Christmas Lights...?

Question

How do I get the lights on my Christmas tree to blink. I've plugged in the little red-tipped lights and nothing....

Answer 1

The red tipped lights are actually little switches that use heat to function. The additional metal wire inside the light moves back and forth as it heats and cools, causing it to open and close the circuit.

If you have standard, cheapy lights, one blinker in the set will make all the lights blink on and off. It may take a little while for it to start blinking if the bulbs are in a cold environment, since the blinker depends on heat to work correctly.

Some strands are designed to stay partially lit if a bulb burns out. If you pull out a bulb and the strand stays half lit, then that's what you have. This type of strand has two circuits, and in order for the whole strand to blink you need to use one blinker on each circuit. You can identify where the second circuit begins by pulling out a bulb near the beginning of the strand while the lights are on.

The only way your blinker won't work is if:
- It's not a blinker
- It's too cold
- The lights aren't getting enought electricity (like, if they're on a dimmer)
- it's broken.

I'd try swapping the blinker to make sure its not malfunctioning. And if all else fails, go buy another set. They only cost about $3 for 30 feet.

Answer 2

Usually they come with an extra light that you plug into one of the sockets that makes them flask. If not, either check the package they came in (usually specifies the maximum voltage of each light that's allowed to replace any burnt out light) or check the chord the lights are on (usually a piece of paper is tied onto the chord telling you what type of lights are allowed on the string). If you do not have the original package or paper tied onto the light string, you could test one of the light sockets with a voltmeter or take it to a store like The Source or Radio Shack where they can test it for you. Once you've determined this, there are replacement light packages that you can buy with special flashing lights in them. Buy one of these and pull out any one of your current lights in your string and replace it with one of these special flashing lights.

Answer 3

sometimes the flasher (red-tip) bulbs tend to stick. the best way i found is to "flick" the bulb a few times not to hard tho or the bulb will dim down also if you have a bulb that is to bright you can do the same n it will dim down. hope this helps

Answer 4

High Performance Tactical Flashlight - http://FlashLight.uzaev.com/?DYhJ

Answer 5

You'll have to keep plugging them in, then unplug them, etc. (sorry)
Seriously, you need to make sure you have a flasher lightbulb. Good luck and happy decorating!

Answer 6

you need a 'flasher bulb' to replace one of the bulbs that are on there now.