While burned-out bulbs may not necessarily ruin Christmas, the fact that some or all the lights on your Christmas tree stay off when they should be on is sure to affect the merry atmosphere. The dampening effect may be subtle, but it is hard to ignore that your Christmas bulbs have gone defective when you need them the most.
With electrical appliances, defects are almost inevitable. The good news is, many times, those faults can be remedied. So, if all the light bulbs or half the string on your Christmas lights are out, you just might be able to fix them. But to fix them, you must figure out the type of circuit they use. Not sure how to figure that out? Keep reading, we have answers for you.
Are Christmas Lights in Series or Parallel Circuits?
The short answer: Christmas lights can be wired in parallel, series, or both (hybrid). Since both types of circuits offer different advantages, manufacturers opt for either, depending on what benefits they intend to offer their customers.
For good reasons, you will rarely come across string lights wired in series. But you should find such circuit in lights that use incandescent bulbs.
Parallel configurations and parallel + series configurations are more common these days. The parallel + series configurations involves connecting multiple series strands in parallel. This design makes it easy to alter the length of Christmas lights.
Series Circuit
A series circuit is one in which electric current flows through just one path. In the case of Christmas lights, that one path would include every light bulb on the string.
Since the light bulbs in Christmas lights in series are part of the one path through which current passes, any burned-out bulb or loose bulb on the string will disrupt that path and stop the flow of current. Consequently, all the lights on the string will go off.
The same applies when one of the bulbs in the series is unplugged from its socket – the whole strand will go off. This is one way to detect if your lights are wired in series.
A series circuit is pretty much like people holding hands to form a circle. If you remove one person from the circle, the circle breaks.
Note: Having a faulty bulb in lights wired in series does not always mean all the bulbs will be affected. Sometimes, the bulbs in string lights wired in series come with a shunt wire.
In such bulbs, when the filament burns, the shunt may start conducting electricity in place of the filament. So, the current still reaches the remaining bulbs even though that one bulb is burnt.
Parallel Circuit
A parallel circuit is one in which current flows through multiple paths. Each component has its own path for current flow.
Unlike series-connected Christmas lights, if one bulb burns in parallel Christmas lights, the other bulbs do not go off. Current simply stops flowing to the broken bulb while the remaining bulbs keep receiving power through their individual paths.
Even if you unplug one of the lightbulbs from its socket, the others will remain unaffected.
A parallel configuration is somewhat like a queue. If you remove a few people from a queue, it will get shorter but remain a queue.
Note: While all the lightbulbs in parallel configurations may not be affected when one bulb burns, there are situations when all the lights will stop working. For instance, if your festive lights has a bad fuse, all the lights will stop working.
Parallel + Series Circuit
The two images above – Strand 1 and Strand 2 – represent 2 series strands of a piece of festive lights. Alone, they are series circuits, but when you connect both strands to each other through the receptacle, they form a parallel circuit. This is basically how parallel + series Christmas lights work.
Why the Circuitry of Your Christmas Light Source is Vital to Fixing It
You may be wondering why knowing the type of circuit your light string uses is important. Well, it is pretty simple:
- The signs of defect in series and parallel circuitry are sometimes distinctive: In other words, when you match the signs of defect you see in your lights with its circuitry, you might be able to readily tell where the problem lies.As we said before, if a series string light has a shaky bulb in one of its sockets, all the bulbs connected to the same circuit will be affected. Those bulbs may either fluctuate or not come on at all. In parallel string lights, things are different. One light bulb is unlikely to affect the other lights.
- The type of circuit your Christmas lights use dictates the type of modification you can make on it: While you can readily elongate or shorten lights with parallel configuration, such modifications are not so easy with series configuration.Besides the wiring, you must not have too many or too few bulbs in series. If you have too many bulbs, the lights will go dim. Conversely, if there are only a few bulbs, they are likely to get burned since they will receive more electricity than they can handle.
Troubleshooting a Faulty Christmas Light String
- Confirm that the plug is correctly inserted into the wall outlet: Solving this issue should be pretty easy.
- Check the fuse: Whether your lights are wired in parallel or series, one of the first things to check when they go faulty is the fuse. In parallel or series, when the fuse is blown out, all the bulbs may not work.The primary reason fuses blow out is an overloaded circuit. So, if you have too many bulbs in the series, you should reduce them before replacing the fuse. You should also ensure that your wall outlets are not faulty.
- Check for damaged bulbs: You can spot damaged bulbs by examining the lights in the strand that is not coming on. Burnt bulbs may have smoky/black spots on their glass, or their filaments would be disconnected or absent.The lights may also be faulty because the wires that connect the bulb to the socket is bent or cut.
- Check for loose bulbs: If your lights has issues because of a loose bulb, the lights may fluctuate or not come on at all. Searching for the shaky bulb and inserting it properly should fix the problem.
- Examine the wires: check for cuts, burns, or any sign of damage. If the damage to the wire is irreparable, replace the wiring. But if the damage is minor, you may try fixing it. Let an expert do these for you and continue with your other Christmas house decor.
