Why Do My LED Mini Christmas Lights Stop Working?

‘T is the season to be jolly and it is time to decorate your home and set up the tree. The holiday season wouldn’t be what it is without a few strings of LED mini Christmas lights placed strategically around the house, and you want to avoid unsightly broken lights.

LED mini Christmas lights stop working when the electrical current inside the bulbs and wiring can no longer flow freely. A short circuit or open circuit stops the flow of electricity and needs to be reconnected

Find out how LED mini Christmas lights work, the reasons they may stop working, and how best to install them to avoid damaged bulbs and plugs.

How Do LED Mini Christmas Lights Work?

LED mini Christmas lights work by conducting electricity produced by light-emitting diodes inside the base of the bulb. The positive electrons and negative electron holes inside the diode collide and release energy as light inside a closed circuit.

When the circuit is broken, the energy has nowhere to go and dissipate, so your LED mini lights stop working.

Reasons LED Mini Christmas Lights Stop Working

LED mini Christmas lights stop working for four main reasons:

  • Poor manufacturing quality
  • Incorrect installation
  • Electrical breaker overload
  • Burned-out bulbs.

Poor Manufacturing Quality

Poorly manufactured LED mini Christmas lights use low-quality material and wiring that fails to conduct an electrical current efficiently.Manufacturing faults can include loose or ill-fitting bulbs and plugs that break the circuit required for electricity to flow efficiently.

Low quality wiring may also experience wear-and-tear quickly or exceed its carrying capacity.

Incorrect installation

When LED mini Christmas lights are installed incorrectly, you may end up with a loose socket connection that breaks the circuit and prevents electricity from flowing.

Installing low ingress protection (IP) LED mini lights outside and leaving them exposed to the elements may lead to irreparable water damage and broken bulbs.

Different manufacturers use a variety of materials, so connecting different types and brands of LED mini lights strings to each other may cause a short circuit and potential fire hazards.

Electrical Breaker Overload

Multiple strings of identical LED mini Christmas lights can be connected end-to-end; however, there is a recommended maximum.

Connecting too many strings to each other will exceed the carrying capacity of the wiring and overload the electrical breaker. Use an amp meter to confirm your extended string of LED mini lights are within the recommended carrying capacity.

Burned-Out Bulbs

It may be tempting to leave LED mini Christmas lights on for hours on end for the mesmerizing effect they produce. While LED lights generally last much longer than incandescent of compact fluorescent lights (CFL), they can burn out.

Most LED mini light strings use fused bulbs which cannot be replaced individually. Once one bulb goes, the entire string becomes useless.

How Long Do LED Mini Christmas Lights Last?

The team of experts at Certified Lights, a company with over 15 years of experience installing and repairing LED lights and accessories, say that high-quality LED mini Christmas lights can last almost five times longer than CFL bulbs, and almost thirty times longer than incandescent bulbs.  LED mini Christmas lights are available in strings as long as 100 bulbs, with little need to connect more than a few strands to each other. This reduces the risk of burned-out bulbs drastically.

Final Thoughts

LED mini Christmas lights can stop working for many reasons; however, if they are installed with care, you can enjoy their bright and colorful effects holiday season after holiday season. And if the lights fail, a company like the above-mentioned Certified Lights can help.

Sudarsan Chakraborty
Sudarsan Chakraborty

Sudarsan Chakraborty, an adept blogger and writer, navigates the digital realm with finesse. His passion for storytelling drives him to explore diverse topics from Home Improvement to Business. With clarity and authenticity, Sudarsan captivates audiences, offering unique insights and fostering a community of engaged readers on his blog.

Articles: 714