On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 23:34:09 GMT, "PipeDown"
wrote:


"Dr. Hardcrab" wrote in message
news:WIFpf.30948$Ht4.7682@trnddc08...

wrote in message
oups.com...

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a Christmas light problem.

The problem is that I have a 150 set of Twin light blinking Icicles.
Some of the lights/strands aren't lighting and I can't figure out why.

There are 15 "icicles" (strands) on the whole set. Icicles # 1,4,7,10,
& 13 blink first. Then icicles # 2,5,8,11, & 14 blink second. Finally,
icicles, # 3,6,9,12, & 15 blink last; these are the ones that aren't
lighting up. There are a total of 50 bulbs in these and I've tested
every one of them - they all work.

The first light in the first and second strand each have a blinker
light in it. The third strand didn't have one as it was in the very
last light on the whole set. So I moved the blinker into the first
light/bulb of the third string, but they still won't light up.

Any ideas on why they won't light up if all the bulbs are ok? I don't
want to throw them out as I can't find any stores that carry these.
I'm
sure they do somewhere but not around here. Also, these were purchased
very cheap at a yard sale and as far as I can see, they had never been
opened. So I have no idea if they're just faulty or if something else
is going on.


I am serious about this:

Throw them away and buy new ones!!! Don't waste your time or your
aptience
by trying to fix them. I worked on mine (the Saturday after Thansgiving)
for
FOUR HOURS trying to get them to work. I even went out and bought one of
those "Christmas Light Testers". (Sure, it tests the bulb and tells you
if
there is power in the light, but that's about it). Problem is: They
(whoever
you bought them from) won't have ones to match the ones you have now so
you
have to buy ALL NEW ONES!!

Trust me. You may be a little poorer, but you will be MUCH happier.

Feliz Navidad


I have all the time in the world to work on them so that doesn't matter
to me. It's better than sitting around twiddling my thumbs. But as I
stated before, no one makes these particular style of lights anymore,
so I'd like to try fixing them.
The bulbs/sockets/volts/etc. are all the same as what's being made
today so that's not a problem either. It's just that this style/design
is different. They're not just some regular set of mini lights. They're
the icicle mini lights but they're different from the style/design
currently being made.

Then maybe one of those testers would come in handy. It was just a couple
of bucks at WallyMart....


After ruling out a single blown or loose bulb you are left with an open
circuit. This is often caused when the wire is pulled and strained too much
and the strands break inside the insulation or right where they enter the
bulb base.

Get a multimeter and modify a bulb base so that the probe can be pushed in
to contact one side. Connect one side of the probe to the wire near the plug
then work your way all the way around the string verifying continuity to
each socket. If the bulbs are in you will see increasing resistance with
each bulb then it will become open when you reach the bad link. Instead of
probing inside the sockets, you can use a pin as a probe and push through
the insulation between each bulb.


That sounds like what I was doing before I found out about the EMF
detector (Christmas light tester). Instead of increasing resistance,
you lose the 120V when you get to the bad place.

Make wiring repairs as required. Do not remove more than 1 or 2 bulbs
[sockets] from the loop or the voltage for the remaining bulbs will be too
high causing them to burn out prematurely.

--
5 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin