How to Fix Christmas Lights That Are Out

Every year at Christmas, trees and lawns are adorned with lights galore. And every year, homeowners are presented with a problem: how to fix Christmas lights that are out. Having a strand of lights go dark because of one burned-out bulb can be discouraging. However, there's no need to trash the whole set. Just find the problem and replace the bulb.

Things You'll Need

• Christmas lights
• Bulb tester

Instructions

1. 

   Plug the strand of lights into an electrical socket to determine which lights are out. There may be multiple lights not burning, and any one of them could be the problem.

2. Unplug the light strand and start with the first bulb that wasn't lit. Remove the bulb from its plastic holder.

3. 

   Align the wires of the bulb along each side of the plastic piece on the bottom of the bulb. Touch the plastic end of the light to the light tester. If the light comes on, it is okay. If not, you need to replace the bulb.

4. Continue testing individual light bulbs until you find the one that will not light up with the tester.

5. 

   Replace the blown bulb with a new one from the packet of extra bulbs that came in the box of lights. Remove the non-working bulb by straightening the wires and pulling it out of the plastic piece. Insert a new bulb and fold the wires to run along the sides of the plastic piece as before.

6. Once you have replaced a problem bulb, plug the strand back into the socket to see if all the lights are now working. There are sometimes multiple blown bulbs, so you may have to do more testing to get them all.

Tips & Warnings

• To reduce the amount of light bulbs you have to test, purchase light strands that guarantee all lights will work except for the burned-out bulb. Some light testers will also allow you to check the fuse of a light strand.

• Unplug the light strand before removing any bulbs. Failure to do so can lead to electric shock.