• A top reason that indoor Christmas tree lights malfunction is an overloaded electrical circuit.
  • Discard damaged bulbs promptly and replace them in order to extend the life of Christmas lights.
  • Requite your cord lights an stop-of-the-flavor check-upwardly to prevent future lighting bug.
  • Visit Insider's Home & Kitchen Reference library for more stories.

Lighting and trimming an indoor Christmas tree is one of the almost treasured — besides equally potentially troublesome — holiday traditions. If part of that tradition is the inevitable failure of a strand of lights, in that location are a few easy solutions you should endeavour before you toss them into the trash.

Beneath, Eddie Bello, possessor of Illuminations Holiday Lighting, and Gary McCoy, store managing director for Lowe's, walk us through how to troubleshoot Christmas light issues, and so you lot tin can look forrard to a bright holiday season.

one. Check the circuit breaker

Reset the circuit by turning the switch off and on once more.
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When to try information technology: When none of the lights work.

If none of the bulbs in a string of Christmas lights work, and yous also notice that other lights in the same section of the business firm get out, you've probable tripped the circuit billow, says Bello. An overloaded electric excursion — a state of affairs where more electrical demand is placed on an outlet than it can handle — is the most common (and least serious) reason for this, he explains.

To check the circuit breaker, plug the lights into an electrical outlet. Adjacent, reset the circuit billow. To practice this, locate the labeled circuit in the metal circuit box panel, which is usually plant in your home'due south utility room, basement, or garage.

Once you lot locate the circuit you believe is tripped in the panel, move the switch all the mode to the "off" position, and and so to the "on" position. You lot can often tell which circuit was tripped because the switch volition be slightly out of alignment with the others.

If the bulbs light dorsum up, an overloaded and tripped electric circuit was likely your problem. This is good news, and you don't need to do anything further, other than taking care non to plug in multiple loftier-voltage electrical items simultaneously in the same area of the house.

ii. Replace the fuse

String light fuses are nether a small panel on the plug.
JJ Gouin/Getty Images

When to attempt it: When the unabridged string won't light upwards

"If you have ability coming from the outlet only your lights are not illuminating, it could be the result of a blown fuse," says Bello. Replacement fuses are often included when y'all purchase lights, just you tin can also buy them at nearly stores carrying holiday lights, says Bello.

To supercede the fuse, slide open the chapeau on the back of the plug that inserts into the outlet. If the fuse is blown, one of the fuse tubes will likely appear black in color or have visible fire marks, he says.

Take a small tool, such as an eyeglass screwdriver, and pry out the fuses. Then, gently press in the new fuses. Close the cover, plug the lights in, and they should work.

Bello notes that if the fuse blows again, information technology is likely due to damage in the light strand. If this happens, he says you should discard the lights and supercede them.

3. Replace burnt-out bulbs

When to effort information technology: When individual bulbs or parts of the string won't lite upwardly

If the fuse isn't the problem, in that location is probably a problem with a bulb, says McCoy. To set up burnt-out bulbs, untangle all string lights and cheque for frayed wires, damaged sockets, or broken bulbs.

Discard any damaged bulbs, and then replace them with spare ones. "Just be certain to utilise bulbs with the same voltage rating every bit the rest of your cord lights," says McCoy.

4. Test bulbs for harm

When to effort it: When no bulbs are visibly damaged and the lights aren't working

If no bulbs are visibly damaged, and your lights are not working, use a bulb tester, says McCoy. Follow the manufacturer'due south instructions to test each bulb. Once you lot find the faulty bulb, unplug the associated lite strand from the outlet and replace the faulty bulb with a new seedling. Exist sure to firmly seat each bulb in its socket when replacing information technology.

Give lights a post-holiday check-up

Inspect lights for whatsoever signs of impairment before and afterward apply.
SolStock/Getty Images

A great fashion to prevent futurity problems is to test your lights at the stop of the flavour, says McCoy. As you take downwards each strand of lights, replace whatever burnt-out or cleaved bulbs. Throw abroad strands with broken or frayed cords. When it's time to trim the tree next year, your lights should all be working.

Insider's takeaway

Christmas light problems tin can chop-chop drain the joy out of your holiday decorating happiness. Tripped excursion breakers, blown fuses, and burnt-out bulbs are the about common bug, and thankfully, each one has a unproblematic gear up.

Before you pack your Christmas decorations away at the end of the season, give your string lights a post-holiday checkup. That way, you lot'll look forward to a bright and trouble-complimentary vacation next year.

A consumer-focused announcer with 20 years of experience, Jackie Perrin has covered home, health, parenting, food, travel, and business topics for publications ranging from TripAdvisor to Gannett News Service.