MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 67,354
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
O.K. So I have this 35' spruce tree that I hang lights on each year, plus some other strings on the fence, etc... Last year I took all the lights down, replaced any bad bulbs, wrapped them up nice and neat and put them in a rubbermaid tub in the garage. All strings were working.
So last week I pull out the tub and start testing them... 1 string out of about 30 works. There is a burnt smell in the storage tub. Any ideas as to what happened? I'm guessing close by lightning strike, as we had a couple tremendous lightning storms and even saw sparks on the water pipes while hiding in the basement one evening.
Anyhow, I was ticked off, to say the least. However, I have this cool little tool called the Lightkeeper Pro. I bought one last year and it really works well. I was able to revive about 25 strings of bulbs. Had to replace several hundred bulbs, which I salvaged off of the other strings. Most folks would just chuck the strings at that point, but 25 strings is $75.00 and I did it while watching T.V., so I had the time.
As I understand it, the miniature lights have a shunt in it that is supposed to energize when a filament burns out. The shunt lets the current pass through the bulb when it is burnt out so the rest of the string gets power. If the shunt in a bulb fails to energize, the entire string appears dead. So, you plug in a string of lights and it doesn't work. All you have to do is pull out one bulb, slip the socket into the Lightkeeper Pro and start pulling the trigger. It sends a high frequency pulse (I'm thinking similar to a grill ingniter) down the line and resets any shunts that are not working. All of a sudden, the lights will come on. Sometimes it takes only one or two pulls of the trigger. On some of my sets with 20-30 bad bulbs, it took 20-30 trigger pulls. But it worked. I revived one string that had only 7 out of 50 good bulbs. Man, those 7 bulbs wehre bright! I chucked that string.
It also has a continuity tester. If the pulse thing fails to light the string you try the continuity tester. You plug in the dead string and put the tip of the tool next to the first bulb. Then you push a button on top and wait for a beep. If it does not beep, revers the AC plug in the outlet to change the polarity and try it again. If it beeps, you keep the button held down and run it down the line. It beeps at each bulb until you get to one that is bad. It then stops beeping. Replace that bulb and keep testing continuity, or blast it with the pulse thing and it usually lights. I found that on strings of 100, you have to check the first 50, then reverse the plug to check the last 50, as the two sections are wired opposite polarity.
Anyhow, you can repair dead strings pretty well with this thing. I bought 8 of them on clearance after Christmas last year for gifts this year. Check out the website that I linked to. The little tool really does work and for under $10.00 on sale, it is well worth it.
So last week I pull out the tub and start testing them... 1 string out of about 30 works. There is a burnt smell in the storage tub. Any ideas as to what happened? I'm guessing close by lightning strike, as we had a couple tremendous lightning storms and even saw sparks on the water pipes while hiding in the basement one evening.
Anyhow, I was ticked off, to say the least. However, I have this cool little tool called the Lightkeeper Pro. I bought one last year and it really works well. I was able to revive about 25 strings of bulbs. Had to replace several hundred bulbs, which I salvaged off of the other strings. Most folks would just chuck the strings at that point, but 25 strings is $75.00 and I did it while watching T.V., so I had the time.
As I understand it, the miniature lights have a shunt in it that is supposed to energize when a filament burns out. The shunt lets the current pass through the bulb when it is burnt out so the rest of the string gets power. If the shunt in a bulb fails to energize, the entire string appears dead. So, you plug in a string of lights and it doesn't work. All you have to do is pull out one bulb, slip the socket into the Lightkeeper Pro and start pulling the trigger. It sends a high frequency pulse (I'm thinking similar to a grill ingniter) down the line and resets any shunts that are not working. All of a sudden, the lights will come on. Sometimes it takes only one or two pulls of the trigger. On some of my sets with 20-30 bad bulbs, it took 20-30 trigger pulls. But it worked. I revived one string that had only 7 out of 50 good bulbs. Man, those 7 bulbs wehre bright! I chucked that string.
It also has a continuity tester. If the pulse thing fails to light the string you try the continuity tester. You plug in the dead string and put the tip of the tool next to the first bulb. Then you push a button on top and wait for a beep. If it does not beep, revers the AC plug in the outlet to change the polarity and try it again. If it beeps, you keep the button held down and run it down the line. It beeps at each bulb until you get to one that is bad. It then stops beeping. Replace that bulb and keep testing continuity, or blast it with the pulse thing and it usually lights. I found that on strings of 100, you have to check the first 50, then reverse the plug to check the last 50, as the two sections are wired opposite polarity.
Anyhow, you can repair dead strings pretty well with this thing. I bought 8 of them on clearance after Christmas last year for gifts this year. Check out the website that I linked to. The little tool really does work and for under $10.00 on sale, it is well worth it.
