I cannot thank you enough for posting this video! I, too own a GE Contant On pre-lit tree. In fact, I own 2. For the past 2 years I have added lights because of one defective "not to be removed" bulb with the white base. This morning after watching this video, I successfully replaced the bulb! So thank you! Merry Christmas!
Ken you are a Christmas miracle!!! Thank you so much for this video. My tree was shabby for the last 2 years now it's beautiful again. Merry Christmas I hope you and your family have the most blessed holiday season.
I had several sections on my good quality pre lit tree that were out and I didn't have that different colored bulb on my tree like in the video. I bought one of those "Light Keeper" devices at a local retailer and was able to track down which bulb was affecting each section and was able to replace the bulbs that were defective and in one part it was a loose wire. Now I have a fully functional tree after a few years of just throwing extra strands on the tree to fill in the un- lit sections. It was helpful to see thought that I could re use the old bulb bottom and just replace the glass part because I couldn't find the right sized replacement bulbs. I was really impressed by the Light Keeper device and wouldn't have been able to fix my tree without it.
Thank you so much for this video! I could not figure out why the lights wouldn't come on after I replaced the bad bulb until I watched your video. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for taking your time to post this video. It as you know worked like a charm. Was pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was going on. We have a multi color tree that we have had for nearly 10 years now. Except for a few color bulbs burning out never had any problems until now. I did notice the random clear bulbs with the white ring, but forgot about them. Thank you for your kindness and Hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Mike and Jan.
It's crazy that they do that so consumers have to repurchase a tree every few years. Especially considering the insane price they charge for a tree now. I'll replace the lights before I replace my gorgeous tree but thanks to your video I might not have to! Happy Holidays ❄☃️❄
i have a GE constant on tree which had 11 sections out! Replacing the bulbs with the white insert mentioned in the video worked 100% for me. The bulb tester was completely unreliable in troubleshooting this issue. Thank you so much for posting this video, I was about to cut off and remove all of the pre-lit lights, your video saved my tree from the garbage 😀
I'm so glad I found this video. I thought I was going to have to buy a new tree. Here's what I did...1) Pulled the bulb out of the socket. 2) Used needle nosed pliers to pull out the white socket (this was the hard part). 3) I did not have any spare bulbs so I tried to find some at a few big box stores. There weren't any. So I removed a bulb and socket from an inconspicuous location at the top part of my tree. Then I pulled the bulb out of that socket and put it in the white socket. 4) I replaced the white socket in the missing spot. 5) I turned the lights back on and BAM-everything lit up. As for the missing bulb I now had at the top of the tree, I just pulled a bulb out of another string of lights I had that I wasn't using and installed it in the socket with the missing bulb. So thanks--I've got at least another year with this tree. Total cost of repair $0.
Thanks so much. You are my hero today. Super easy fix. I wish I saw this video before I bought the Light Keeper Pro, which did not work for this problem. I will be returning it.
Thank you for the great video! You just saved me from buying a new tree! I bought the light bulbs from a 99 cents store. It comes with five in a bag. Since I only used one bulb to fix up the entire section, it only costs me 20 cents o fix my tree! THANK YOU! !!! You are not only brighten up my tree, you are also brighten up my day!
This helped me in 2020. My bulb wasn't the first one in the string with a white sleeve, but it was the first one in a line that was out. I fixed the string in 20 seconds. Thanks
Ken, just wanted to say a huge thanks for this video! I first noticed issues with unlit sections of my tree last Christmas, but never was able to figure it out. When I had another crack at it this year, I found not one, not two, but THREE of those damned "current resistor" bulbs burned out, taking down about 5-6 branches each. I managed to replace all three of them with extra bulbs, thankfully without mangling the white bases too badly (proper tools help with this). Did that (plus found an unrelated issue with a regular bulb with a bent wire), and presto! Fully working tree again. Needless to say I probably won't opt for buying a GE pre-lit tree again. Permanent bulbs...what a stupid-ass design!
Thank you so much, I was ready to go buy a new tree which I didn't really want to do, and now it is restored to it's lighted beauty. Thank you so much for your video post! You are the best. Happy Thanksgiving! And yes it is hard to find the bulbs, but once you do, the rest is easy!
