Discussions

Hi here’s my story my kids (9 and 11) decided to set up my Christmas tree as i was out of town yesterday but they couldnt wait ...When I get home, parts of the tree aren’t working I have no idea what transpired before I walked in the door. My husband is home but didn’t have the children And they cite they plugged and unplugged cords  
 
The tree has three separate sections, each with clear mini lights and coloured mini lights....On the top section all of the coloured mini lights are burnt out I’m in the process of replacing every single one when I plug them into another section they still laid up the section but the ball but self won’t light in the middle section the clear bulbs won’t work I started replacing bulbs and then all of a sudden they went extremely bright and then they all burnt out  
On the top section all of the coloured mini lights are burnt out  
I’m in the process of replacing every single one ....when I plug them into another section the section lights up but not the bulb...  
 
in the middle section the Clear bulbils won’t work....I started replacing bulbs there and then all of a sudden they went extremely bright and then they all burnt out ...Replaced every single clear bulb in the middle section and now there is no light at all  
 
 
in the bottom section I have the same thing....a section of coloured lights and none of them are working so I will have to replace all the mini lights  
 
I’m going on over 100 replacement bulbs so far and can’t get the middle section working again  
 
 
the tree has a remote control which changes the tree to all white or colour are both clear in colour together  
 
I absolutely love this tree and I’ve never had this much trouble. Normally set it up and then look to replace any bulbs that aren’t working so that it doesn’t overheat.  
 
is it possible my children short-circuited something? Also is there anyone and Brandon who can help with this sort of thing??  
 
Edited by Beajulsha, 2018-12-03 23:56:13

When it goes bright and then burns out it likely means the bulb is the wrong type. eg. a 12 volt bulb in a 120 volt circuit.

The mini bulb Replacements come in different voltages. I think they range from about 3 volts to a boat 15 volts. They look quite similar but they may have different ends where they go into the socket.If you put in a replacement one of higher voltage the whole string is very slightly less bright and if you put in a much lower voltage bulb it will glow very brightly. ...for a short time. ..then fail . If the 'shunt ' built int the bulb works properly then the string stays lit but all bulbs are slightly stressed but if its shunt doesn't work the whole series goes dark.

I started from the top of the tree and worked down meticulously  
 
I checked every single bulb that wasn’t working .... turns out there was one bulb was the culprit in the centre portion .... when the bright light happened there were too few lightbulbs that were working putting to much power through the line...So I’ve been careful to unplug lines the arent working and checking them in a different section of the tree  
it takes 2.5 V which I’ve been using....But I thinking last year I may have used a higher voltage bulb to replace and this is why the problem this  
Most of tree lit now, two rows to go!

That seems very complicated. Especially the part about 9 & 11 year olds doing whatever they like while you're out of town and your husband was home but didn't have the kids? I'm having trouble making sense of this lol  
 
Maybe I'm not very ambitious, but replacing all the bulbs on this tree and ensuring they are the right voltage and specialized bulbs, seems more trouble than it's worth and possibly more expensive than replacing the tree.  
 
Good luck.