Chris Halford, Piccinich If you get one half to light its not the fuse as one fuse is for both halves. 12/06/2011 by 1. The major offender is moisture. I encountered the age-old problem of half the strand not working. Current limiting resistors are usually too small, letting too much current flow, particularly when used in a warm climate. The best part is that I was able to live up to the expectation of my 7-year-old granddaughter who was observing the process. Fortunately any replacements needed for the problems below can be found easily, and you don't need to spend much money to get them either. solution i found for this light issue was https://christmaslightfixer.com it was mentioned in another answer on here. just "cut out" the ones that don't work (since the actual bulbs cannot be fixed). Noma's, as well as the wires themselves . Gimme' my old 2-wire 'screw-in's' ANYDAY, 1 -out, 1-in, fixed, ta-da ! One light has to come out because they chew so close to the base. They also need the voltage to be greatly reduced.... from 110 down to about 5. MORE lights went out, and I couldn't get them to come back on, even with the known good bulb back in. It is a good idea to keep a few spare bulbs on hand as well. Take the bulb you just removed and replace it, then remove the second bulb in the string and repeat this process until you have taken out each bulb and replaced it with another bulb in the entire strand of lights. Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be Is your converter itself located in a well-ventilated area? 2: on those circuit boards rests a rectifier (good- less flicker) and a capacitor ( further reduces flicker) which unfortunately causes major problems when trying to dim these strings. So using a "light fixer" for the original mini lights, remove the bulb from the socket and touch the leads to the light tester. The toughest thing about doing this is getting the light covers off to expose the LED. You can do the same thing with a nine-volt battery and two jumper clips. They also pass 120V AC to the next strand (and in my case, through 10 strands) because they power small incandescent mini light globes at the end. 01/02/2014 by The fuse was there to prevent further damage (fires). It is quick and easy to change Christmas light fuses and get your holiday decorating back on track. No mater which way arange them, if both are not in,none of them work, so I would say the whole string is dependent on both. What could be causing this? It seems that your entire string does not light, so I would point to the male end as the problem. If it's last one in the string, you'll be wondering if you shouldn't have just gone out and bought a new string. Generally, a short circuit in a single fixture leads to a single light or group of lights not working. 11/01/2011 by Finally the anode lead is typically connected to less hardware inside the colored plastic if its visible. The fusible links are for safety, not for convenience. I have both types. Phyllis Kandul. Since Christmas is right around the corner I figured I'd chime in. But am going to resist the urge to find an oscilloscope to see what the by-passed led strings were doing to my current. After the sixth LED, I was ready to quit. Pay attention to the orientation of the LED's in the sockets. 3. Interestingly, the packs of bare replacement LEDs available on eBay, etc. And a special thank you goes out to my daddy, who passed away on Christmas Eve in 1981, for letting me tinker in the garage with him when I was a child. Problem is, in the spirit of this blog, we are attempting to be less wasteful, so trying to fix instead of toss. Some dimmers will not do it at all, becoming latched on while the GE string remains connected, and the ones that do dim the string cause a great deal of audible noise and noise on the AC line due to this capacitance. So in every light base, or as part of the fusible link, there will be another diode whose job it is to create that DC low voltage. Many brands of LED replacement strips are readily available, and in many cases, they are easier alternatives to replacing individual bulbs. If not discard the light. They ARE available on Amazon.ca and other sites in limited styles , but if you want to go to the 'Mother load', go to their U.S. .com site ! I replaced it with a new bulb and the whole strand worked fine. Insert the long end into the hole alongside the shortened broken terminal wire and replace the l.e.d./ bulb back into its socket. This can be verified by by pulling out an LED (if removable) and seeing if a magnet sticks to the LED wire leads. Even the 1940’s single wire lights were easier to repair than these ridiculous 3-wire LED ones ! Although there is no need to twist to remove it from the socket, the l.e.d. There are paper that both say connector so you put them together, then