Thanks for the feedback. Check out the GE brand strings. As in the plug can be inserted either way. very simple guide. This contains the global rectifier. I pushed the prongs into position, put the LED in the socket, and the rest of the strand came to life. But what a dog's breakfast!! @clearlythebest, IT'S IS FIXABLE!!! However, they only pass current and light up when the correct polarity is applied to them. Had 2 cardboard 'apple boxes' of light strings to put up, and, after trying to put them up , ended up with 1 apple box full of '1/2 string out' strings as usual . Stop by the automotive dept. I tried reversing the plug and it didnt make the other end light up. 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. mikelake108, Best solution i found for this light issue was https://christmaslightfixer.com it was mentioned in another answer on here. Expensive but inedible for a squirrel and replaceable. I've had this happen to me a few times now. The problem here is the manufacturer used a GLOBAL rectifier that affects, not only the LEDs in that particular section (25, 30, or 35 LEDs typically), but the add-on socket at the end as well, which unfortunately for most people is a standard Edison type connector! But I am hitting 10 years with those strings. NO 'Box' stores . What I did was to take out each unlit bulb and reinserted in a lit up area. In the case of high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights, or Xenon headlights, … An LED probably designed for 5 reverse volts could easily see 50 or even more this way! (The coloured bulb is merely a housing for the small l.e.d. I am a senior citizen and my fingers just cannot pull out all the lights on 9 sets, thats 630 bulbs !! I am going to replace them all with 25 light strings so they can be replaced or checked more easily! 6). Even finding the proper fuse to replace is a real pain, but the guide breaks it all down. Half the string is out We have the first version of LED's that Costco sold about 7-8 years ago. With one string, exactly half of the LEDs don't light up when plugged into the AC. Battery. That wiring sounds screwy....good luck, 12/08/2010 by . A light bulb has come out of its socket or is half out of its socket and it has brought down the circuit. . this kind of LED christmas gifts 2011 light string? by removing the "bulb". Decorational lighting used around the holidays. You can have 1 weak link in all the strings of Christmas lights and without a proper guide it can be very tough to diagnose the issue. It is possible that the cold is causing the clasps inside the plug to not function properly. They would blow up (literally) if applied to 110 volts AC when they are designed for more like 6 volts DC. This change can be verified with a magnet, and is probably at least partly responsible for LED string prices not having dropped as fast as we expected over the years. Yeah, that's what I do too now is just buy 25 light strings, but thanks for the NOMA 'tip' didn't know that ! 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. Put A LOT of tape (duct, electrical?) I have now gone 5 days and all strings are working. Last night I had the good ole plug them in and 2/3 of the lights do not come on AFTER testing them in the garage. I bought Noma LED (Large String lights) for my house and I turn my Christmas lights on the first of Dec 1st. it was easy to replace the bulb every string comes with replacements. NOBODY seems to know the reason for this , and everybody seems to experience it . I had the same problem with three different sections of my LED lights. The string of LEDs is on the third conductor, the other two wires are live and neutral (117vac Canada) At one end the leds are fed from the anodes of the diodes each diode connected to live and neutral respectively, the one diode going to the live side also has the fuse resistor in series. problems contact webmaster@doityourself.com. The problem is when i brought m lights out and plugged them in, for some reason the whole entire light string wasn't working. In fact, if the voltage is too high (AC or DC) that space will be violated and the LED will literally "pop its top". lights to give you joy! View our Privacy Policy here. Half of LED string of lights come on -- the other half does not. This will make the lights unnoticeably dimmer. As mentioned by some, the only truly reliable way to fix a string that has a bad section is to take each lamp (LED or incandescent) out of the nonworking part and swap it into a socket of a known working string of the same type. If your LED strip lights are not working, there may be many different reasons why. The light strand(s) are the rungs with perhaps 20 lights per strand. These are not available in stores, and can only be purchased by a handful of select suppliers who work exclusively with professionals. 01/20/2011 by 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. and buy a tube of dielectric grease. They are 2 or 3 times the old incandescants which were a pain when a bulb went out but at least they could be fixed if you took the time. If the light has fired up as it should the problem will be in the wiring, proceed to the next step; I tried new fuses and still the one end of each string would not light up. Don't buy the one that has the most bulbs or the brightest with the most light changing modes. Since Christmas is right around the corner I figured I'd chime in. The second set of 3 connectors are between the middle and top section. HOWEVER-- the current limiting resistors in the unrectified LED strings plugged into the global-rectifier string may overheat and possibly melt, so you shouldn't use this as a feature unless you really know what you're doing! Further testing would mean cutting into the strand. When i take them down this year, I'll troubleshoot them in the warm garage! That event likely caused the fuse to blow. + That just shows that when the going gets tough, the tough keep on trucking.....:-) Happy Holidays, 11/26/2011 by Power is received at BOTH ends , but no lights, or only half of either end . The last 2 lights on the dangle seemed more corroded than any others. @smileynish. Lo and behold, the second string, the one furthest from where the AC was plugged into the wall, did not work. You could check with a voltmeter to see if you are getting 120vAC out of the socket on the tail end, which if zero would mean a wiring break. 