Well this is awesome ! We just put our tree up and some of the branches weren’t working! I was wondering what the white ones were for so I will definitely give this a try. Thank you!!
Thank you so much!! We were able to fix the lights on our tree by following your directions. Saved us time and money!! The main white based bulbs were hard to remove but once it's out, easy fix. Thanks again!! Happy New Year!!
Great video! I do it a little differently to make it easier to remove the white bulb base. I cut off about 1/8 of an inch from the entire upper rim of the outer green bulb base with a sharp knife (being very careful not to cut myself or damage anything). This part of the green bulb base is what houses the plastic 'barbs' or 'hooks' that keeps you from being able to pull out the white socket easily. Once that portion of the green bulb base is removed, you can easily remove and re-insert the white bulb base without damaging it or if you ever need to replace that bulb again in the future. For those wanting to buy extra bulbs for these trees, you need to buy the 2.5 volt miniature incandescent bulbs. These are used for 50 bulbs wired in series which is the standard for strands that use 50, 100, or 150 bulbs (2 or 3 strands of 50 bulbs wired in parallel). Mine are all clear (white), so I buy the little packages of 2.5 volt clear bulbs. To figure this out out your own, you can do the math: 120VAC / 50 bulbs = 2.4 volts, so you'd buy the 2.5 volt bulbs. These can get expensive (about $5 for 5 bulbs = $1 per bulb), so probably the best thing to do is buy a separate 100 bulb string of the GE 'Constant on' miniature lights and just use it for the bulbs (keep the strand in the box with your tree so you don't misplace it). It's a LOT more economical. I just saw a 100 bulb strand on Amazon for less than $9 (that's about 12.5 cents per bulb!!!) www.amazon.com/String-Constant-Miniature-Christmas-Lighted/dp/B000IF6U9M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482155580&sr=8-1&keywords=ge+constant+on+christmas+lights
Ken, If you are still out there, I could hug you for this post! I was ready to kick my tree to the curb. As a last resort I googled troubleshooting per-lit Christmas trees & my sanity was restored! Thank You.
Just an hour ago I found that a strand was out. By looking at the bulbs I came across the white-rimmed bulb. Just on a hunch I decided to pull it out and test it my Light Keeper Pro tool. Bulb worked. I put it back in and the dead strand lit up. Probably just a loose connection. Your video was very helpful as I did not know what that particular socket represented.
I wish I had such luck. I pulled mine out on a hunch. Turns out it wasn't the problem. Found out it was the plug fuse. Also used the light keeper pro. But now trying to reinstall the white bulb plug, and still no lights no matter what I do.
Thanks Ken. I pretty much figured this out by trial and error. Checked all the bulbs one by one, the nice gun thing did not help on these strands. Then found these white base bulbs with several different style plugs. So you could not move them around, even white to white. Then replaced bulbs and found you really have to press hard to get them in place. Still have some that won't go back in enough. I may have to cut and slice around the socket. I guess this design was to prevent a fire hazard. Any other guidance appreciated.
Thanks for the great info. From what I have read, pulling hard on the 'fuse" bulb often just rips out the bulb. Pulling with pliers and prying with a screw driver on the empty bulb base can damage the socket and/or bulb base. What I did was to use my trusty Dremel tool (abrasive wheel) to cut away a ring of green plastic about 1/8" wide at the top of the socket. It's really easy, you just gently cut until you see white, and then continue around the perimeter until the entire ring is free. Made it very easy to remove the white base, and although the socket was shorter it still worked fine. For what it is worth, note that there are three wires going to the fuse bulb. The two that are close together are connected to each other, and the bulb is supposed to connect them to third, separated wire. Before you replace the fuse bulb, make sure that the entire string has not burned out. That can happen if too many bulbs burn out and their shunts kick in - the voltage gests too high (shunts are lower resistance than the bulbs) and the rest of the bulbs in the string go too in a cascade. Also, once you have substituted a normal bulb in place of the fuse bulb, you should be vigilant about replacing burned out bulbs in the future. The fuses in the plug are there to prevent connecting too many strings in series. They may not blow if an entire 50-bulb string burns out, and you may wind up with 125 volts flowing through 50 low resistance "shunts." Could cause heating and maybe be a melting and fire hazard. There is a reason why the fuse bulbs are there, but I agree that GE was really stupid in how they implemented them.
