Things You'll Need:
- Outlet
- Power strip (optional)
- Fuses
- Replacement bulbs
- Light tester (optional)
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Step 1
Gather your Christmas lights and prepare your workspace. Find an area that you can use to repair your lights. You will need to be near an outlet and you may even use a power strip to be able to test several strings of lights at once. A kitchen table, workbench or even the living room floor will work. It needs to be big enough to open the string of lights so you can see all of the bulbs. Bring all of the Christmas lights to this location.
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Step 2
Take out and examine your lights individually. Unpack each strand of lights and untangle each string, if needed. Be very careful not to pull too hard on the wires or bulbs when doing this. Make a thorough inspection of each of the Christmas bulbs. Look especially for any missing, loose or broken lights and other damage to the wire or bulbs. Replace any lights required.
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Step 3
Turn on your Christmas tree lights. Plug the string of lights into the outlet. Leave the Christmas tree lights plugged in and on for several minutes when you are checking them to be certain they are working correctly. If they do not work, try the next few steps to repair them.
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Step 4
Replace any blown fuses. Unplug the string of Christmas lights. Check the plug area for the location of the fuse. Make sure there is only one fuse, since some strings of lights have more. Examine each fuse and replace with new ones, when required. Plug the lights back in to test again.
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Step 5
Test the individually lights on the string. You can purchase various "Christmas tree light testers" in your local stores selling holiday items. These are generally sold for less than $10. The two most familiar testers are ones that you place the light into a hole and testers that only have to contact each bulb to find faulty lights. Use either type to test each bulb that is not working.