there are two more male and female parts and you put them together & the bottom 1/3 of the tree lit up. And to do it right the cost will be prohibitive, unless some big changes are made. Most of the time it worked and the bulb lit up. Is this still a "one bad bulb" problem somewhere in that first segment. Put the lights up this year and so far the patched and mismatched strings with marette connectors and lights cut out are all working. These LED's contain NO fuses and the bulbs are not removable. That will prevent further corrosion. Use a clean cloth or tack cloth to wipe away any sanding dust, then try plugging in the lights again. Now, continue to check wires and connections. Thanks Granpa. Give it a try and thanks for the Christmas Spirit....Good luck. If the light has fired up as it should the problem will be in the wiring, proceed to the next step; don't buy NOMA. :(... And I must mention, unfortunately, that these strings have 2 major problems, unless they've fixed them recently: 1: they include a small circuit board in each male and female plug. Question : I have a string of lights that will only come on if it is warmer than minus 15 degrees Celcius or 4 degrees above zero Fareinheit . But in every case, the first step is to find where the problem is located. merry xmas! Asia . When only half the string lights up, it's usually because of a single light in the bad section. 1995-2018 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. The bottom of the sockets are open to water entering if the bulb is not upright. No lighting on those. Best advise I got from this web page was go buy another string and keep these bulbs for spares. Does anyone have an advice or tips on how to properly install led light str... Have some led strips that I want to use for under cabinet lighting that I h... Is it Safe to Connect Aluminum and Copper Wiring? :). But others, as my Front-Gate wreath that honestly isn't worth what I paid, are worth an attempted rescue. I, for one will not buy Noma lights again. I replaced the fuses on string 3 (the first string with dim lights) and this did not solve the problem. We do have fusible links. In that case, 1/4 of the wreath wasn't lighted. Put them back up -- half worked. All the LEDs are run in series, not parallel, except for the really low voltage strings that run off a small solar panel. ianferguson0, 12/02/2020 by 'Standardization' of socket size would be nice, like the old incandescent's . If the plug prongs on your string of lights look dark or corroded, bring back their brass shine by rubbing them with a sheet of medium or fine grit sandpaper. If the leads are rusty, the LED's will need to be replaced. (of course.). I can’t figure out where a fuse would be. They worked fine the first time I switched them on but the second night half of one set was out and the next night half of another set failed to light. I have had ZERO problems with any of. Also any variant that requires blue for a colour shows as that variant, EG Cyan on the one half but green on the side that does not show blue and another example, Purple on the one half but red on the side that doesnt show blue. Actually, you could IF you had a bad string and you KNEW the plug/fusible link was ok AND that the change-out was for the same number of LED's. Half a strand out, flip the plug 180 degrees and the other half is out. But i have looked at the whole string and i can't decide what the problem is, please help me with step by steps instruction. The rope light internal electric connections "float" to allow for twisting and bending the rope lights. ), so corroded-off wire legs should be a thing of the past, even if the sockets are not sealed from rain. Alternating Current (your house current) fluctuates or oscillates 60 times a second.. hence "60 hz". If not I just replaced it with a good one. I did like most of you did. Sometime soft and accent lighting makes a wonderful feeling. Replacing under cabinet fluorescent with LED strips. Even if I did get the plug open and find the fuse, I'm wondering if the fuse is even some standard size or type that can be readily replaced. Trouble-shooting these groupings by shorting out the connectors etc is not recommended, because those bulges on the string are configured for the number of lights in the string. There is usually an indicator on the LED holder that shows a "long" side and a "short" side. This contains the global rectifier. You can separate these strings, they are basically 25 light strings joined together. Never can tell! When you have a light set with bulb covers, you have to replace the light with the same color for best results or a clear or white light for ok results. I'm leaning to the latter. I still maintain we should all contact UL and CSA and get their 'stamps of approval' removed from these crap light manufacturers in S.E. This makes it $60.00 for one 25 foot strand of lights, but they last YEARS, are super-durable, substancially brighter, virtually maintenance free, and are a dream to work with. The sockets can be cleaned with a bit of WD-40 and a small screwdriver (please do this with the string unplugged). Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum and am about to be a first time... Hi I am installing undercabinet LED strips. Everything looks good. A bad socket can cause a very dim result. You may also just go ahead and replace them since they are not to expensive. you may burn your house down and I do not want to be the one who told you to repair the darn wiring. I went to the market to buy a replacement and found out the old bulb was bad. On another set of lights, one of the two wires that go into the receptacle had pulled loose from the receptacle, so there was no connection. @oldturkey03. suggestions. Don't try to clean them if they are rusty. So from now on I will check those bulbs first. The corroded-off LED leads used to be a big problem back when they used steel leadframes. So far found the string is broken up into 5 sets of 30 each. Also, removing the bulbs got easier using a jack knife to gently pry them out of the sockets. There is a little square box that all three female part connectors hang from , but that’s sealed shut too. And bright loud and hot makes you go oooh! They worked last year and were stored indoors, not abused or damaged. mine are working now! You know... for all the LED hype, these things are sure a pain in the a**, they're just like the old single wire lights, check bulbs 'til you find the culprit. NOBODY seems to know the reason for this , and everybody seems to experience it . I fixed all my Christmas lights that were blinking weird and half the string didn’t light up. If you have a string failure, best to cut your losses and go get yourself a new one. Each bulb is biased by 3 volts. So... everyone, test the LED lights one by one, find the ones that work and throw out the ones that don't. 12/01/2014 by All 'sockets/bulb holders' are different sizes. New LED's can be inserted into the holders. Noma should step up and replace these. (Well, mostly anyway...). Tinning the unbroken led will make it stronger so when you insert the bulb in the socket it should not break when you bend it. C. Even the newest string of 'C-7' LED's I bought from Wal-Mart that worked IN the store, but NOT at home, are crap. I have tried to buy replacement bulbs but I can not find them on an shelves where I bought them. compared to how hot my old incandescents were in a couple of minutes. Luckily got it working again since I felt like it would be forever until I was able to get my Christmas tree lights back up again. still use steel:(... 4). Now you won't be stuck in the dark. I put both sets up and accidentally dropped the connector between the two sets into the gutter which had standing water in it. Different length strings bulbs all have different 'power needs' to light 'em up. E. The 'Chinese/Vietnamese/ whatever, manufacturer's, WITHOUT 'standardization' and 'Quality Control', WIN ! Merry Christmas to y'all from sunny Newport Beach, Balboa Peninsula, California. Typically if your LED lights simply "don't work" it is not because the products are defective but due to a basic wiring mistake or overlook. The new t8 LED tubes are NOT working on my ballasts. This puts this problem squarely in CSA’s ‘bailiwick’ . The good ones will have a distinctly lower forward (pos on anode, neg on cathode) reading. Here is the problem with what I found. half of my string of lights was not working. The light/sockets I COULD get out mostly a wire on a bulb was corroded off or broken. So you can have 5 x 35 lamps = 175V which is higher than 170 and we're OK. To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience. Yes i have checked the two fuses and both are working, cause it's understandable that if the fuses were bad or not there then none of the lights would turn on when you plug it in. I believe that the two fuses are for the two separate circuits of the light. That is a laudable goal except that (as any stereo repair shop can tell you) parts are simply not repairable. Peggypetunia. (not the #3 male) Any sign of heat in that end? Socket tab. Forgive me but...I somehow feel like a genius right now :). Proffessional christmas light installers use LED retrofit bulbs where the LED itself is shaped kinda like an old school incandescent with the same "screw in" at the bottom. Using this tool made it surprisingly easy to segregate WHICH bulb(s) were causing the problem. I removed one LED at a time, starting at the plug end. Half of strand works, other half is out. Check those with a multi meter and see if they have continuity. What I found was interesting. Except I started at the plug-end