Man you rock thanks a lot! I got the same stupid tree I just was going through each bulb after my wife wanted me to buy a new tree and I was like WTF is up with the white base bulb that won't come out! LOL anyway great video and happy holidays.
Thank you so much for this video! I didn't know what was wrong with my lights. I followed your directions and was able to fix them! Hurray! I wonder why GE doesn't include replacement bulbs in these special white brackets as well as the green ones they give us? I did bend the white bracket a bit to get it out, but was able to replace it snug with the new bulb. But I can see that after a few replacements over the years, the white brackets will become too mangled. Ridiculous design.
They have wised up since this was made, mine was actually glued and was basically one piece. but I got it out by using a small sharp knife, I also found out that you don't need to replace it. just leave the socket empty if you don't have a bulb or it is too messed up.
I know this is old, but GE says if you leave a blank socket it will cause the rest of the bulbs to get weird voltage & burn out sooner. Not sure if that's true.
OK I did finally pry it out using an exacto knife. But now none of my replacement bulbs are the same diameter as the old one so it's not working either. Grrrrrrrrrr
I'm thankful to have found this HOWEVER I've replaced the white socket bulb twice & it flashes & the string immediately dies again. What am I missing? The problem is obviously deeper in my case.
Unfortunately, older GE strings do not have the white ring and are made differently. the bulb is designed to never be removed. In that case, you need to cut the socket out and splice in a new socket from another string. Adding an in line fuse is also a good idea.
It needs to be added if the fuse bulb blows it's usually because there are blown bulbs in this section. if you lose too many it will blow the fused bulb as protection. check each bulb in section before replacing fused bulb. Replacement bulbs are available on the internet via ge holiday bulb store constant on 6mm
I took one of the other bulbs from the "replaceable" sockets and replaced that one with a smaller bulb that was the same voltage because we couldn't find the right size replacement bulbs.
We got a donner and blitzen tree and a cord is cut off ... Just stops !! And it's at the top part of tree kind where the the middle starts to take form ... There is a RED light with a white base on it ... What I was worried about could it make a fire or burn out the light ?? I look like a clean cut , no wires are showing so idk if it was meant to be like that it is tied up into knots also so I'm not sure ... donner and blitzen don't have a site and we got it from Sears and the Sears here don't know there butt from a hole in the ground to help so thought u may know this is what popped up when I tryed looking for help ... Any info would help thanks
I have the GE Color Choice LED tree that can toggle white and color with this issue. The white lights light up and when we swap it to colors the color section is out. I could not find any bulb with a white stripe and none of our replacements have a white stripe either.
I am confident that this is the problem with my pre-LED christmas tree. The two strands with this issue both begin with the white-ringed bulb from hell. I removed both of them, replaced them...no luck even after trying to squeeze the socket... I am going to see if I can find replacement bulb online but is there a way to build a bypass on this?
Any info on how to fix if just the bulb comes out or if you've mangled it? This fuse looks like it's glued in and is a goner... tempted to cut the wires and solder without the fuse to just remove this piece all together. #paininthe'ars
I was so happy to find this video because I'm having this exact problem, but unfortunately this fix did not work for me. I have located the white socket on each unlit section and replaced it with a new bulb but it made no difference. 😔
If your tree is white and the strand is white how can you tell if the bulb is the current resistor? We tried changing all of the ones that have that little rectangle on the side but noticed that strands that were working properly had bulbs burned out in that particular socket. So logic would suggest either that particular socket is not the current resistor or the current resistor isn't the issue... Help much appreciated!!
Mine doesn't light up even with following these steps and replacing the bulb. Any trouble shoot for seeing if the fuse socket is dead? I tested the bulb and know it works and I pushed the white plug and bulb in as far as possible.
