Reference

Repairing a seed pixel

Splicing a dead seed pixel back into a string with a soldering iron and UV glue — two and a half minutes, filmed close up. Faster than replacing the run, and it holds up outdoors.

Filmed and shared by Yvette LED, published here with their permission. Narration is in Mandarin with English subtitles on screen — it is a watch-the-hands video, so the sound is optional.

The steps, written out

In case you are reading this on a phone in the yard with the sound off, or you just want the order of operations.

  1. Strip and prepare the wires
    Strip both ends back and preheat the iron. The video uses a steel ruler as a work rest, which keeps the joint flat and stops the wire rolling.
  2. Tin everything first
    Solder paste on the wires, a little solder on the iron tip, and tin both conductors before they ever meet. A joint made from two tinned wires takes a second; a joint made from two bare ones takes ten and cooks the insulation.
  3. Solder the joint
    Bring the tinned ends together at the connection point and touch the iron to them. The solder already there does the work.
  4. Trim the joint
    Cut back the stray strands. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that prevents a solder bridge between two conductors sitting a few millimetres apart.
  5. UV glue over the joint
    A drop of UV-cure glue over the bare metal, front and back.
  6. Cure it with a UV torch
    Seconds under the light and it is solid. This is why UV glue rather than hot glue: it stays liquid until you cure it, so you can position it properly, and it sets hard rather than peeling off in the first frost.

Worth knowing

Match the wire before you cut anything. Seed strings vary in conductor count and in which colour carries data. Note what goes where before the old pixel comes out, because the insulation colours are not a standard and the next string you buy may not match this one.

UV glue is not the same as hot glue or silicone. It stays workable until you cure it and then sets hard and clear. Do not look straight into the curing torch.

Test before you seal. Power the string up with the joint still bare. Finding a cold joint after the glue has cured means cutting it out and starting again.

Yvette LED is listed under Vendors. We sell nothing and this is not an affiliate link — the video is here because it is useful.