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[151949]

We have a 9 ft christmas tree that we bought 4 years ago - it is 3 sections and wouldn't you know the middle section half the lights burned out last year half way through the season. DH still stored the tree away and has intention to try to figure out what is wrong and either fix the lights or remove them (which will be a challenge) and restring new lights.I am wondering if anyone has successfully done this? I told him just leaving the dead light string on there and adding more new lights would not be acceptable to me as they would look ugly so he would have to remove them. He said that would be easy as he would just cut the wires. Clearly, he has a lot of time on his hands.I am praying he will find what is wrong and repair them which would solve the problem. He is an electrical engineer so there is hope.

[Nannerbelles]

We had the same problem last year and my husband tried to remove the lights it was a nightmare. We ended up just putting some lights over them. The tree looked fine after it was decorated and I don't think any one noticed but that was all I could see. I am after a new tree this year not going through that again.

[brii]

I've added lights without removing the strand that didn't light up. You couldn't even tell...

[nun ya]

The middle string on my tree died, couldn't figure it out and gave up. I just hung a set over it. Then, when I took the tree down, I cut all the lights off of it, which was a pain because they are wrapped around all the branches. So, I will just start over with new lights.

[maryfw]

Same here. Just added a couple strands. I would like a new tree with the "instant power" but they are so darn expensive. Maybe after it isn't so new in a year or two, the prices will come down.

[stevieb]

I'd not try to remove the old one, but in the past have simply strung additional new lights on the tree, either to supplement those it came with or to 'replace' sections that no longer work. While I have cut out sections of old wiring where lights no longer work, what I've learned is that you really can't see them anyway, so just left them in place and strung new lights over them. It works fine and you really don't notice the lights that aren't lit unless you're looking for them.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

There are special testers that can be purchased to test the individual light bulbs of the strands. I worked for some years in a place that sold these pre-lit trees, and lights, and installed decorations, etc, and what I believe to be true is that when the circuit to the strand is interrupted, such as through bulb breakage (happens frequently when the tree gets packed away), or if a bulb is loose or for some reason a connection is not made, filament wires get twisted, and so on, entire stands will "burn out", though they can often be fixed. It's tedious and time consuming to attempt to figure out, and there can be unfathomable reasons why they bomb out. Sometimes, though, it is just one obscure bulb that is causing the problem, for reasons stated above.

Removing a factory installed light set on a pre-lit tree is tedious and onerous, as well.

Good luck. Maybe we should just go back to the revolving color wheel lamps turned towards the aluminum tree!

[AspenQn]

I don't know what brand of tree you have, but you might try contacting the manufacturer. I had a Santa's Best tree a number of years ago that had same issue, and was able to purchase a replacement row of prelit branches. I did that for several rows of branches before we finally retired the tree.

It's worth a shot if your tree is otherwise still in good condition. Santa's Best sent me a schematic diagram of my exact tree and then I was able to order the appropriate replacements.

I am a HUGE fan of Santa's Best...they gave me exceptional customer service to the extent that when one row of replacement branches on that tree went out in a year, they gave me a FREE replacement tree the next year!!!

[Fressa]

I had the same situation where the one section of the tree stopped lighting. The first year I just strung a few additional sets of lights in that area for my quick fix. The next year I purchased this gadget called a "Lightkeeper Pro" and it actually worked! I've seen a few other brands of this type of light restore gadget but this is the one that worked for m. I have since used it on pre lit garlands, etc.

[ValuSkr]

My tree came with a tester, as mentioned by Sweetbay, to determine which bulb in particular is causing the whole string to fail. I've used it on a light string that wasn't on the pre-lit tree, it was great; haven't had to use it on the tree itself. You can buy the testers on Amazon; they're plastic and very inexpensive.

Failing that, I don't blame you for wanting to remove the dead string. If your husband, an electrical engineer, can't figure this out, there's no hope for the rest of us.