THANK YOU!!! I have tried everything to get my few sections of my 12 foot tree lit. As soon as I pulled the white light socket out of the holder, the lights all lit up. Just wondering if I need to put something into that socket or if is ok to leave empty.
Great video but I have a question. I had some white sockets with bulbs that came with my tree. I have 3 branches that don't light up and only found one white socket. I replaced it, but it did not light up. Any other ideas? And thank you!
OMG!! Thank you so much for this post!! I have been messing with the lights on my tree for HOURS!! So frustrated and was about to cut them all off and just wrap strands around it myself! But now I don't have to!! :) One question though, where can I buy replacement bulbs with the white base? I don't have any of those that came with the tree. Thanks!
I just tried changing the bulb like you said and nothing happened. My husband is saying the bulb from the white bulb you spoke about looks like a good bulb Any help would be grately appreciated.
Has anyone been able to find the current resisting bulbs? Or are you guys just using standard replacement bulbs instead in the white "fuse bulb" sockets? Also, are these bulbs normally 2.5 volts or 3.5 volts? Thanks.
Hi! Great video - I've located the white fixture, but I don't have any replacement bulbs. Will any light work or does it have to be specifically GE lights?
+JHott There are a few links below from myself and others that may help you. I personally have not ordered new bulbs (yet), but I assume this will work on any generic bulb.
Hello, I have problem with my christmas tree. 1 Section the lights are out. I found the white rim bulb and replace with a new bulb. The whole section/ including bulb replacement in white rim will still not work. What can I do to fix the problem?
ok I have a prelit tree also, no lights come on at all and mine are the little square LED lights. There is no fuse in the plug, the way it connects is there are two connectors with 2 little prongs that plug into the other part. No parts on the tree have any screws to open them , no parts slide to open, I am so frustrated with this 285 tree ! PLEASE HELP ME
This was an absolute life saver!! Not only did it fix 3 bad strands but now my wife thinks I'm really handy lol Thanks!!
One of the very best things about UA-cam, is men like yourself taking the time to help everyone else! Thanks Merry Christmas!
I cannot thank you enough for posting this video! I, too own a GE Contant On pre-lit tree. In fact, I own 2. For the past 2 years I have added lights because of one defective "not to be removed" bulb with the white base. This morning after watching this video, I successfully replaced the bulb! So thank you! Merry Christmas!
Ken you are a Christmas miracle!!! Thank you so much for this video. My tree was shabby for the last 2 years now it's beautiful again. Merry Christmas I hope you and your family have the most blessed holiday season.
I had several sections on my good quality pre lit tree that were out and I didn't have that different colored bulb on my tree like in the video. I bought one of those "Light Keeper" devices at a local retailer and was able to track down which bulb was affecting each section and was able to replace the bulbs that were defective and in one part it was a loose wire. Now I have a fully functional tree after a few years of just throwing extra strands on the tree to fill in the un- lit sections. It was helpful to see thought that I could re use the old bulb bottom and just replace the glass part because I couldn't find the right sized replacement bulbs. I was really impressed by the Light Keeper device and wouldn't have been able to fix my tree without it.
Brilliant! Thanks for this quick easy fix... my tree was looking Humpty-dumpty, but no more thanks to you!
Your video helped me the most & I got my tree fixed! It's been a couple years since it has been fully lit.
This video helped me two years in a row! Thank you so much for making this video!
Thank you so much for this video! I could not figure out why the lights wouldn't come on after I replaced the bad bulb until I watched your video. Thanks again!
+Elisabeth Ann Curb what bulb did u use to replace the bad one??
Thank you so much for taking your time to post this video. It as you know worked like a charm. Was pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was going on. We have a multi color tree that we have had for nearly 10 years now. Except for a few color bulbs burning out never had any problems until now. I did notice the random clear bulbs with the white ring, but forgot about them. Thank you for your kindness and Hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Mike and Jan.
