Bethlehem lights timer fault

[amelia]

I think I have read threads here about this common problem and wanted to post my solution to help others and prevent these Christmas lighting sets being ''binned''
I was told by QVC that as my lights were more than 6 months old I could not return them as faulty (I only had them working for a total of 3 weeks last year, removed the batteries and stored them in a dry place but they failed at switch on this year)
I was so disappointed and frustrated that I emailed Bethlehem lights in USA. They sent me a helpful email detailing resetting of the timer after a failure (particularly when the timer box has got damp, which I think was what happened in my case).
I dried the timer boxes out thoroughly, wrapped them in food bags and followed the reset process. They seem to have worked OK since before Christmas.
I haven't copied the email here yet as I wasn't sure if that was acceptable. Can I send via a private message?
QVC ought to include the info on this items listing.

 

[Toril]

I would have thought that it was alright to post their instructions on how to reset the timer. Maybe PM Sazza to check? I'm sure that others will be very grateful if they have had a similar problem with their Bethlehem lights.

And i agree with you that QVC should include this information.

 

[Nicky-j]

I hope you are permitted to do this, since it would be very useful!

 

[iloveshopping]

Pls post. Mine packed up last year after a month of being used outdoors. I got them going by drying them out in the airing cupboard without using a reset process. Pls post the reset process in case it happens again. This year I have only used them indoors. I returned this years TSV as 2 out of the 3 packed up

 

[Akimbo]

Hi and a very warm welcome Amelia, I'd suggest that as long as you don't include your personal details, email address or account numbers (or spammy links) etc it'll be perfectly fine to copy and paste the relevant chunk of info here. Very useful too, my poinsettia basket could do with a reboot. I'm sure a moderator will be along soon to confirm.

Hope you have fun here! :mysmilie_3:

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

A warm welcome from me and a lovely helpful first post for those who may have this problem.

 

[boffy]

lovely lights when they work but not the proffessional quality that qvc keep spouting

 

[amelia]

If your lights are not working at all, try these steps

(1) Turn the battery box dial to the off switch.
(2) Check your batteries that they are installed correctly.
(3) Use only new good quality batteries.
(4) Do not mix old and new batteries; do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc) or rechargeable (nickel-cadmium) batteries. For best results, use alkaline batteries, we do recommend Duracell batteries for longer battery life/use of the product.
(5) Install only new batteries of the same type in your product.
(6) Failure to insert batteries in the correct polarity, as indicated in the battery compartment, may shorten the life of the batteries or cause batteries to leak.
(7) Check to see if batteries were corroded and leaked in the battery box.
(8) Reset the battery box to the desired function.

In some instances, you may have to reset the battery box if the lights are not coming on at the correct time when you are using the timer. Please follow these steps to reset your battery box.

DIAL RESET PROCEDURE:

(1) Make sure option is in OFF position.
(2) Remove batteries.
(3) Turn dial all the way to the left and back to the right (one cycle) - repeat for a total of 4 cycles.
(5) Return to the OFF position. Leave in the OFF position for at least 4 hours.
(6) Wipe the battery compartment out well prior to putting the batteries back in to make sure they get good contact.
(7) Reinsert batteries at time of day lights are desired to come on.

Weather conditions will affect batteries so if you are using your product outdoors leave the batteries outside while you are working on the reset procedure. This will prevent them from coming in and getting warm and then going back out into the cold and possibly "jolting" the timer mechanism again.

These instructions were supplied by Bethlehem Lights.

Follow/read these instructions twice carefully - I misread them initially. Easy to do!
I used this and put the timer boxes into sandwich/freezer bags. They are still working

 

[boffy]

i found that the box was full of water which means its also a design fault. the battery contacts were rusty therefrore the lights are not as described " being suitable for outside use". i would return them based on this info.

 

[Lucy-loo]

Ive had a hanging basket and a wreath outside since the first of December, and brought them in today, on the same set of batteries they were supplies with last year, the wreath is on my front door but under a porch, still outside but probably doesn't get wet, the hanging basket was on my shed, and its been out in all weathers and was even covered in snow at one point and the lights still came on and worked through the snow,

I bought another set of lights this year for an outside tree and they too have been perfect, I have been realy pleased with all of them, maybe Ive just been lucky