Troubleshooting Holiday Lights
Don’t let Holiday lighting struggles take the JOY out of decorating.
Holiday displays are going up all around, both inside and outside. Unless you’re buying all new decorations this year, you may encounter some lighting struggles. Everything from bad bulbs to blown fuses can leave you in the dark, but hopefully these tips will help get you back on track. Remember, inexpensive light strings aren’t made to be durable. Handling them with care and storing them safely can make next year a little easier on both your brain and your wallet. If you’re in the market for new lights consider upgrading to LED light strings. They use less electricity, produce less heat, and last longer.
Grab Your Tools:
Voltage detector or Christmas light tester tool
Safety glasses
Outlet
Replacement bulbs at correct voltage rating
Replacement fuses
Multimeter (optional for testing outlets)
Patience
Troubleshooting Christmas Light Strings
PRO TIP: Start by eliminating easy solutions first. If that doesn’t work you can move on to more complex solutions.
Let’s start by figuring out if the problem is just a single bad bulb or a wiring issue. Before you go looking for a burned-out bulb, check for the following:
Loose bulbs
Damaged or frayed wires
Damaged outlets or electrical plugs on the strings (If you suspect the problem may be a malfunctioning string outlet, you can check it with a multimeter.)
Finding Bad Bulbs on Incandescent Christmas Light Strings
PRO TIP: If at any time you give up and head to the store for replacement lights, consider upgrading to LED lights. This will save you some money on your electrical bill and some frustration in the future. LED lights use less energy, produce less heat, and last longer.
Incandescent string lights are wired in a series, meaning the electricity must pass through each bulb to complete the circuit. Therefore a single bad bulb can make the whole string go dark! It’s important to note that larger light strings may contain two circuits. In these cases, you may notice that only one section of the string is dark.
The easiest way to find bad bulbs on incandescent light strings is with a light tester. Simply bring the light tester close to each bulb and the tester’s indicator will light up when it’s near a functioning bulb. If you’re using a non-contact voltage detector, bring the detector close to the wire section between each bulb to test for voltage. The dead section of wire will be the section after your bad bulb.
Finding Bad Bulbs on LED Christmas Light Strings
Many LED Christmas lights are made without removable bulbs, so the circuit won’t fail if a single bulb breaks. If you have LED Christmas lights with removable bulbs, the troubleshooting process is similar to incandescent bulbs. Starting at the beginning of a strand (or the dark portion) use your light/voltage tester to locate the faulty bulb or dead length of wire.
OLD SCHOOL: If you don’t have a light tester, voltage detector or other tools, but you do have a replacement bulb, you can go move down the whole length of the string and switch out each bulb, checking to see if that solves the problem each time. This approach takes the most patience, and may result in your trip to the store for new lights.
Replacing Christmas Light Bulbs
First, you’ll want to make sure you have replacement incandescent or LED bulbs in the correct voltage rating and color. Then unplug your lights before removing or replacing any bulbs. Next you’ll carefully screw in the replacement bulbs and plug your lights back in. Your lights should come on beautifully at this point, but if you’ve replaced the bad bulbs and are still experiencing problems, the issue may be bad or damaged wiring. At this point you’ll want to consider replacing the entire string.