It's crazy that they do that so consumers have to repurchase a tree every few years. Especially considering the insane price they charge for a tree now. I'll replace the lights before I replace my gorgeous tree but thanks to your video I might not have to! Happy Holidays
❄☃️❄
i have a GE constant on tree which had 11 sections out! Replacing the bulbs with the white insert mentioned in the video worked 100% for me. The bulb tester was completely unreliable in troubleshooting this issue. Thank you so much for posting this video, I was about to cut off and remove all of the pre-lit lights, your video saved my tree from the garbage 😀
Thank goodness I found your video; it saved my tree, and saved me a lot of money. 👍👍👌👌
Thanks Ken! Worked perfectly although I have multiples blown, I was able to find them easily thanks to you!
I'm so glad I found this video. I thought I was going to have to buy a new tree. Here's what I did...1) Pulled the bulb out of the socket. 2) Used needle nosed pliers to pull out the white socket (this was the hard part). 3) I did not have any spare bulbs so I tried to find some at a few big box stores. There weren't any. So I removed a bulb and socket from an inconspicuous location at the top part of my tree. Then I pulled the bulb out of that socket and put it in the white socket. 4) I replaced the white socket in the missing spot. 5) I turned the lights back on and BAM-everything lit up. As for the missing bulb I now had at the top of the tree, I just pulled a bulb out of another string of lights I had that I wasn't using and installed it in the socket with the missing bulb. So thanks--I've got at least another year with this tree. Total cost of repair $0.
Why buy a new tree when you can just add a string of lights to it ?
Thanks so much. You are my hero today. Super easy fix. I wish I saw this video before I bought the Light Keeper Pro, which did not work for this problem. I will be returning it.
Thank you for the great video! You just saved me from buying a new tree! I bought the light bulbs from a 99 cents store. It comes with five in a bag. Since I only used one bulb to fix up the entire section, it only costs me 20 cents o fix my tree! THANK YOU! !!! You are not only brighten up my tree, you are also brighten up my day!
Fixed my 19 year old GE tree. Looks great!
This helped me in 2020. My bulb wasn't the first one in the string with a white sleeve, but it was the first one in a line that was out. I fixed the string in 20 seconds. Thanks
Thanks for this helpful video!!! I was able to light the whole tree again because it wasn't lighting up anymore.
Thanks Ken.... Had the same exact scenario and it worked like a champ!! You saved me from having to go out a buy a new tree! ;)
Thanks. Replaced 200 bulbs only to come across those special ones with the white husks which didn’t want separate. Will give that a try!
Thanks for posting this! Just fixed my GE tree after watching this clip. I had 3 of those bulbs that were fried.
Same here, three fried on my GE.
Ken, just wanted to say a huge thanks for this video! I first noticed issues with unlit sections of my tree last Christmas, but never was able to figure it out. When I had another crack at it this year, I found not one, not two, but THREE of those damned "current resistor" bulbs burned out, taking down about 5-6 branches each. I managed to replace all three of them with extra bulbs, thankfully without mangling the white bases too badly (proper tools help with this). Did that (plus found an unrelated issue with a regular bulb with a bent wire), and presto! Fully working tree again. Needless to say I probably won't opt for buying a GE pre-lit tree again. Permanent bulbs...what a stupid-ass design!
I don't think they do that any more. My tree is probably 9-10 years old now.
Thank you so much, I was ready to go buy a new tree which I didn't really want to do, and now it is restored to it's lighted beauty. Thank you so much for your video post! You are the best. Happy Thanksgiving! And yes it is hard to find the bulbs, but once you do, the rest is easy!
Thanks for the advice. I did what you said and it worked perfectly.
Well this is awesome ! We just put our tree up and some of the branches weren’t working! I was wondering what the white ones were for so I will definitely give this a try. Thank you!!
You are a national treasure for making this video.
Thank you so much!! We were able to fix the lights on our tree by following your directions. Saved us time and money!! The main white based bulbs were hard to remove but once it's out, easy fix. Thanks again!! Happy New Year!!
Nice! Thanks. Customer service was completely useless in helping me today.
Thank you, Ken! You've just saved us a lot of $$$!
Thank you SO MUCH , because you were so kind uploading this help video you have saved me from a breakdown LOL
This video helped me with my prelit
tree .. So thanks great video!
