Remove the "Twinkle" Feature from Christmas Lights

Some strands of Christmas and decorative lights blink, flicker, and twinkle, and while some people may enjoy this feature, others would rather have steady lights that are always on and never twinkling. Some light strands come with control boxes that allow you to turn the twinkle function on and off. But with other light strands, the lights are always blinking. There are still a few ways you can remove the twinkle function from light strands, but you must be very careful! You will be playing with electricity and wires, and a misstep could result in you getting electrocuted, or perhaps setting your tree on fire.

Steps

Replacing Bulbs

  1. Remove the lights from the tree. In case you've decided to make changes to your lights after you’ve put up your tree, you should remove the lights for safety and ease of access.
  2. Find replacement bulbs. Anytime you need to replace a bulb in a strand of lights, you should always find a replacement bulb with the same voltage as the original. Look under the tag on the strand of lights to find voltage information.
  3. Locate the blinking bulbs. Some light strands blink because they have special bulbs that twinkle. If that’s the case with your lights, you can get rid of the twinkle feature by switching out the bulbs.
    • Oftentimes, the bulbs that blink on these strands will be marked with red or silver tips.[1] However, if they aren’t marked, plug in the strand, let it warm up, and use a small piece of masking tape to mark each blinking bulb.[2]
  4. Remove the bulbs. First, unplug the lights. Then, for each blinking bulb, hold the bulb by the base (where the light attaches to the strand) and pull out the bulb and the bottom casing. Remove the bulbs from the casing.[3]
    • If you have trouble removing the bulb and casing, use a screwdriver to pry the light out.
  5. Replace the bulbs. For every blinking bulb that you removed, you want to replace it with a non-blinking bulb. Insert the new bulb into the case, making sure the two wires on the end go through the holes in the bottom of the case.
    • Fold the wires back so they rest against the side of the casing.
    • When you have finished, reinsert the new bulb and casing back into the base.
  6. Test the lights. When you have replaced all the blinking bulbs and returned them all to their bases on the light strand, plug in the lights and test them. Give them a few minutes to warm up.

Removing the Control Box

  1. Unplug the lights and remove them from the tree. Some lights have the twinkle function run by a control box that contains wires and a simple electrical board. Because this method involves cutting and splicing wires, it requires much more care and attention. Before you start, it’s very important to ensure the lights are unplugged and not wrapped around the tree.
  2. Locate the control box. It will be a small rectangular box, and it’s usually located near the plug. You’ll know it’s the control box because the lights from the wires and the electrical plug will all run through it.
  3. Open the control box. Some are glued, some are screwed, and some are clipped together. You may need a screwdriver to remove the screws, or you may need one to pry apart the control box.
    • Once open, remove the contents of the box, including the electrical board and the wires.
  4. Cut the power cable. Use wire cutters or sharp scissors to cut the power cord where it’s connected to the electrical board. Then, cut the hot wires and the neutral wire.[4]
  5. Strip the coating from the wires. For the hot and neutral wire, strip about an inch of the wire coating off each of the wires. An inch from the top, use the scissors to cut through just the top layer of coating. Use your fingers, the scissors, or pliers to grip the coating and pull it off.
    • For the power cable, peel apart the two sides and separate the first two to three inches of cable. Then strip an inch of wire coating off each side to expose the wires beneath.
  6. Splice together the hot wires. Use a multimeter to determine the neutral wire and the hot wires. When you’ve located the hot wires, line them up side by side and then gently twist them all together. Leave the neutral wire aside for now.
  7. Attach the hot wires to the power. Take one of the two sides of the power cord and twist that together with the hot wires. Then, twist together the other side of the power cord and the neutral wire.[5]
  8. Secure the wires with electrical tape. Before testing your lights, wrap the exposed wires with electrical tape. First tape the hot wires where they meet the power, then separately tape the neutral wires where the meet they power cord, then tape it all together.
    • If the two sides of the power cable are wrapped around each other, untangle them.
    • Test your lights. Be sure to watch for smoke and sparks, especially where you spliced the wires.

Installing a Bridge Rectifier

  1. Purchase a bridge rectifier. This method will stop LED lights from blinking, especially if they weren’t meant to twinkle in the first place. LED lights will sometimes flicker because electricity only flows through them one way, so when they are plugged into an alternating current power source, they flicker off when they don’t get any power.[6]
    • A bridge rectifier will convert the power going to the lights to direct current, meaning they won’t flicker on and off.[7] You can purchase one at an electronics store or online.
    • Make sure you buy one that matches the voltage of your lights.
  2. Unplug the lights and take them off the tree. Again, this method requires extreme caution and is best only pursued if you have some background knowledge about electronics and wiring. You could electrocute yourself or cause a fire if you attempt these steps otherwise.
  3. Cut the plug off the lights. Halfway between the last light on the strand and the power plug, use wire cutters or sharp scissors to cut through the two wires. Take the wires attached to the plug and untangle them. Next, strip off an inch of wire coating to expose the wires.
    • When you have finished, slide an inch-long piece of heat shrink over each wire.[7]
  4. Solder the power wires to the bridge rectifier. Make sure you attach each wire to one of the AC pins on the bridge rectifier. It doesn’t matter which wire goes to which pin, since it’s an alternating current.[7]
  5. Determine the positive and negative light wires. First, untangle the wires (if they’re wound around each other) and strip off an inch of wire coating from the two wires attached to the light strand. Next, use a multimeter to determine which wire is positive and which is negative.
    • Make a note of which wire is which, and then slide a one-inch long piece of heat shrink over each wire.
  6. Attach the lights to the bridge rectifier. Solder the positive wire to the positive pin on the rectifier, and the negative wire to the negative pin on the rectifier.
  7. Activate the heat shrink. When you have soldered all the wires to attach the plug and the lights to the bridge rectifier, position the heat shrink over the exposed wires. One at a time, activate the heat shrink by applying the heat from a heat gun or blow dryer to the area.
    • When you’ve finished, plug in the lights and test them out.

Warnings

  • If you have any doubts in your skills, knowledge, or ability, don’t attempt to perform any sort of electrical work on your own.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/RADELECT/LITES/LITESFAQ.HTM
  2. ↑ http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/RADELECT/LITES/XMSLITES.HTM
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj6RZQdEZBU
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqNrEW8BMoY
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbY9j6qba-8
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqRd3q7k9OU
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 http://www.bigclive.com/noflash.htm
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