![]() ![]() 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. 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.Confirm that the plug is correctly inserted into the wall outlet: Solving this issue should be pretty easy.Troubleshooting a Faulty Christmas Light String Conversely, if there are only a few bulbs, they are likely to get burned since they will receive more electricity than they can handle. If you have too many bulbs, the lights will go dim. 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.One light bulb is unlikely to affect the other lights. In parallel string lights, things are different. Those bulbs may either fluctuate or not come on at all. 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.You may be wondering why knowing the type of circuit your light string uses is important. Why the Circuitry of Your Christmas Light Source is Vital to Fixing It This is basically how parallel + series Christmas lights work. Alone, they are series circuits, but when you connect both strands to each other through the receptacle, they form a parallel circuit. The two images above – Strand 1 and Strand 2 – represent 2 series strands of a piece of festive lights. Parallel + Series Circuit Strand 1 Strand 2 For instance, if your festive lights has a bad fuse, all the lights will stop working. 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. If you remove a few people from a queue, it will get shorter but remain a queue. Current simply stops flowing to the broken bulb while the remaining bulbs keep receiving power through their individual paths.Įven if you unplug one of the lightbulbs from its socket, the others will remain unaffected.Ī parallel configuration is somewhat like a queue. Unlike series-connected Christmas lights, if one bulb burns in parallel Christmas lights, the other bulbs do not go off. Each component has its own path for current flow. Parallel CircuitĪ parallel circuit is one in which current flows through multiple paths. So, the current still reaches the remaining bulbs even though that one bulb is burnt. In such bulbs, when the filament burns, the shunt may start conducting electricity in place of the filament. Sometimes, the bulbs in string lights wired in series come with a shunt wire. Note: Having a faulty bulb in lights wired in series does not always mean all the bulbs will be affected. If you remove one person from the circle, the circle breaks. This is one way to detect if your lights are wired in series.Ī series circuit is pretty much like people holding hands to form a circle. The same applies when one of the bulbs in the series is unplugged from its socket – the whole strand will go off. Consequently, all the lights on the string will go off. 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. In the case of Christmas lights, that one path would include every light bulb on the string. Series CircuitĪ series circuit is one in which electric current flows through just one path. This design makes it easy to alter the length of Christmas lights. The parallel + series configurations involves connecting multiple series strands in parallel. Parallel configurations and parallel + series configurations are more common these days. But you should find such circuit in lights that use incandescent bulbs. Since both types of circuits offer different advantages, manufacturers opt for either, depending on what benefits they intend to offer their customers.įor good reasons, you will rarely come across string lights wired in series. The short answer: Christmas lights can be wired in parallel, series, or both (hybrid). Troubleshooting a Faulty Christmas Light StringĪre Christmas Lights in Series or Parallel Circuits?.Why the Circuitry of Your Christmas Light Source is Vital to Fixing It.Are Christmas Lights in Series or Parallel Circuits?. ![]()
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