Thank you!! Perfect simple solution🎄
Great video! I do it a little differently to make it easier to remove the white bulb base. I cut off about 1/8 of an inch from the entire upper rim of the outer green bulb base with a sharp knife (being very careful not to cut myself or damage anything). This part of the green bulb base is what houses the plastic 'barbs' or 'hooks' that keeps you from being able to pull out the white socket easily. Once that portion of the green bulb base is removed, you can easily remove and re-insert the white bulb base without damaging it or if you ever need to replace that bulb again in the future. For those wanting to buy extra bulbs for these trees, you need to buy the 2.5 volt miniature incandescent bulbs. These are used for 50 bulbs wired in series which is the standard for strands that use 50, 100, or 150 bulbs (2 or 3 strands of 50 bulbs wired in parallel). Mine are all clear (white), so I buy the little packages of 2.5 volt clear bulbs. To figure this out out your own, you can do the math: 120VAC / 50 bulbs = 2.4 volts, so you'd buy the 2.5 volt bulbs. These can get expensive (about $5 for 5 bulbs = $1 per bulb), so probably the best thing to do is buy a separate 100 bulb string of the GE 'Constant on' miniature lights and just use it for the bulbs (keep the strand in the box with your tree so you don't misplace it). It's a LOT more economical. I just saw a 100 bulb strand on Amazon for less than $9 (that's about 12.5 cents per bulb!!!)
www.amazon.com/String-Constant-Miniature-Christmas-Lighted/dp/B000IF6U9M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482155580&sr=8-1&keywords=ge+constant+on+christmas+lights
Were you able to find replacement bulbs for the white base?
Ken, If you are still out there, I could hug you for this post! I was ready to kick my tree to the curb. As a last resort I googled troubleshooting per-lit Christmas trees & my sanity was restored! Thank You.
Glad it worked for you!
+kay jeffers You sure won't get any help at all from GE on issues like this, so it's up to these videos to show you how it's done :)
Just an hour ago I found that a strand was out. By looking at the bulbs I came across the white-rimmed bulb. Just on a hunch I decided to pull it out and test it my Light Keeper Pro tool. Bulb worked. I put it back in and the dead strand lit up. Probably just a loose connection. Your video was very helpful as I did not know what that particular socket represented.
I wish I had such luck. I pulled mine out on a hunch. Turns out it wasn't the problem. Found out it was the plug fuse. Also used the light keeper pro. But now trying to reinstall the white bulb plug, and still no lights no matter what I do.
Yes! Thank you! Replaced 3 of these white current resistor bulbs and it fixed all the dead spots.
Candace Dawn Anglin Did you find a white current resistor bulbs on each branch? I’m having a hard time fixing my tree 😔
They were on abut every tenth branch
Thank u I had three of them burnt out.it works now
Christmas is around the corner so you'll probably start to get more views here Ken... for me, this saved buying a new tree! great video and thanks!
Thank you for this information without it i was going to buy a string of light for that burn out section.
Thank you so much. Worked perfectly!
Thank you. My tree looked like a white and green candy cane, 5 or 6 of those resistor bulbs out.
Thanks Ken. I pretty much figured this out by trial and error. Checked all the bulbs one by one, the nice gun thing did not help on these strands. Then found these white base bulbs with several different style plugs. So you could not move them around, even white to white. Then replaced bulbs and found you really have to press hard to get them in place. Still have some that won't go back in enough. I may have to cut and slice around the socket. I guess this design was to prevent a fire hazard. Any other guidance appreciated.
thanks for your info and time
Ken, thanks you so much for this video.
Wish I had seen this before stripping the whole strand out...but,thanks, very helpful
Thanks so much. Great instruction!
You just saved Christmas!
This is awesome! Subscribed!
