Isn’t it that time of the year again when everyone is putting up their Christmas lights? Yes, it is!
To celebrate the day and make everything look sparkly and more beautiful, everyone decorates their houses with little Christmas probes, the oh-so-famous Christmas tree, and of course, the bright lights that twinkle around the house, adding up to the overall look.
IKEAstarlifghts are one of the best options in the market that you can decorate both indoors and outdoors.
This LED lighting creates a radiant eye-catching atmosphere, giving your home an extra festive, warm, and cozy glow.
The IKEA star lights are perfect to hang around the windows, over the Christmas tree, in your beautiful indoor corners, and outdoors.
There are some common issues that may cause your IKEA starlights to not work.
In this article, we will talk about each one of them and discuss in detail how to fix them to fill your home once again with all the light and sparkle at your home.
One of the most common issues with IKEA starlights is that they don’t work properly.
This can be frustrating, especially if you’ve just put up your tree and are ready to enjoy the holiday season—there are a few things you can do to troubleshoot this issue.
IKEA Star Lights Not Working
Your new IKEA star lights may not work either due to the issue is the power supply( problems with socket, disrupted circuit, or burnt switch) or due to the internal issues of the star lights that may involve disconnected or damaged wires, fused bulb or in case of battery-powered IKEA lights.
Either your batteries would be wrongly inserted, or they would be dead. Following is the detail of each problem that may cause your lights to not work with their quick troubleshooting.
- Check Batteries
Batteries usually power IKEA starlights. The first thing you should do if your lights aren’t working is check the light’s power supply. In such battery-operated lights, check the batteries.
The batteries should be fresh and inserted correctly. To insert them correctly, ensure you match the cross on the battery to the cross in the battery pocket.
If you have already inserted them and your lights still don’t work, try taking them out and putting them in again. It is essential that the batteries you are using are not worn out.
If it’s been a long time since you have had these lights stored at home, and you have taken them out after a while, it is recommended to change the batteries.
The older batteries are most likely to rust over time, not providing enough power to your batteries.
The type of batteries for these lights are AA, so you should be able to find them just about anywhere.
If your lights are still not working, it’s possible that the batteries aren’t the issue. The next thing you should check is the bulb.
- Check Bulb
Like any other light, IKEA star lights have a bulb that can burn out. This is usually the culprit if your batteries are fresh and inserted correctly, but the lights still aren’t working.
To check the bulb, remove it from the socket and inspect it for any damage.
If the voltage passing through the light’s circuit exceeds the maximum recommended voltage, the bulb will generate extra heat and burn the bulb’s filament.
If one bulb gets damaged, it breaks the complete circuit pathway for current to flow, as that burnt bulb also opens the circuit for other bulbs in the star lights.
If the bulb is damaged, you’ll need to replace it. You can find replacement bulbs at most hardware stores or online.
Nevertheless, we recommend getting a few new IKEA starlights in this case. They are budget-friendly and will stick with you longer than the repaired ones.
However, if the bulb looks fine, put it back in the socket and try turning it on again.
If they still don’t work, there could be an issue with the wiring connection or the socket.
- Check The Wiring Connection
Another common issue with IKEA starlights is a loose or broken wiring connection.
The signature IKEA star lights are small bulbs in plastic star shape assembled and connected to each other through thin wires, which allows the current to flow through the bulbs and illuminate the room with all the brightly lightened bulbs.
These wires are quite fine and fragile and hence are easily defaced if stuck somewhere or stretched immoderately.
Any excessive torsion or straightening of the wire can disrupt the connections or may even damage the wire completely.
To fix it, remove the bulb from the socket. For safety, it is better that you also remove the batteries and inspect the wires to check this.
If they are loose, consider tightening them. If they are bent, twisted, or rolled tightly around some object, you must unroll them and remove the extra tension.
If you notice miniature damage, for instance, the silicone covering of the wire is starting to come off, you can secure it with adhesive tape.
However, if the wire is extensively damaged due to overstretching or twisting, then you’d definitely have to replace the wiring.
- Socket Problems
If you’ve checked the power supply, bulb, wiring connection, and fuses (if applicable) and your IKEA star lights still aren’t working, the issue could be with the socket.
To check this, you can try pressing the button on the other side. Sometimes the wires behind the socket are wrongly attached. So what appears switched on to you may actually be switched off. Try this for yourself to see.
Another problem could be the loosened wires in the socket. Remove the plastic socket front and tighten the wires under the screws within each pocket.
However, if, on initial inspection, the socket outlet appears brunt (the area surrounding the socket holes becomes black or you smell something bad), we recommend not trying to try fixing it yourself.
Get professional help and replace your socket.
Ensure to remove all the plugs before you attempt to check the switch, wires, bulb, or anything that has an electrical component as a precautionary measure to prevent yourself from any electrical hazard.
- Replace Burnt Fuses
If your IKEA starlights have fuses, they can end up getting burnt out. To check this, remove the fuse from the socket and inspect it for any damage.
If the fuse is damaged, you’ll need to replace the burnt fuses.
You can find replacement fuses at most hardware stores or online.
- Use a Volt Meter
A voltmeter is a device used to assess the voltage and potential difference between two points in an electrical circuit.
If the bulbs, wire connections, and even the socket is not the problem, you must use a voltmeter to check for power. To do this, remove the star lights from the socket and turn on the voltmeter.
Touch the probes of the voltmeter to the wires in the socket. If there is power, the voltmeter will beep. If there is no power, the voltmeter will not beep, indicating.
- Contact Customer Support
If you’ve checked the power supply, bulbs, and wiring and your IKEA star lights still aren’t working, the light might be faulty.
You’ll need to contact IKEA customer service for assistance if this is the case.
Before contacting Customer care service, ensure whether the star lights have been faulty since you bought them or they worked for a while and then stopped working.
If the former, it is best to return them to IKEA and get a refund or replacement of the star lights.
However, If the latter is the issue, you can try the following troubleshooting tips:
- Check if there is any power supply issue by testing the batteries, changing them, or using a voltmeter, as explained earlier.
- Try resetting the lights by removing the batteries and then putting them back in.
- Inspect the light string for damaged, loose, or burnt-out bulbs and replace them if necessary.
- Inspect the entire light string for any kinks, frayed wires, or damage and repair or replace as necessary.
- Check if the star lights are plugged correctly into the socket.
- By using the voltmeter, ensure the socket has sufficient voltage to supply the lights.
The Bottom Line
If your IKEA star lights are not working, try troubleshooting them with the above-given simple and quick methods.
If, however, the issue persists, contact IKEA customer service. Provide them with as much information about the issue as possible so they can help you troubleshoot and resolve it.
IKEA offers replacement and refunds for its products under its terms and conditions.
If nothing helps you, get a replacement or a new one, as they are not high-priced, and get going with your festive preparations for the Christmas get-together!