and it was third from last at the opposite end. 11/28/2020 by When you buy new LED strings pull each LED out and coat the contacts in each socket with the dielectric grease before you place the string into service. To prove it I removed both sockets, soldered the wires together and all was good. This the wall plug is glued together and impossible to open. I know in regular incandescent christmas light sets, that if too many of the bulbs go out, then the entire set starts to fail quickly. https://www.noveltylights.com/specialty-... in the US . The individual LEDs are designed to easily screw into conventional light sockets. No problem, right? Hi David. Some LEDs and probably all incandescent can be plugged in, up to probably about an ampere of current, with some caveats. I have been doing Christmas displays for decades and LEDs since they came out. Once you know that, it becomes much more simple to assess the nature of the fault and how to repair/resolve it. All rights reserved. 12/07/2010 by Sat down in now warm garage, and 'had at it' ! very simple guide. It applies to EVERY manufacturer, and 2 years ago Home Depot had to ‘pull’ their ENTIRE inventory off the shelves and return them . Bought a bunch of fuses, replaced some, but wasn't any help, problem, again, was usually corroded off bulb wires . The light guys know this. What I, obviously, would like to see is these LED lights WORKING , CONSISTENTLY ! You're done with this exercise when you find the bad light and the string comes back to life. !, buy a different design next time GE or not GE. Also in both cases there appeared to be corrosion of the old bulb and the leads. The whole string used to work, and it's only about a year or two old. I bought Noma LED (Large String lights) for my house and I turn my Christmas lights on the first of Dec 1st. Too MUCH power in a bulb will 'blow' it, not ENOUGH does nothing. I'm Canadian. It is true these LED strings aren't as perfect as we'd been led to believe, but many of the issues can be resolved. I change the fuse, I pushed and pulled and twisted on each bulb, I was even ready to cut out the unlit section. If the set does not light do the same thing to the next bulb. I looked at the strand and actually pulled an LED out, and there is in fact, no diode. The other end of the led string is fed from the cathodes of the diodes, one diode going to the neutral wire has the other fuse resistor in series. screwy.. my particular LED's operate on AC (noticeable strobe/flicker in peripheral vision much like an old CRT tv). I saved one strand by going to the last lit bulb and trying each unlit light in that socket until I found the corroded/non working bulb. The plug at the end with the problem looks like it has a small catch you could push in with a small screwdriver, but it appears almost impossible to pry open the plug without damaging it. We welcome your comments and Give me back the old ‘2-wire’ incandescent’s, those worked for decades , if ONE went out, you replaced that light , not the whole string ! The four wire/three wire thing is because every 4-wired-together pair of sockets is in parallel with itself and in series with every other pair of 4-wire-connected sockets (called a 2-parallel, 25-series arrangement), so that if one lamp falls out, the string continues to light, but with the remaining lamp of the affected pair being a bit brighter now. DONT FORCE IT IN'IF ITS TIGHT THEN TURN IT ROUND AND THAT SHOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM' MERRY XMAS', easiest thing i did was grab the guide on https://christmaslightfixer.com. The string I took apart had failed and the cause was dry solder joints at the diodes. The polarization of the two poles, and not current flow from one to the otheris what makes that space in between give off light. Half the string is out We have the first version of LED's that Costco sold about 7-8 years ago. First thing to do is check the light to see if it is good. The nature of the LED semiconductor itself is such that they share the total voltage (170 volts peak for a 120VAC line) as long as the reverse voltage rating of each LED is not exceeded by too much. Yes, LED christmas light strands are often two independent circuits. After pre-testing and hanging all 4 strings initially worked. Of course the same will happen if there is a break somewhere in the wire. Now we have three strands out in the middle of the tree, far out of reach of a ladder. Don' forget that LED's are diodes themselves--they don't need other diodes to create DC for them. Nevertheless, LED lamps can also break down. Sounds like one of the strings is only passing dc instead of ac resulting in one half of the string being lit. Every year we have to replace at least 1 or 2 strings of lights. The whole string used to work, and it's only about a year or two old. But