Thanks for the great info. From what I have read, pulling hard on the 'fuse" bulb often just rips out the bulb. Pulling with pliers and prying with a screw driver on the empty bulb base can damage the socket and/or bulb base. What I did was to use my trusty Dremel tool (abrasive wheel) to cut away a ring of green plastic about 1/8" wide at the top of the socket. It's really easy, you just gently cut until you see white, and then continue around the perimeter until the entire ring is free. Made it very easy to remove the white base, and although the socket was shorter it still worked fine. For what it is worth, note that there are three wires going to the fuse bulb. The two that are close together are connected to each other, and the bulb is supposed to connect them to third, separated wire. Before you replace the fuse bulb, make sure that the entire string has not burned out. That can happen if too many bulbs burn out and their shunts kick in - the voltage gests too high (shunts are lower resistance than the bulbs) and the rest of the bulbs in the string go too in a cascade. Also, once you have substituted a normal bulb in place of the fuse bulb, you should be vigilant about replacing burned out bulbs in the future. The fuses in the plug are there to prevent connecting too many strings in series. They may not blow if an entire 50-bulb string burns out, and you may wind up with 125 volts flowing through 50 low resistance "shunts." Could cause heating and maybe be a melting and fire hazard. There is a reason why the fuse bulbs are there, but I agree that GE was really stupid in how they implemented them.
Man you rock thanks a lot! I got the same stupid tree I just was going through each bulb after my wife wanted me to buy a new tree and I was like WTF is up with the white base bulb that won't come out! LOL anyway great video and happy holidays.
thank you !! 🖒🖒🖒 i fixed my tree 🌲
Thank you! I fixed my tree thanks to this video!
Thank you so much for this video! I didn't know what was wrong with my lights. I followed your directions and was able to fix them! Hurray! I wonder why GE doesn't include replacement bulbs in these special white brackets as well as the green ones they give us? I did bend the white bracket a bit to get it out, but was able to replace it snug with the new bulb. But I can see that after a few replacements over the years, the white brackets will become too mangled. Ridiculous design.
They have wised up since this was made, mine was actually glued and was basically one piece. but I got it out by using a small sharp knife, I also found out that you don't need to replace it. just leave the socket empty if you don't have a bulb or it is too messed up.
I know this is old, but GE says if you leave a blank socket it will cause the rest of the bulbs to get weird voltage & burn out sooner. Not sure if that's true.
Thanks brotha!
Thanks for this!
Dude, thank you!
YES! YES! Thank you Ken.
Ok I'm to try it. I'll let you know if you saved Christmas!!!
Thank you so much!!!
Thank you! I tried to pull it out but didn't pull hard enough I guess. Good to know the tree isn't going to end up in the dump.
I can't seem to get a grip on the white part, I keep getting little pieces off of it. Help please.
OK I did finally pry it out using an exacto knife. But now none of my replacement bulbs are the same diameter as the old one so it's not working either. Grrrrrrrrrr
Thank you
THANK YOU!
I'm thankful to have found this HOWEVER I've replaced the white socket bulb twice & it flashes & the string immediately dies again. What am I missing? The problem is obviously deeper in my case.
Thanks...do you know where to find the replacement bulbs for this type if tree?
Thank you!!
I have 2 sections out. Tried replacing the white bulb where the lit/dead strands meet as noted in this video. Nothing.
Unfortunately, older GE strings do not have the white ring and are made differently. the bulb is designed to never be removed. In that case, you need to cut the socket out and splice in a new socket from another string. Adding an in line fuse is also a good idea.
Thank u
It needs to be added if the fuse bulb blows it's usually because there are blown bulbs in this section. if you lose too many it will blow the fused bulb as protection. check each bulb in section before replacing fused bulb. Replacement bulbs are available on the internet via ge holiday bulb store constant on 6mm
Are all the GE constant on incandescent lights 6mm?
I took one of the other bulbs from the "replaceable" sockets and replaced that one with a smaller bulb that was the same voltage because we couldn't find the right size replacement bulbs.
I need you at my house. lol. I don't have a man to fix this.
I'm sure the spark is missing.
It's litty again!
We got a donner and blitzen tree and a cord is cut off ... Just stops !! And it's at the top part of tree kind where the the middle starts to take form ... There is a RED light with a white base on it ... What I was worried about could it make a fire or burn out the light ?? I look like a clean cut , no wires are showing so idk if it was meant to be like that it is tied up into knots also so I'm not sure ... donner and blitzen don't have a site and we got it from Sears and the Sears here don't know there butt from a hole in the ground to help so thought u may know this is what popped up when I tryed looking for help ... Any info would help thanks
I have the GE Color Choice LED tree that can toggle white and color with this issue. The white lights light up and when we swap it to colors the color section is out. I could not find any bulb with a white stripe and none of our replacements have a white stripe either.
