fixing GLÄNSA (by IKEA)

(Den Glänsa-Lichterkranz von Ikea reparieren.)

Ikea Glänsa Number 19972 (0429)
Ø 60 cm (23½") in this case
Design Sigga Heimis
indoor use
200 lamps à 0,5 W 5 V

Type JO302 or J0302
220–240 V ~ 50/60 Hz
power consumption max. 100 W

or the smaller Type JO301 or J0301 max. 75 W
150 lamps à 0,5 W 5 V Ø 26? cm

Let’s look at the label first, so we are sure we speak of the same thing.
(All pictures may be clicked to enlarge.) 

Near the power plug a “flag” with specs

Typically 3 wires go along Glänsa’s cord.
A normal lamp is daisy-chained
(reihengeschaltet) on one wire.
2 wires go into the lamp.

Some lamps (in the beginning and in the middle)
have 3 wires going into the lamp.
At the bottom on one side (left) the typical 3-wire line
comes out, on the other (right) one just 2 wires

The lamp at the very end
has only 2 wires comming.

“Testing” a lamp. Try at your own risk.
«Honi soit qui mal y pense».

Most of the distance Glänsa uses three wires, sometimes just two. Why?
   Here’s the secret in color:

Wiring diagram of Glänsa, big version with 2×50 lamps. (X) means lamp                                      Fotos and diagram Jörn

Look at the red wire. It goes all along to the end of Glänsa’s first part into this part’s last light bulb. Behind the lamp out comes the blue wire. It goes to the last-but-one lamp. From this lamp it goes back to the next, and so on, until all fifty (50) lamps have been connected, then finally into the power plug at the very left.
   Connecting lamps in sequence (and not as usual in parallel) is called a daisy chain – a beautiful name! (deutsch: Reihenschaltung). If all consumers on a daisy chain “eat” the same amount of power, they will all get the same voltage. Here 50 lamps are daisy chained on 230 Volt (V) household power, so each gets 230 V : 50 =  4.6 V, about as much as a bicycle lamp. The lamps are rated 5 V, so they’ll last well with 4.6 V. However: If just one lamp “dies” by interrupting its filament wire and stops sending current further down the line, the daisy chain is interrupted and all 50 lamps stop “burning”.
   Take care: The fact that each lamp runs on 5 V only, does not mean that you don’t have 230 V on some of the wires – like on the red one, depending which way you plug in the mains plug. This thing is electrically dangerous like any old bedside lamp!
   But back to the diagram. Why is there a third wire? I painted it in green. It is connected to the power plug side of the blue wire, so it can carry the full voltage down the line to where another 50 lamps may be connected similarily, shown as “2 wires” on the right; you find the full 230 V there. So the red wire just goes through. In order not to use connectors like screw terminals (Lusterklemmen), all connections are made in the bulbs, see picture “Some lamps … ”. This adds to the magic.

Finally to the repair. My definite suggestion: Don’t! Your chance to find the bad bulb is 1:50, one to fifty! Before you succeed you’ll have to test 24 lamps on average. Chances are, more lamps are bad, which will make you test all fifty of them without success, and nevertheless throw away the chain in anger.
   And then: How to test the lamps? You may cut off a lamp and short circuit the daisy chain there, so as to let the current flow again. If it actually does, you have found the right, bad bulb. If it doesn’t and Glänsa stays dark, you must reconnect this lamp and test the next, and so on and so on. If you want to do so safely use a multimeter – if current flows along the line the lights will all conduct, and the chain would light. Note that in the case of 100 lamps and just half of them not working, there will be a current flowing through the good part. When you catch (short circuit) the bad lamp in the bad part, the current will about double.
   A possible way to short curcuit a lamp without cutting it off is non-invasive with a metal pin, see last picture “Testing”. You might heat the pin over a candle first, but this might riun the pin. Another posibilty would be a stapler, applied slightly diagonally to perforate both wires. Try at your very own risk.
   If half of the chain still works, take off the rest. At least you’ll get a humble looking part-Gänsa.

So again: Don’t try to repair Glänsa. Cut off the wiring, throw it away into the recyling bin, buy a cheap christmas tree lamp set, and use this on the Glänsa metal base. The result: “Glänsa in Green”:

This is a self-made “Glänsa in Green” with just 50 lamps,
the 60-cm-Ø-version. – Fine, but not as fine as the original.

This blog at http://blogabissl.blogspot.com/2013/11/fixing-glansa-by-ikea.html
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