights Won’t Light Up; Blown Fuse?: When a strand of Christmas lights don’t light up or they flash and then go off this can indicate that the fuse went out. When handling indoor or outdoor Christmas lights, always check one strand of lights at a time. One strand can affect other attached lights. If an entire strand of lights are not working you will need to replace the fuse. When purchased, most likely you were supplied an extra set of bulbs and fuses. Each can vary on size so make sure to replace the correct fuse. The fuses are located at the end of the strand on the male end of the plug in most cases. You will see a tiny hatch that slides open. Replace the fuse to repair the strand. Make sure the fuse is set inside tightly. To prevent fuses from blowing out in the future, never exceed the connectivity capacity or in other words, don’t connect too many strands of light together. The connectivity capacity will be on the box.
Half of the String of Christmas Lights are Out; Bad Bulb?: When half of the lights are out first try replacing and securing the fuse. Sometimes the fuse can cause only half of the light to light up. However, in most cases when half of the lights are out it means a bulb is burned out or a bulb has popped out. Do an inspection of the section that went out. Look to see if you can see a bulb that is missing or out of place. After long periods of storage bulbs can be damaged and pulled loose, not to mention the tinkering of little figures often can loosened bulbs. You may need to push down on each bulb to locate the loose bulb. You may need to replace a burnt out light bulb. This can be rather time consuming as you will need to go through and replace each bulb with a fresh bulb. Start at the point where the light is out and replace the bulb until you find the bulb that has burnt out.
Christmas Light Bulb Replacement Failed: When replacing the light bulbs and fuses failed, the last culprit is a bad bulb socket. Over time the socket for the light bulb can get damaged and when that occurs the lights may go out in sections. There are times that the socket is damaged beyond repair. When a socket is damaged you will either want to remove the socket or remove the defected section and reconnect the good part back together. To remove the broken piece, cut the socket off, pull off an inch of the plastic cover, and twist the wires tightly together. Afterward use an electrical net to cap the end. Another potential option is to cut the damaged section of the light and connect the two ends of good lights back together. Use a waterproof wire connector and twist the wires together tightly. Make sure you have the wire connector on one end to make it easier to put the connector in place.
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Spending money on Christmas lights each year can dampen anyone’s Christmas spirits. Try using these Christmas light repair tips to repair your Christmas lights and save yourself some money. For quality electrical services, contact Burley Electrical Services today.
