Quick, simple question.

Is there a trick to finding the blown bulb on a string of christmas/fairy lights?

My kids are now at an age where christmas is exciting and I must say this is the first christmas in a few years where I feel excited too. However, this means they are also getting excited about seeing all the lights and decos.

I've put up one waterfall style (not very long but still a lot of bulbs) and a long string of fairly lights. Both style have lights not working. I was working my why through each indivisual bulb when I thought about asking the seabreeze brain trust.

Thanks in advance

start reading the koran then you wont have this problem

Yeah - take the kids and let them help pick a new set...

Toph said..
Quick, simple question.

Is there a trick to finding the blown bulb on a string of christmas/fairy lights?

Of course.
It's always the last one you check, so look at that one first.

Oh,.. and happy to have been of assistance.

Oh,. I spose I should have added, you will need a multimeter and just check that each globe has a resistance across it of much less than a thousand ohms. ( put the meter on the ohms setting to read about 1 or 2 Kohm range.
If the resistance is infinite, then that's the faulty one.
You can get a cheap multimeter from any electronic shop for about $20. You don't need anything exotic.

This info-video should help you....

Fork out for a set that have been wired in parallel, the ones you have are a series circuit and you will need to go thru and manually test each one to find the blown bulb.... downer!

Don't just start at one end and work through. Use the "dichotomic divide and conquer search algorithm."

(I was thinking of the old binary search, but Wikipeadia redirected me to that most brilliant term)

Could you make up a wire pair with a connection at each end to plug into the bulb sockets. With that you could quickly isolate the blown bulb.

NotWal said..

Could you make up a wire pair with a connection at each end to plug into the bulb sockets. With that you could quickly isolate the blown bulb.

Electrics obviously isn't my thing
I'll much around with 12v no worries but with 240, I change bulbs and that's about it. Thanks though

Just set my tree up. Just 22 bulbs from 176 not working. Only 1 beers worth.

UPDATE

Fixed in only 10 minutes. (Two bulbs blown in series just to keep my on my toes.)

Now, these were working when I took them down last year, which raises the great Christmas light mystery......

How do bulbs 'blow' when they are sitting in a cupboard doing nothing all year???

Had 2 long sets, both with at least 20 not working....

Missus came home with a set of LED ones from red dot for 10 bucks...

Bonus ! No more blown bulbs :)

ok said..

start reading the koran then you wont have this problem

Nope: www.google.com.au/search?q=dubai+christmas+tree