Uhhh... Christmas lights are technology, right?

[Hensler]

So I've got my Christmas tree up, with a lot of stands of lights plugged into it hooked together. Everything's working great, the wife and kids are happy, Jesus is going to come down my chimney with the Old Republic and a new SSD in a few weeks and all that. But after about 15 minutes, all the lights go out. Well damn, the dog must have unplugged them. Except... the lights are still plugged in, but the chord is really hot.

So I figure maybe it's a bad strand of lights, and plug in the next strand up the tree to the wall. All the lights are working again, and I'm back on track for chimney sweeping Jesus. Again, this strand gets hot and stops working after 15 minutes.

After ruining two sets of expensive lights, I'm hesitant to try to diagnose an electrical problem on my own. Any ideas/advice? And yes, I posted this on an an actual electrical help message board too, not just a PC gaming website. This place just has some of the smartest people I know.

[FuriKuri!]

Get rid of them before you set fire to your family. :P

Could be that whatever adapter you've got with them is duff or throwing out the wrong voltages.

[Vexing Vision]

Are you living in the UK? Do you experience occasionally flickering lights when they're plugged in? Other electronic failures?

We had the same issue when living over there on the green isle. The wiring in our house was atrocious, and instead of a steady 230 Volt, this kept happily fluctuating, costing us two toasters and a microwave before figuring out what went wrong.

[Rii]

[DigitalSignalX]

Awesome video. Do your lights have a circuit breaker or fuse? Not sure of what the term is in the UK, a device that snaps the current off when it gets too strong or there is a short.

I'd try using a dedicated plug board that has one of those, plus voltage regulator so you know it not going to fry. Then call an electrician ASAP when your finances allow.