'Standardization' of socket size would be nice, like the old incandescent's . Tin booth leads of the light. They aren't cheap, but all their products are 'Commercial quality' so. solution i found for this light issue was https://christmaslightfixer.com it was mentioned in another answer on here. The prongs of the LED were misaligned in the base, so they couldn't make contact with the socket. submitted to our "DoItYourself.com Community Forums". It was actually quite easy to use , following instructions . I wish now that I had just scoured the thrift shops and stuck with old incandescents. The first thing you will want to check is to make sure that there is electricity flowing from the battery. But ONE of the lights which wouldn't work was "so dead" that even the other lights wouldn't work. I have no idea! 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. oldturkey03. I’m sure you’ve all experienced it, half a string goes out, the other half is on . I, for one will not buy Noma lights again. On the one hand, this can be due to the lamp itself. Imagine a ladder where the legs of the ladder represent each side of a 110 volt circuit. 12/17/2017 by If there was a problem with one of those sub-sets, just that set would not light. I have a variation on the above problem - I have a (quite) new 200 string LED set, the first 40 are not quite out - they are on but very dim. 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. Sounds like one of the strings is only passing dc instead of ac resulting in one half of the string being lit. I took all of the lights out of the half of the set which didn't work and one by one tested them in the other half of the set (the side that worked). what can i do to fix it. Using a double feed from live and neutral powers the leds at 2x the power-line frequency or 120Hz here in North America which makes the strobing a bit less noticeable. So I thought...Since one string has the plug end that won't light and the other has the receptical end that won't light, what if I cut the strings and put the two ends that do work together? Next, dip the leads in soldering flux. They supply two light when you buy them at first. I too am in Canada and am sooooo angry with the whole thing. Cut out all the dead and dim halves and reattached the plug. 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. The only-kinda-interchangeability I alluded to consists in the fact that the manufacturer has not been consistent, over the years, in what polarity they assemble these lamps in! LED bulbs require a much lower voltage (the force needed to make electricity flow) than traditional bulbs, so they have internal drivers (transformers) to reduce the voltage to the LED bulb. When looking more closely, the bulbs were actually on but extremely dim. Going to escalate this to the media because of this is a potential problem then They should have a disclaimer on the product How stupid of me to think they would be this reliable and stand behind their product. I can’t figure out where a fuse would be. This does not make sense to me. Your frustration is valid. See my post below. hmm..same problem. 3. The only savings may be at the meter. How is this good for our environment ( as well as our pocketbook)? You may also just go ahead and replace them since they are not to expensive. I started at the first unlit bulb and worked my way down the strand, until I found a bulb that was not pushed in deep enough into the receptacle. 1) These starnds are actually split up into 3 sections and a bulb going out will kill that section of the strand. 6. Different length strings bulbs all have different 'power needs' to light 'em up. I hope this answer is helpful to someone. 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. Interestingly, the packs of bare replacement LEDs available on eBay, etc. 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. My understanding is that Christmas light strings like these are often two independent circuits, with fuses built into the plugs at either end. I did this by following the guide on this blog here https://christmaslightfixer.com. Consider using the light set that is half-out as a source of replacement bulbs for other sets if all of these suggestions don't fix the string. So I got frustrated pulling icicle light bulbs and decided to cut and splice. Temporarily turn off the power source. In desperation I have a theory, that is wrong, that if I leave the lights on they won't chew them. 12/07/2014 by Is it worth it to try replacing the fuse? A friend of mine just put up all his led strands and low and behold there are at least 3 or 4 sets out of 15 that are completely dead. 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? Replacing the fuse or flipping the plug does not address the root problem, and my bet is that you will have to toss the string and buy new. The light/sockets I COULD get out mostly a wire on a bulb was corroded off or broken. 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'S i think water follows the wiring and eventually finds its way into these lowest sockets five strings... Designed for more like 6 volts DC simply a matter of time because who knows long... Result and that is a small screw driver or drill bit to enlarge the hole alongside the shortened broken wire! Resulting in one of the light to see is these LED 's are diodes themselves -- they n't! From Humble Beginnings to present Applications are readily available, and use it for non-commercial use subject our... Don ' forget that LED 's when they used steel leadframes an shelves where i bought a `` light Pro... Trying to replace the bulbs individually also need the voltage to be in plug... It seems to me a few spare bulbs on hand as well as our pocketbook?... Will help shed some light on the plastic case, 1/4 of the.! Everybody seems to me 's that Costco sold about 7-8 years ago way into these sockets! Is if there is usually an indicator on the LED in the bad light go. 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