Nothing brightens your holiday decorations and makes the scene pop like colorful Christmas lights.
On the other hand, nothing can spoil that beautiful scene like broken, or flickering bulbs. Malfunctioning lights are a common problem – so much so that it has become a holiday tradition in itself. Should this happen at your home or office, don’t fret! There are some simple ways to repair those pesky broken lights and keep your festive décor looking bold and bright all season long.
Check the circuit, fuses, and strand
Your Christmas lights may be out due to any one of several reasons: A bad outlet or circuit, a blown fuse in the light strand, a severed wire, or broken bulbs. If you know your outlet is working, the next step is to check the fuses in the lights. Slide back the covering on the little door in the plug on the light strand and pry them out with a flathead screwdriver. If one or more of the fuses is broken, you can replace them quickly and inexpensively. If that isn’t it, then you’ll have to check the wire for any tears, and then the individual bulbs themselves.
Find any broken bulb(s)
If you have LED lights, they’ll run on a parallel circuit – which means the electric current continues along the strand even if one bulb is burned out. This is why some lights will work and others won’t. It will also make it obvious which bulbs need replacing. In series circuit lights, one bad bulb will cause the entire strand to go out, because it breaks the flow of electricity to the rest of the strand. With these, you’ll have to check each individual bulb to find the broken one(s).
Replace the bulb(s)
The pack of lights you bought usually comes with a few spare bulbs. Unplug the strand and check to see if the base of the bulb is connected to the socket. If so, twist the base of the socket to remove the bulb, and put the new one in the same way. If the bulb is inside the socket, grip it firmly and pull it straight out. Be careful not to pull it out at an angle, because that could break the bulb off inside the socket. In that case, you’ll need to use needle-nose pliers to pull the rest of the bulb out. If the lights still don’t work properly after replacing any bad bulb(s), check the wire itself and the fuses in the plug again.
For more quick-fix tips, including some helpful tools you may need, check out this great video on repairing Christmas lights quickly and easily.
To find more great Christmas decorating tips and to get the right items to make your home or office festive this holiday season, stop in, visit our website or call us at 815-288-7841.
Ace Hardware & Outdoor Center
900 N Galena Ave
Dixon, IL 61021