That’s a good question. And one we hear from time to time.
It’s 99% odds that the culprit is your set of batteries. As the battery lights drain the batteries, bulbs randomly start to dim. They don’t go out all at once. This is true of the incandescent and the LED sets. In fact, on the LED sets that are multi color, the blue and green bulbs go dimmer before the rest of the bulbs.
It’s hard to know when you purchase a set of batteries how long they’ve been on the shelf. For your special event, we suggest that you purchase brand-name batteries from a store that has good turnover.
Keep in mind the following operation estimates per battery set on our different battery light families:
- Standard Incandescent Battery Lights: 4-7 hours (requires 2 C batteries not included)
- LED Battery Lights: 18-24 hours (requires 3 AA batteries not included)
- LED Fairy Lights (microdrop): 100-150 hours (requires 3 AA batteries not included)
Be sure to test your battery lights when you receive them to make sure there are no manufacturing issues which can pop up from time to time. Let us know if you have an issue via our contact page so we can send you a replacement set.
Also, consider waiting until the last minute until you turn on your battery lights. We’ve had some customers ask their guests to turn on their centerpieces all at one for a lovely affect.
My batteries ar 4, AA at 1.6V each–brand new. My light string is bright near the battery pack and dim toward the rear.
Any thoughts? Thanks
That’s a puzzler. Your light set may require more power than even 4 AA batteries can provide even thought it is designed with that battery pack. If you have other sets, compare them to see if this is an isolated situation. It may be a slight wiring or bulb problem.
Sorry that I’ve not seen this issue before in battery lights and can’t give more concrete advice. You might try another set of 4 batteries to confirm that’s definitely not the issue.
I have this exact problem with a couple balsam hill garlands I bought a few years ago. They worked well for about two Christmas seasons. Now the bulbs near the battery pack are bright and the rest of the string is very dim. New batteries does not help. Tried changing a lightbulb where they started going dim. Didn’t help either. Sometimes when I’m pulling or wiggling on the wires they go off or dim more. I’m thinking it’s a wiring issue. Very annoying. Let me know if you think of anything.
Thank you for weighing in. I haven’t seen an issue like this that changing the batteries didn’t correct. That the lights don’t entirely go off is super interesting. If wiggling the string affects its brightness, I’d agree with your assessment that it is a wiring issue.
I have the micro drop fairy lights that use 3 AA batteries. They are very bright. How can I dim there brightness? Is there a way to make a dc dimmer?
Hi Bill,
Unfortunately, we don’t know of a way to actually dim your battery light string. (That’s a tricky one since they are ultra-low current and modifying the string would damage the set.)
We’ll keep your question in mind moving forward and if we have a suggestion or manufacture a product that includes a dimmer, we’ll post about it here.
Thanks for your question!
Shellie
I painted my extra bright fairy lights with beige craft paint. Worked great.
That sounds like they will give off a nice glow!
Thanks for sharing your tip!
Will the lights drain my batteries even when it’s turned off? I’ve had a string of lights here and whenever I change the batteries, they’re nice and bright. I turn them off for a few days and turn them back on and they’re not as bright as when I first turned it on.
Is it possible that they’re being drained even when not in use?
It’s not outside the realm of possibility that your light sets are draining your batteries.
If you are using rechargeable batteries that might be part of the issue as well.
Sounds like you may need to pull a battery when the lights aren’t in use.
hi, I bought a real cute xmas village battery operated lamp – and they drained very quick with brand new top quality Walmart batteries. The lamp has four globes – one came loose – I glued it back on – do you think that could have caused it? I know I have another battery operated light string which is not draining like the lamp so I thought maybe I could repair it. Judy
Hi there!
It sounds like you may have a defective Christmas village lamp there if another set is lasting quite a bit longer on the same style of battery lights. The repair may have changed the set’s specifications. Or there may be an issue with the internal wiring that you can’t see.
You might consider tracking down another set of those battery lights before next Christmas.
Shellie
Will it mess the lights up? I mean when I replace batteries will they brighten back up or have I messed them up by letting them go dim.
Hi Sheronda,
It shouldn’t mess up your lights at all to replace the batteries. In fact, it sounds like, more than likely that’s exactly the problem. As the batteries in battery lights fail, the lights will dim unevenly and go out one at a time instead of all at once. So, go ahead and change them out, they should be fine.
If you see that a random bulb here and there is dim after you do that, you may need to use any replacement bulbs that came with your set and change out the dim bulbs.
Hope that helps,
Shellie