Will someone PLEASE tell me how to keep calm while trying to find the one bulb on a line of fifty, already wrapped around a fake Christmas tree, that’s keeping a string from lighting???
I have two pre-lit fake trees that have strings that have gone out. Unfortunately, on the tallest tree this string is last from the top, meaning I have to work with my arms up over my head. And to make matters worse, this string has the little extra plastic piece that is supposed to snap in place to keep the bulb tight against the connections. It’s tough to wrestle the bulbs out of their bases without twisting them and causing damage.
I decided to work on the four-foot tree that is lit with all clear bulbs. I thought it would be easy to sit down and find the one that wasn’t working, but I couldn’t solve that one, either. At one point I started trading white bulbs for red ones so I could see what I had already tried, but I didn’t have enough red bulbs to get very far. I can either mark my starting spot with a clothes pin, test the white bulbs I have, and then swap the red bulbs for white ones, or I could buy more red bulbs to fill the string, and hopefully find the bulb that is bad.
Despite having several days to laze around, I’m really not up for this task. I think I’ll go finish the laundry.
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
Oh, Buffy, I have to believe that you have already spoken with your Dear Husband and Son-in-Law about your problem, so I also have to believe that my advice is probably pretty close to what they told you: throw those lights away. If, truly, one bad bulb/connection is keeping the rest of the lights from working, they must be wired in series (a single wire goes into and out of each bulb’s socket) – which I did not think had been done in the last 50 years! You need to replace those bad boys with parallel-wired lights (two wires go into and out of each bulb’s socket); then, if a bulb goes out or is loose, it only affects the one bulb.
(You are going to tell me that the lights have high sentimental value to you, aren’t you? In which case: good luck!)
Cop Car….GRRRRRRRRRR!!!
It’s not that there is any sentimental value, it’s that I absolutely HATE having to unwrap those lights and then put on the new string!
Having said that, I have a replacement string for the tree with the clear lights. I’ll have to shop for the colored lights. I bought the last six packages of replacement bulbs, and then read your comment. Oh well….I have twenty-five days…..
Keep Calm? Huh, that drives me crazy too Buffy…and I often pass the task on to my daughter or son; which drives them bonkers too. I hate that ONE stupid light that messes up the whole strand. We test the strands before we put them on the tree, but of course everyone knows that’s NOT always foolproof. I’ve finished putting up all of my decorations…except the tree. That’s next. Wish me luck with those damn lights. Hugs, Joy
Joy, I wish you luck with those damn lights! lol
The three trees we have in the house are all pre-lighted. Someone else has gone to the bother of wrapping the lights around the branches of these fake little trees. That’s what’s making it such a trial. I don’t want to have to unwrap the strand, and re-string a new one onto the tree. When we put up real trees, I always tested the lights before we put them on the tree.
One of my nieces weighed in with a message about something that will repair the wiring on old trees. It’s some type of gun that you can get at Menards or Home Depot. One more thing to try!