The day I fixed 20 year old lights with a potato

Last Tuesday I was ready to throw out this string of fairy lights my grandma gave me. They'd been sitting in a box since 2004 and only half of them worked. I tried the bulb tester thing and that didn't work. Then my neighbor came over and said try rubbing a cut potato on the copper connections. I thought he was messing with me but I was desperate. It actually worked on 3 of the dead spots where corrosion had built up. I got about 80% of the string working again after that and some wire twisting. Has anyone else tried weird kitchen stuff to fix lights or am I the only one?

2 comments

2 Comments

brooke48428d ago

Respect the potato trick, that's actually genius. I had a similar moment with an old desk lamp where I used vinegar on the rusted contacts and it surprisingly brought it back to life. Sometimes the weirdest fixes end up working better than the actual tools you buy.

finleyk8727d ago

Honestly, @brooke484, was the vinegar an immediate fix or did it take a few tries? I've had rusted contacts laugh at a single pass sometimes. Like, I had an old radio that needed three vinegar soaks and a toothbrush scrub before it even flickered on. Did your lamp work right away or did you have to finesse it a bit?