I am confident that this is the problem with my pre-LED christmas tree. The two strands with this issue both begin with the white-ringed bulb from hell. I removed both of them, replaced them...no luck even after trying to squeeze the socket... I am going to see if I can find replacement bulb online but is there a way to build a bypass on this?
Any info on how to fix if just the bulb comes out or if you've mangled it? This fuse looks like it's glued in and is a goner... tempted to cut the wires and solder without the fuse to just remove this piece all together.
#paininthe'ars
I was so happy to find this video because I'm having this exact problem, but unfortunately this fix did not work for me. I have located the white socket on each unlit section and replaced it with a new bulb but it made no difference. 😔
If your tree is white and the strand is white how can you tell if the bulb is the current resistor? We tried changing all of the ones that have that little rectangle on the side but noticed that strands that were working properly had bulbs burned out in that particular socket. So logic would suggest either that particular socket is not the current resistor or the current resistor isn't the issue... Help much appreciated!!
We have a GE prelit LED tree. Do you have any suggestions for this kind of tree??
Mine doesn't light up even with following these steps and replacing the bulb. Any trouble shoot for seeing if the fuse socket is dead? I tested the bulb and know it works and I pushed the white plug and bulb in as far as possible.
THANK YOU!!! I have tried everything to get my few sections of my 12 foot tree lit. As soon as I pulled the white light socket out of the holder, the lights all lit up. Just wondering if I need to put something into that socket or if is ok to leave empty.
GE says it needs to have a light in it or the voltage could cause others to burn out.
Great video but I have a question. I had some white sockets with bulbs that came with my tree. I have 3 branches that don't light up and only found one white socket. I replaced it, but it did not light up. Any other ideas? And thank you!
Hi...Where can you buy the replacement bulbs for this tree!! Thanks!!! Any link would be great!!
yo this tutorial lit
I have the Phillips company. Though mine are colorful and some twinkle. But a section is burned out and I can't find the one bulb.
OMG!! Thank you so much for this post!! I have been messing with the lights on my tree for HOURS!! So frustrated and was about to cut them all off and just wrap strands around it myself! But now I don't have to!! :) One question though, where can I buy replacement bulbs with the white base? I don't have any of those that came with the tree. Thanks!
Don't bother, just remember which ones they are or mark them with a dot of white paint in case they go out again.
What do you do if you mangled that socket?
I tried all suggested fixes...I keep blowing the fuse bulb... could something be bad with the socket? Any suggestions?
Where can you buy a light like this i have one and the bulb doesnt come out
Yes :).
I just tried changing the bulb like you said and nothing happened. My husband is saying the bulb from the white bulb you spoke about looks like a good bulb
Any help would be grately appreciated.
Has anyone been able to find the current resisting bulbs? Or are you guys just using standard replacement bulbs instead in the white "fuse bulb" sockets? Also, are these bulbs normally 2.5 volts or 3.5 volts? Thanks.
Hi! Great video - I've located the white fixture, but I don't have any replacement bulbs. Will any light work or does it have to be specifically GE lights?
+JHott There are a few links below from myself and others that may help you. I personally have not ordered new bulbs (yet), but I assume this will work on any generic bulb.
How can I fix my pre lit tree half of it the light is red and the other half in multi how can I put it all multi
can you buy one of those white sockets anywhere. I think that the problem is the white socket
Hello, I have problem with my christmas tree. 1 Section the lights are out. I found the white rim bulb and replace with a new bulb. The whole section/ including bulb replacement in white rim will still not work. What can I do to fix the problem?
ok I have a prelit tree also, no lights come on at all and mine are the little square LED lights. There is no fuse in the plug, the way it connects is there are two connectors with 2 little prongs that plug into the other part. No parts on the tree have any screws to open them , no parts slide to open, I am so frustrated with this 285 tree ! PLEASE HELP ME