Christmas Light Question

[MossRoad]

O.K. I have tens of strings of 100 mini lights. You know, just like everybody else's. Nothing special. One socket on one string blows a bulb as soon as power is applied. I can't figure it out. I've disassembled the socket, looked real close, etc... what causes this? Any thoughts? I'm using the replacement bulbs that come with the sets, so that shouldn't be the problem.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Evening Dave,
I feel your pain ! Ive been down that road before. I sincerly feel that its easier to march my butt down to the store and buy a new set

In any event make sure you dont put the flasher bulbs in by accident !

 

[ericinmich]

O.K. I have tens of strings of 100 mini lights. You know, just like everybody else's. Nothing special. One socket on one string blows a bulb as soon as power is applied. I can't figure it out. I've disassembled the socket, looked real close, etc... what causes this? Any thoughts? I'm using the replacement bulbs that come with the sets, so that shouldn't be the problem.

I've had the same problem. Best solution... after trying to fix it for a few hours, get 10 more strings at $2.00 each or so and start over...

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I've had the same problem. Best solution... after trying to fix it for a few hours, get 10 more strings at $2.00 each or so and start over...

Great advice!
My GE minilights are like the old lights where 1 light goes out and half the strand goes out. Any ideas to find which light?

 

[MossRoad]

O.K., O.K. I realize the strings are cheap. I bought a case of 24 for fifty cents a piece last year. I just have plenty of time and would prefer to repair this than chuck it.

As soon as I push a new bulb into the socket it flashes and goes out. Any other suggestions besides chucking it? Think of it as a restoration project instead of a practical and cost effective solution.

 

[Dusty]

Lower the voltage.

 

[AndyM]

O.K., O.K. I realize the strings are cheap. I bought a case of 24 for fifty cents a piece last year. I just have plenty of time and would prefer to repair this than chuck it.

I have two schools of thoughts regarding Christmas lights...

1) The cheap lights that I bought for 50 cents or 99 cents a package, well, I just figured it's not worth my time to go through them when they quit working. I throw them away when the string quits working.

2) I bought a package of "premium" lights several years ago, and haven't had the usual frustrating problems that I've had with the cheap lights.

When all of my boxes and boxes of cheap lights are finally gone, I'll begin to replace them with more of the more expensive kind. It'll be less frustrating in the long run!

 

[MossRoad]

I'm not frustrated, nor am I going to spend $$ on "good" lights. There has to be a simple explaination as to why that one socket keeps blowing bulbs.

As for how Christmas light strings work, I have a pretty good handle on that...

All the bulbs in a section are wired in series.
All the bulbs have a shunt inside them.
If the filimant blows, the shunt lets voltage through.
If half your lights are out, you probably have TWO sections.
One of the bulbs probably has a bad shunt.
Finding the bad bulb can be a problem.
A product like the Light Keeper Pro can find and repair bad shunts without having to hunt for the bad bulb. It sends high voltage down the line and snaps the shunt back on. Then you just look for the bad bulb and replace it.

However, I know where the bad buld is. I just can't get any bulb to work in that socket.

 

[MossRoad]

Great advice!
My GE minilights are like the old lights where 1 light goes out and half the strand goes out. Any ideas to find which light?

Buy this product. It will find it for you.

Of course, the product is $25.00. You can buy a lot of light sets for that price. But, by watching their video, you can find the light and repair most problems without taking the lights off the tree. That can be priceless.

 

[Bird]

I've had the same problem. Best solution... after trying to fix it for a few hours, get 10 more strings at $2.00 each or so and start over...

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. I just had 8 strings of lights that I used last year on the eaves of the house. I got them out this year and on each of the 8 strings, either none of the lights worked, or half (one end) worked. After swapping bulbs and fuses back and forth for a couple of hours, I threw the whole mess in the garbage can and went and bought 8 new strings. And when I take them down, they're all going in the garbage can to begin with this year.