How to Remove Bad Light Strings From a Pre-Lit Tree

Pre-lit trees use light strands.

It almost never fails -- you install your Christmas tree, and a strand of pre-lit lights will not work. You must remove the strand before you can troubleshoot it or replace it. Although the strands were installed at the manufacturer, the process used to install them closely resembles the same process a person would take when installing lights on their own tree. The strands are wound around the tree. Fortunately, you can remove the defective strands while preventing a tangled mess.

Instructions

1. Position the tree in the middle of the room so you can walk around all sides. If it is decorated, remove all of the decorations.

2. Locate the electrical connection between the tree topper and the first strand of electrical lights. The tree topper is the star, angle or other object that caps the top of the tree.

3. Disconnect the tree topper from the electrical connection with the first strand.

4. Pull the strand off, even if it is lit. Walk around the tree as you remove the strand, and wrap the stand loosely around your shoulder and arm as you would when wrapping an extension cord. Keep unraveling the strand until you come to the electrical connection for the defective strand. Disconnect the connection and place the working strand off to the side.

5. Unravel the defective strand from the tree until you get to the next electrical connection. Unplug the connection. You can now troubleshoot or replace the defective strand.