Somebody has to ask this question:-)
Multi function filament bulb set. Chinese manufacture (in case you wondered) fuse OK but no lights. Appear to be well made.
Control box is sealed and has a single pushbutton to select the operation. Is there any point in forcing the box open in the hope of by-passing the electronics?
regards
Check the fuse in your plug or try a different socket
In message , the_constructor writes
Done that.
regards
It's ALWAYS worth opening any gadget, just to see how it works (or doesn't in this case!). All in the spirit of d-i-y.
Assuming it's the common type of box I'm thinking of, prise off the flap at the bottom, which is held at the sides by clips that will probably break. Open carefully unless you want the fun of working out which green wire came from where. Beneath the flap you will find the wires connect via little tubular sockets to a row of pins. The connections often come loose despite being held by blobs of silicone.The mechanism that grips the wires also has a tendency to slice through them. If no lights at all are on, it's probably the power wires that are at fault, (or the wallwart's duff). With the pins exposed you can easily check. Beware of shorting pins together as that can kill the electronics.
Chris
Angle Grinder....
Checked that all the bulbs are well seated. Checked that all the bulbs will pass current? Tree light bulbs have a mechanisum that allows current to flow when the filament fails, this some times doesn't work.
Always worth a try.
I don't know, but a shelf-full of Xmas lights disappeared off the shelves in one shop three hours after I emailed Trading Standards. Fuseless 13A plugs.
Owain
no need if you've got a multimeter
NT
Sounds likely. We have two sets with identical symptoms.
The controller is referred as *light chain control box* and presumably the manufacturer as YIN YU.
regards
That's something they are very hot on, rightly so, and it means this is rarely a problem anymore. Unfused 13A plugs come out of China and are aimed at the Hong Kong marketplace. Even though equally illegal there, enforcement hasn't historically been as rigourous.
And with my multimeter I..... ?
The bulbs are sealed in position with blobs of silicone and heat shrink sleeving. The sales blurb claimed several thousand hours life so I assume they are run under voltage and not intended to be replaced.
regards
Though ironically the best razor adaptor I have is of HK origin and unfused. Better-made physically and much better electrical contact than any of those which I've seen of more orthodox manufacture. Always used downstream of a 13 amp fuse anyway.
Just try plugging a typical US NEMA 1-15 razor plug (pins made of soft brass strip doubled over) into a typical 13amp shuttered razor adaptor
-- there's a good chance the blades will buckle before you manage to get the shutter open.
If you only have the shuttered variety, here is the alternative solution:
and, while we're on the subject of razor adaptors ...
In message , Tim Lamb writes
OK. Back off.
All connections look sound so it must be the 'lectronics.
180 bulbs at 6V spread across 5 connections. So that's a common and 4 lots of 45?So which is the common? Ah! I see the requirement and use of the multimeter:-)
Hmmm.... All 4 circuits are open! I suppose it only takes 4 bulbs to fail.... I wonder if Wyvale had many returns?
Shame really as the assembly job is very good. The purchasing dept. spent too little on getting reliable bulbs:-(
regards
HI Tim
I spend a few hours earlier this week trying to sort some similar light strings. One very useful gizmo that (I think) came with a set of lights is a holder that takes a couple of AA batteries and has two contact springs at the top that are the same spacing as the bulbs. (I guess you could use one of the old-fashioned 'bicycle lamp' batteries with the springy brass contacts, if they still exist).
Using this thing it's a (relatively) simple task to whip the bulbs out one by one and check them (even though yours may be under-run at 3v /
4.5v they'll still light) - and then swap bulbs until you end up with as many working sections as possible. Mine were 24v, with ten in a string.My bulbs were the sort that fail short-circuit - and a couple of runs of lights had more than one blown bulb - which suggested that they didn't like the over-voltage caused when one went short...
Decision time for us @ 12th night - we have probably more than ten sets of lights - dating back many years (some 50+) - and I'm told we're going to have to bin some of them.... (rather than put them in the 'it'll come in handy one day' box!)
Adrian
Nice thought. Unfortunately these bulbs are not changeable.
This being d-i-y I have just stripped one out to see how they are assembled.
Start point is a *pea* bulb with two bare wires. To this they have soldered the insulated flex. Insulation between the connections appears to be hot melt glue! Over the top is a short length of clear sleeve (presumably shrunk on) which traps the bulb and then, overall, is a length of black sleeve. Cable restraint is achieved by a further sleeve holding the two flexibles together. So lots of work.
However, snipping off the outer sleeve allowed one of the soldered connections to fall apart. Clearly contact was only being maintained by glue and pressure from the sleeve.
I had considered chopping the set into 10 bulb lengths, testing and re-jointing the sound sections but I now think the dustbin is best.
regards and thanks to all.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.