Christmas lights play a key part in holiday decorations, so it can be frustrating to find that your lights aren't working properly. Our guide helps you troubleshoot different issues that might be causing your lights to go haywire, as well as some simple tips for quick fixes. Keep reading to learn how to fix Christmas lights.

Tip!

Before moving on, refresh your knowledge on the different types of Christmas lights available to know how to properly fix them with help from our guide:
Types of Christmas Lights

How to Fix Christmas Lights

Noticing broken Christmas lights? Fixing your Christmas lights only takes a little bit of time and patience. Here are our tips for how to fix Christmas lights.

What You'll Need:

• Additional bulbs
• Additional fuses
• Multimeter
• Pliers
• Gloves

Before you replace any missing or broken parts, you must unplug your lights or you can risk electrocution.

Step 1: Inspect Your Bulbs

Christmas lights are packed tightly for the most part of the year. Depending on where you store your Christmas lights, it’s possible they’re tucked in the attic or somewhere in storage where other boxes can sit on top and apply weight.

It’s extremely important to take out your lights and briefly inspect each bulb before plugging them in. Observe each bulb to look for any slits in insulation, frayed wires, or damaged plugs. These are all grounds to throw away the entire set as the lights will not work and can be hazardous. If you notice there are singular bulbs in your Christmas lights that are broken or cracked, these can be replaced. While inspecting your Christmas lights, also look for any missing bulbs.

Step 2: Replace Missing or Broken Bulbs

If the strand of your Christmas lights looks okay, plug them in to test how they light. If half of an incandescent strand isn't working, the bulbs could be burnt out. Unplug the string and carefully replace the faulty bulbs – use gloves and pliers on mini bulbs and unscrew larger bulbs with your fingers. For missing bulbs, use your gloves and pliers to install new bulbs by screwing them in place.

If an LED strand isn't lighting, unplug the strand and use pliers and gloves to remove and check every bulb along the string to ensure that the wire prongs in the socket line up with the wiring of the LED bulbs. Replace faulty bulbs or carefully reposition the socket wiring if it appears out of place.

Step 3: Check for and Replace Blown Fuses

If a strand of incandescent Christmas lights still isn't working after you've checked the bulbs, a fuse may have blown. Unplug the strand, locate the fuses behind a small trapdoor in the plug, check visually whether their internal wiring is intact, and test them using a multimeter. If the fuse has blown, the multimeter will not detect a charge. Replace if broken.

Step 4: Replace Faulty Christmas Lights

If an LED strand still isn't working after you've checked all of its bulbs, a blown fuse would indicate much more complicated problems that may be beyond the average person's abilities to fix. We recommend replacing the strand completely.

Tips for Keeping Christmas Lights

While fixing Christmas lights doesn't take too much time, it's best to take simple steps to prevent broken Christmas lights. Here are a few tips that will help you keep your lights working year after year.

1. Use Christmas Light Storage

One of the best ways to ensure your Christmas lights will work is storing them properly after the holiday season. Designated storage, such as a light reel or a light storage box, are designed to keep the lights neatly wrapped. This helps you avoid messy tangles or broken bulbs when you pull them out for the next year.

Tip!

Read our guide How to Store Christmas Lights for more storage tips.

2. Don't Pull Too Hard

When removing Christmas lights after the holidays, be careful to not pull too hard on the cord or the plug. Tugging too much on the cord can easily cause loose sockets, damaged bulbs, or disconnected wires. It's important to keep this in mind while wrapping lights up for seasonal storage too.

3. Replace Lights Every Few Years

Most string lights aren't designed for longevity and typically last for 1,000 to 1,500 hours, which is about one to three seasons of use. If you're looking for Christmas lights that last longer than that, we recommend switching to LED Christmas lights. LED lights often last ten times the lifespan of traditional incandescent Christmas lights.

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Now that you know how to fix Christmas lights, it’s time to replace any that might be broken!