Use another alligator clip-lead to connect the X-Acto knife to the other probe of your multimeter, and.Strip a small section of the light-chain wire midway between the bulbs (in my case, between the 5th and 6th ones from the last cross-connection),.I use an alligator clip-lead or Pomona clip-lead for this. Connect one probe of your multimeter to the last cross-connection you made.Probe to the power wire that goes to the first light.Įach cross-connection is to the opposite power wire from the one before. Follow the same procedure as for intermediateĬross-connections (below), only attach your "last connection" The light strings are not connected to at the first Need to connect between the light string wire and the power wire If youĭon't have the adjustable kind of wire strippers, figure out Wire "in the middle" without cutting it through. You have the adjustable kind) to cut only through the plastic, This is also a good time to adjust your wire strippers (if.This is so you can hook it to your power supply (go ahead - not much will happen, the chain is expecting 120V and you're only giving it 12) but also so you don't go and accidentally plug it into the wall, later - which would be a Bad Thing. Hack off the plug and strip the wires.If I want to have my lights burningĪt "normal" intensity, I need to have strings of 5 of them at a Figure out how many light bulbs are needed to drop 12V.So, since the string uses 120V total, which means each light Figure out the voltage of your lights.Note alternating connections.Īn added bonus is that if a bulb comes loose, only the small section it's in will go out - all the rest are independent and will stay lit.īy the way, the bulbs don't seem to care if they're getting AC or DC power. Since your string of lights has both + and - available at any point, all you have to do is connect the light string wire to one or the other power wire, every few bulbs. The basic idea is to convert your one long string of lights into many shorter strings, each capable of being driven off of 12V. Schematic of chain as it comes out of the box. The first and last lights are wired "specially" and attached to one or the other power wire. This type of chain has three wires going along it: the two power wires going straight through, and the actual string of lights.īasically, it's an extension cord plus a string of lights. You want the ones that have a plug on one end, and a socket on the other, so you can daisy-chain them one on the end of another. Make sure you buy the right kind of lights. A couple of alligator clip-ended jumpers (or Pomonas if you have those).Xacto knife, for probing wires without stripping them.Converting Holiday Lights for 12V Operation An Infomonger Do-It-Yourself Project Tools You'll Need
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