VERY DISAPPOINTED. Read the warranty: "Please note that burnt out bulbs are not covered under the warranty. They are considered normal wear and tear and not a warranty defect." After spending hours putting the tree together (fluffing, ornaments, etc.), a "band of lights" about 50 went out after only 5 days. The warranty is weird and says they are not responsible for lights going out and it's your responsibility to change bulbs and fuses right away. Try doing this with hundreds of ornaments, and garland on your tree. The outlets and light plugs are taped together. You'd have to take the whole tree apart in order to see if the lights are even fixable. The lights on my tree are not "black" either. So I have no idea what's wrong with the lights. I have no faith in the company to help me either. $250 down the drain for 5 days. PLEASE READ THEIR WARRANTY WHICH IS NOT GOOD FOR LIGHTS: This is part of their warranty copied and pasted "2. Attention Should you choose to not read the instructions, please read this: It is essential to replace burned out bulbs as promptly as possible. The construction of all standard mini Christmas lights is series wiring. This means that 50 bulbs each 2.5V are connected together in one string. When bulbs burn out, the remaining bulbs get an increased voltage which shortens their life. 10 burned out bulbs in one set means the remaining bulbs are receiving a 20% increase in power. One of the main causes of the light set failure in standard Christmas lights is “cascading”. This is when enough bulbs in one set have burned out to provide the remaining bulbs with enough additional voltage that they quickly burn out also. This is especially important as the bulbs near their life expectancy of 1700 hours (usually in about 3 years of normal use). Sets that have cascaded are usually indicated by blackened bulbs. The set can be repaired by simply replacing all the bulbs in that set. Do this with the tree un-plugged or the replacement bulbs will burn out instantly. BURNED OUT LIGHT BULBS ARE NOT COVERD BY THE WARRANTY." "How to replace burnt bulbs? Any burnt bulbs will have a black or silvery ring around them. We recommend checking for burnt out bulbs each year during set-up and take down of your tree. If one bulb burns out, the rest will remain lit, however, as soon as a bulb burns out, it should be replaced immediately. This will extend the life of the remaining working bulbs. Leaving burnt out bulbs in the light set after a long period of time, will cause a domino effect on the working bulbs. You might even notice the light set burning much brighter. Eventually, all 50 bulbs in the same ring will burn out in and will need to be replaced. PLEASE NOTE THAT BURNT OUT BULS ARE NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. THEY ARE CONSIDERED NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR AND NOT A WARRANTY DEFECT." "How to repair an Incandescent light set? Most individual light set failures are caused by a bulb not seated properly in its socket or by a shunt failure. Shunt Failure A shunt failure is a fail-safe feature below the filament of each bulb. The shunt is activated when the filament burns out. This is what keeps the rest of the light set illuminated. Occasionally, the shunt will fail causing the circuit to be broken and the entire set to go out. Loose Bulb If a bulb is loose, broken or not seated properly in its socket, the “flow” of electricity from one bulb to the next is stopped causing the entire light set to not light. To check each bulb, take the following steps below: 1. Do not push in or twist the bulbs. Remove the first bulb in the strand. 2. Make sure the two copper wires are centered and not twisted before positioning in socket. 3. If the set fails to light, continue this process for each bulb through the entire set, removing the bulb and checking the copper wires. How to repair an entire tree section? If an entire section of your tree is not lighting (i.e. ALL of section A, or all of section B, etc.), locate the plug of the light string for the section. Plug that section directly into the wall outlet. If the section lights-up, continue to use this section. Check the wiring harness from the section immediately below it on the tree as it may be the cause of the problem. If the section still fails to light, unplug and change the fuses in the light string (See Figure 14). Slide the cover to the open position on the plug end of the light string. There are 2 fuses inside the plug; if they are black it means that they are burnt out. Replace them with the spare fuses provided with the product. If the section is has an extension cord connection, check the connection between the plug and receptacle to ensure the connection to the receptacle is tight. If all above steps can’t solve the problem, check the fuse in the plug of the extension cord. There are 2 fuses in the fuse case, one is in use, and the other is a spare. If the fuse in use is black, replace it with the spare one (See Figure 13). (Figure 13) - 14 -How to replace a light set? Locate the plug of the non-working set connected to the wiring harness. Un-wrap the old set starting at the plug. Plug the new light set into the wiring harness. Make sure to plug the new set in the same location as the set that has been removed. Wrap the replacement set on the branch as before. Helpful Hint: Green electrical tape is used to cover the plugs for safety purposes. Replacing a light set or fuses is the only time that the electrical tape should be removed. How to change fuses in a light set? Typically fuses in light sets do not need to be changed. If a fuse is bad, it will normally be in the wiring harness. This will then cause multiple light sets to be out. It is highly unlike that one light set failure is due to a fuse. Should you need to change the fuse, locate the taped plug which can be found on the wiring harness. Unplug the light set, slide the cover on the plug to the open position and replace the 2 fuses inside the plug. Replacement fuses are provided with the spare bulb packet found inside the tree box."
