which wire connectors for outdoor deck lights? (1 Viewer)

[Chock Full o Nuts]

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Ah, so it is a low voltage strand. Low voltage, at least with just 1 positive/1 negative can withstand a miswire(backwards).
Just won't work. Trying to think, with the 3 if you could just temp twist(trial and error) with risk of smoking things.

 

[Rexedgar]

You're not wrong. It's two wires until you get to the first led light, then it's three wires.

What does the first led light look like, where two become three?

 

[Cardinal]

What does the first led light look like, where two become three?

And lo...two wires became three.

 

[Rexedgar]

And lo...two wires became three.

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All I can find on short notice:

What is the purpose of this wire in these string lights?

These lights are from a pre-lit tree. Segments of the string have an additional wire that truncates with these different sockets. I thought that these sockets provided a splice to make a connection...

diy.stackexchange.com

 

[Chock Full o Nuts]

I just assumed "hot, cold, grounded," but that didn't get me any closer to knowing which wire connects to what.

I'm guessing the manufacturers weren't thinking, "Oh man, we need to make sure this can be repaired by a licensed electrician."

No ground on low voltage. And it's just 29v, no different than some LV landscape lighting that any handy homeowner can safely buy and install. That third wire is something to do with how the strand is set up as far as in series/parallel.
First off, strip out the 3 ends, separate, plug it in and set that meter to DC.
Test across the 3 in a rotation(2, then 1 of those and the other, then then that 'other' one and the 1 'first one' you were on if that makes sense).
Mark and record what you are getting in each situation. And it's just low DC, don't fear..

 

[Rexedgar]

And lo...two wires became three.

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Two wires look molded together with a loose third wire. Your transformer reduces house current to 29 volts. Take one of the missus’ sewing needles and pierce the two wires to get a contact. If polarity is reversed the DVOM zest on DC should have a “-“ before the voltage. Then see what the downstream wires read.

 

[Cardinal]

Two wires look molded together with a loose third wire. Your transformer reduces house current to 29 volts. Take one of the missus’ sewing needles and pierce the two wires to get a contact. If polarity is reversed the DVOM zest on DC should have a “-“ before the voltage. Then see what the downstream wires read.

Wait, "reversing the polarity" is actually a thing? I thought that was just something they said in sci-fi.

Okay, I just googled it and learned that reversing the polarity is, in fact, a thing.

 

[Cardinal]

No ground on low voltage. And it's just 29v, no different than some LV landscape lighting that any handy homeowner can safely buy and install. That third wire is something to do with how the strand is set up as far as in series/parallel.
First off, strip out the 3 ends, separate, plug it in and set that meter to DC.
Test across the 3 in a rotation(2, then 1 of those and the other, then then that 'other' one and the 1 'first one' you were on if that makes sense).
Mark and record what you are getting in each situation. And it's just low DC, don't fear..

Okay, but how does that get me to knowing which wires to connect them to on the other end?

 

[Chock Full o Nuts]

Okay, but how does that get me to knowing which wires to connect them to on the other end?

First, see what readings are in those combinations to identify which is which, and once that is made sense of, should be able to test continuity at the cut of end to figure things out. I assume this strand has a female plug on the far end like Christmas lights?

 

[BabaVoss]

Well if the squirrels are that motivated then the strength of a connector isn't going to solve any problems.

Exactly. The ones I showed are only for low voltage wiring. The ones you showed in the second pic - the blue ones - are excellent for outdoor use. They are like wirenuts but with a waterproof sealant inside. Those should work fine for your purposes.

 

[Cardinal]

Well guys, thanks for the help, but I'm annoyed. The wires are actually 22awg or thereabouts, and my wire cutters only go to 18. When I eyeball it I keep cutting through the sheathing and severing the whole wire. I'm just buying new lighting, which will take me a little over an hour to string up.

Although more intimidating out the gate, the jointer project was actually a lot easier because THIS WIRE GOES HERE is a big feature of 220v 12awg cords.

 

[Chock Full o Nuts]

Well guys, thanks for the help, but I'm annoyed. The wires are actually 22awg or thereabouts, and my wire cutters only go to 18. When I eyeball it I keep cutting through the sheathing and severing the whole wire. I'm just buying new lighting. It'll take me a little over an hour to string up new lighting.

Your teeth have a 22 awg stripper.
Or just a pair of cutters with light pressure and pull.
Or new lighting,... give you a reason for an upgrade. Damn squirrels!

 

[Rexedgar]

One that I never learned how to use, yes.


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I see you sprang for the deluxe model!

 

[Rexedgar]

Well guys, thanks for the help, but I'm annoyed. The wires are actually 22awg or thereabouts, and my wire cutters only go to 18. When I eyeball it I keep cutting through the sheathing and severing the whole wire. I'm just buying new lighting, which will take me a little over an hour to string up.

Although more intimidating out the gate, the jointer project was actually a lot easier because THIS WIRE GOES HERE is a big feature of 220v 12awg cords.

Make sure to rub some peanut butter on the wire before install!

 

[Cardinal]

Your teeth have a 22 awg stripper.
Or just a pair of cutters with light pressure and pull.
Or new lighting,... give you a reason for an upgrade. Damn squirrels!

 

[Cardinal]

I see you sprang for the deluxe model!

I spare no expense.

 

[Rexedgar]

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[Chock Full o Nuts]

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I was speaking of something such as side cutters or linemans that have tapered cutting edges that meet, not like the 'scissor' of a pair of strippers. Not so sharp and can bite the insulation just enough.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

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It's TWENTY-NINE volts?
Shit, use what you want...it's okayed for Class 2 wiring which is pretty much "speaker wiring".
Weird that they chose such an oddball 29 volt DC instead of 24 volts which is a defacto standard for a gazillion things.

Since it IS direct current you must follow polarity if you want it to work.
The wires are being chewed because the critters are smelling or tasting something soy related.

There is almost zero risk of fire danger at a low voltage like that because there isn't enough current...it's three tenths of ONE ampere.

 

[Rexedgar]

I spare no expense.

How are the new squirrel proof deck lights?

 

[Cardinal]

How are the new squirrel proof deck lights?

We're over it. Once we realized that the lights were dead as a door nail, we tore them down and moved on to other house issues.