The Tan (having a broader range of conductor size they can accommodate) are my preference. Now that you know how to shorten string Christmas lights, you can fill in any small gaps of lights on your roof or create custom length string lights to decorate with in your home.I have always sworn BY (not at) Ideal. We hope this helps you adjust the length of your Christmas lights so you can now you hang up you custom length string Christmas lights! With the lights unplugged cut wires with wire cutters between the bulbs and cap each end with wire connectors. The lights are designed so each bulb receives all 120 volts and each bulb has a direct route to power, meaning they can be cut to any length without overpowering and burning out bulbs. Shortening Christmas lights wired in parallel Only one loose wire and the wire coming from the light bulbs should be connected together. This diagram shows that if you connect the wires this way it will short circuit and throw the breaker for the outlet.ĭon’t attach the two loose wires together. You must switch the wire coming from the light bulb to connect to the other loose wire. If you connect the wires this way the light bulbs are only connected to one side of the power and they will not turn on.Īs you can see in the diagram, the red wire is not connected at all. The diagram above shows another possible way to connect the wires. By connecting the wires this way, the lights will turn on when you plug it in.Īs you can see the blue wire (the wire connecting the lights) must always be connected to one of the loose wires. The diagram above shows the CORRECT way to connect the spliced wires. The yellow and red wires are both connected to the blue line on either side of the light bulbs. The blue line connects all the lights together in series and supplies power to the light bulbs. There are three different wires.Įach colored line represents a different wire. This diagram shows how Christmas lights wired in series are wired. Then, cut the third wire to match the length of the other two wires and cap it with a wire connector. After twisting the wires together secure with a wires connector. Use wire cutters to strip the ends of the two wires cut in the previous step. With the lights unplugged, cut the two wires that enter the last light in the series strand with wire cutters.Ģ. Notice as the bulbs are removed and the volts/light increase the lights get brighterġ20 volt / 40 bulbs in series = 3 volts/bulbġ20 volt / 35 bulbs in series = 3.4 volts/bulbġ20 volt / 10 bulbs in series = 12 volts/bulb How to remove individual lights from lights wired in seriesġ. If your goal is to remove one or two lights off a strand wired in series it is possible but not ideal.Ĭhristmas lights wired in series spread 120 volts coming out of the plug across all the lights.Įach light that is removed increases the voltage to all the remaining bulbs.Īs you can see, removing a few bulbs isn’t a huge deal but remove too many and risk burning out all the lights. Risk of removing individual lights from lights wired in series If the lights go outdoors be sure to use outdoor/waterproof wire connectors. Then, simply cap each of the two cut wires with a wire connector. The best way to shorten lights wired in series is to remove an entire series section of lights by cutting lights apart where there are only has two wires, with the lights unplugged. You should see that the Christmas lights change from having 3 wires to 2 wires then changes back to 3 wires. Start by locating both sides of each series section of lights that turn off when a bulb is removed. Most mini Christmas lights and LED Christmas lights are wired as multiple sections of wired in series. If all the lights remain on then most likely the strand is wired in parallel. If all or a section of lights turns off than the lights are wired in series. One way to determine how the lights are wired is to completely remove one of the bulbs. Like our video? Subscribe and help us reach our goal of 100k subscribers. You can also easily shop our recommended products here. Gray House Studio does receive commissions for sales from these links but at no extra cost to you. Shop the products we used for this project in one place.įYI: This post contains a few affiliate links to products we used to make this project. *** Thanks so much for supporting our small shop – Moon Rock Prints – this holiday season! *** SUPPLIES
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