How to make decorations powered by car battery or motorcycle battery for decorating your canoe.

How to convert a 100 Twinkle light string into 2 12-volt 50 light strings

What you need

• a 100 light, string along light string (3-wire) (Type with plug in on both ends )
• 12-volt Battery
• 2 battery clips or some other way of attaching wires to car battery.
• Wire Cutters
• Clip or small carabineer for easy tracing of wires.
• 25 Wire Tap Splice
• Pliers for Crimping closed Wire Tap Splice

Step 1

Plug light string into outlet and check that it works.

Step 2

Cut off and discard plug.

Step 3

Fasten a Battery Clip to each of the two wires you just cut the plug off of and then clip one to + Post of 12-volt battery and other to – Post of battery. None of the lights will go on yet.

Step 4

Go to first light in string starting from battery. Place a Clip or a small carabineer around wire that does not go into this light. This is the wire you want to trace to first splice location.

Step 5

Slide clip along wire till you pass light 4. The wire the clip is around is the wire you want to splice to the wire coming out of the 4^th light.

Step 5

A Wire tap splice often has a removable plastic tab in one of the channels the wires will sit in. this must be removed.

Step 6

Clamp tap around the two wires as you pinch down on metal pin it will drive into insulation and connect with conductors in wire and first 4 lights will come on.

Step 7

Attach clip to wire that does not go into wire tap.

Slide clip along wire to light 8 and repeat procedure.

Continue this process till you get to light 48 the next two light will be on and very bright. Cut all 3 wires between light 49 and 50 this will leave you with a string 48 lights long with 49^th not on.

Move to other end of string with female plug and cut off female plug and repeat entire procedure above to make 2^nd light string.

PTCC Members if you are having trouble and need personal help give Pat Maxwell a call. If you don’t want to do this your self contact me in advance. I have enough extra strings that I can lend to members.