"Bill Jeffrey" wrote in message
...
Chuck wrote:

Just count the number of bulbs that go out when you remove a bulb from a
working string...
then divide 120 volts (if in North America) by the number of bulbs in
each section,

10 bulbs would be 12 volt bulbs
20 bulbs would be 6 volt bulbs
50 bulbs or so would be 2.5 volt bulbs
These are nominal voltages, Some strings use a few more bulbs and run
not as bright.

Now that was a good common-sense troubleshooting response. Right to the
point. Excellent!

Good answer, but that wasn't his question. If I read the OP correctly, he
has a bulb in his hand (not in a string) and doesn't know which string it
goes into. In other words, he doesn't know how many volts it takes to
light this particular bulb.

Bill

Just using a multimeter is not a practical approach..

It is hard to make contact with those tiny wires, which probably have
corrosion on them, and so make resistance readings erratic

You would have to make a test socket to make a good connection for an
ohmmeter, or use a variable power supply power supply light the bulb
individually.

The post mentioned many different strings, so I assume the guy just wants to
get his lites working,

something which I just finished doing.

Also save the old bulbs to use the bases, as new bulb bases are not always
supplied, or dont fit properly if they are supplied.