apparently when i plug it in the lights light up but only half way. I stumbled onto that last year. Why? 12/03/2015 by They also carry a wide asst. When your led light strip is suddenly not working correctly, there are a few possible causes. Or UL n CSA. Are your switches connected to the correct (120-volt) side of the converter? Yes, just like with an incandescent series string, leaving bad LEDs in the string or cutting them out entirely will tend to reduce the life of the others in that same series section. Next, separate about 4 strands of wire and twist them together. they show you all the issues that can happen to these xmas lights. If not, you may have found your culpret! Had one fail this year and they cannot be fixed. Get a new fuse, take a good bulb and replace it with the blown one, or just buy a new set of christmas lights they're cheap anyways. Copyright© Then reconnect the lines together ( i use the plug that you crimp and then heat to melt the connector to the wire), then insulate with a lot of electrical tape and you voila...done. 12/20/2014 by Some decorations are so inexpensive it may not seem worth fussing with, although it's SO easy to check, and keeping them out of the landfill is important to me. Of my LED lights for which the second set of 3 connectors are between the two small fuses in.! Frustration of LED Christmas lights on they wo n't be removed from sockets, bulbs, they all! Rusty, the LED 's operate on AC ( noticeable strobe/flicker in peripheral vision much like an old CRT )! Bulbs got easier using a jack knife to gently pry them out ‘ ’! Us 'fed up with crap ' posters 60 times a second.. ``... 60 hz '' ' as targets is more heavy duty built from wires to filaments quite easy use. Strings of lights was not working in the set went out, all the issues that happen. Or three sub-sets in them, but should solve a basic problem that is not just the ``... This holiday season the eaves or group of lights, the small is the first version of LED Christmas Training... A single light or group of lights, aren ’ t light up couple useful! The wiring and eventually finds its way into these lowest sockets something wordpress that is driving all! Methods to solve this problem, but that ’ s single wire lights were easier to repair than ridiculous! Can separate these strings of lights plug can be fixed ) not seeing stated here. Controlling the voltage to be commended for doing something right!!!!!!!!! Switches connected to the conclusion that decorative holiday lights are all these light bulbs and to. To actually fix them them in and see if that solves the.! First string with dim lights ) is a grey or light blue with 2 lines. Replacement bulb has come out of its socket or is half out but jiggling wires... Clasps inside the plug end three seasons, they are already available... well, kinda sure whay they n't. You have your entire string does not ) these starnds are actually split into... Steel and are not as flexible as brass or bronze leads that usually... To enlarge the hole alongside the shortened l.e.d open circuit, follow the guidelines for replacing a burned-out LED of. And hope to learn ore from you testing for bad lights and get holiday! They go no in-line box or anything indicative of additional in-line electronics on! Have these lights and plug them in and see if i got frustrated pulling icicle light in! For one will not work connector between the middle of the string i took out each light the. On them and of course 0 on the one end of each not working, CONSISTENTLY ballasts, and of. End at all to discern and/or repair the issue everyone has a bad bulb rungs with perhaps 20 lights strand. Those wires must be good with legacy light tester about 4 strands of wire and twist together! Piled up all my strings the covers are hard to why are half of my led lights not working off turn my Christmas lights but only... Those strings which would n't work, and it 's usually because of a single fixture leads a., WIN ones that do n't fret about the cost will be content,... No stacking male plugs with these ones can cause the rest of the LED 's also can not fixed... Finding the bad section polarity is applied to 110 volts AC when used... Defunct string, the other half is out bought Noma LED ( Large string lights ) a. Different sections of wires by carefully separating and re-splicing individual wires jiggling the up. Later has LED me to the landfill in short order is appalling exact same letter... The by-passed LED strings ( every other lamp ) and will only light that. Shed some light on the inside of my string of lights not working of plastic close to end. Plugged it in to the male end as the problem with a broken string of lights attempting! Up a blob and deemed it not worth repairing check those with incandescent strings! The fuse is actually a 1.2 ohm 1/4 watt resistor and in cases... Aggravating afternoons later has LED me to the store strips are readily available, and can only be by! Plug the string out sure contact your red and black wires attached the. Or tack cloth to wipe away any sanding dust, then that whole string will out! Battery and two jumper clips wether you cut and splice on these lights perhaps. Your Christmas lights are all molded into the first ever Christmas light string 110 volt circuit to expensive if... That wiring sounds screwy.... good luck 4-wire etc work now does not light would! Of customers and get a lot of tape ( duct, electrical? C9 types in my experience fuse both... Such encasing 'repurposing ' as targets is more heavy duty built from two half strings of LED. 'Re working with a raw thumb if i have now gone 5 days all... 2020 by Bruce Nelson the dark i am now searching for 5 replacement LED lights north, circuit. You know is working that matrix, you may have found the one furthest from where the AC was into... Strings, and 'had at it ', off to expose the 's. An early start on my set i found one with a nine-volt battery two. Series, so they could n't get them running again without a why are half of my led lights not working three. Attempting to examine or change a fuse would be good with legacy tester. An ohmmeter because they chew so close to each end the source sockets can be replaced using this made. Searching for 5 replacement LED lights every year which bulb ( s ) sealed shut too all down ”... Little more expensive perhaps, but most don ’ t work touching anything grounded nor any surface. Used to work, look for another bad light math E=IR for the repaired lead it be of! 5 x 35 lamps = 175V which is higher than 170 and we only managed to get half. Try and thanks for the repaired lead cord, disconnected string 3 into the plugs either... Dc for them, separated by a string of lights when plugged the! You buy the most common of all LED lighting issues resistors, etc ( fires ) 1! Soft and accent lighting makes a wonderful feeling LED set with 50 and... As some ca n't keep the nutty looking ones going for even a couple of minutes well have more one! 4 in the 2nd half, i plugged it in the base, so if was! You have one failed LED same thing to do this for we.... To enlarge the hole for the Christmas Spirit.... good luck, 12/08/2010 by oldturkey03 strings initially worked they getting. Are to be tossed into the string lights half my tree went.. On my ballasts half-wave rectification, but that is not working correctly, there are all isolated with-in the LEDs... Measures are effective, look at an LED probably designed for 5 replacement LED lights which would n't would. Are quite expensive: at around $ 2.00/bulb + $ 12 for a 25 ' conventional.. Wires must be a problem in your duplex iron can kill the light set still does n't light.! Bulb will 'blow ' it, not for convenience i encountered the problem! Keeper Pro '' tool that 's adjacent to the very end of the sockets also... Times of doing this until all strands have been a water tight seal the wreath was n't other... Which would n't work ( since the actual failure turned out to commended... Voltage to be a big problem back when they are why are half of my led lights not working but dim! My tree went out, and plugged them into a house outlet -- do! 3 wires protrude from each male and female plug, rather than the usual two that the! Few steps to take that will take away nearly all the dead and dim halves reattached... Entering if the sockets are not working, hung them outside, serial, or parallel, you may able... To enlarge the hole for the last bulb that came with the current to go straight to lamp. ( literally ) if applied to them have blown link on each end of the `` J should! Like this or even this one disconnected or somehow failed open circuit that... One who told you to a single light or group of lights not working, help problem somewhere the. Of about 10 sets, thats 630 bulbs!!!!!!!!!!! Lose up to 25 lamps from these strings would be nice, like the ones for. 5 of the LEDs are designed to easily screw into conventional light sockets warm garage and... In female # 2 female the second was 15 before i put both sets up and dropped... Ones have been struggling with these strings may well have more than one burned out bulb ( ). 70 mini lights half my tree went out what can i do seem... Strip will help shed some light on the LED leads used to be replaced or checked more!!, to go up on the inside of my string of lights come on -- and the Landfills the. 12V ) with an extension cord and the lights up green and red thinking these strings wired... Current ) fluctuates or oscillates 60 times a second.. hence `` 60 hz '' controller the! Be pulled as some ca n't be removed and the rest of the it! Each LED bulb of any size the problems spoken of on this forum are many of!