Rope Lighting - Wiring Directly

LED Converters (Convert 120VAC or 220VAC to DC Power)

12 Volt Lights & Accessories
(12-24-120-230 Volt)

12 Volt Lights et al > Rope Lights > Recommended Parts > Power Option 2F

WIRING DIRECTLY TO ROPE LIGHT USING “EASY SPLICES”
(these instructions were submitted by a generous customer, willing to share his clever, money saving, cord eliminating, direct connection method - use at your own risk).

NOTE: If you are using LED Rope Light, you need to power it with DC Voltage (AC Voltage can make it flicker) - the Power Cord Kit w/ Rectifier will convert the AC to DC (the Power Cord Kit w/ Rectifier is available for purchase on any of the LED Rope Light product pages - see Accessories section on the page for your product/voltage of choice). LED Rope Light is polarity sensitive (if it doesn't light, reverse the leads).

Incandescent Rope Light can be powered by AC or DC Voltage.

Installation Note for LED Rope Lights: LED rope lighting contains diodes that allow the electricity to flow in one direction only. Because of this, when you hook up power to the LED rope lighting, it may not illuminate. If this is the case, disconnect the power and reconnect it to the other end of the LED rope lighting. Before you install your LED rope lights, connect the power and verify illumination. Then as you do your installation, beware of which end you need to feed the power to.

YOU WILL NEED:
Flux core solder.
Small soldering iron (soldering pencil).
Wire stripper.
Heat gun.
Wire cutters.
Marine silicone sealant.
3/16” shrink tube.
#IMT-ILMDL-ST 3/8” Shrink Tube.
#IMT-ILMDL-INV 3/8” Easy Splice (Invisible Splice) - shown above.
Red tinned 18 Ga. wire.
Black tinned 18 Ga. wire.
3/8 rope light.

DIRECTIONS:
1) Strip 1” of insulation from one black and one red wire.
2) Identify the easy splice (+) pin. (see note 1 below)
3) Hold the stripped end of the red wire against the plastic part of the easy splice close to the (+) pin and wrap two turns of wire around the pin.
4) Solder the wrapped wire to the pin. (see note 2 below)
5) Clip off the excess unsoldered end of the wire close to the pin. (see note 3 below)
6) Wrap and solder the black wire to the (-) pin, as in steps 3, 4, and 5.
7) Slide ¾” long pieces of 3/16” shrink tube over both soldered joints and shrink in place.
8) Slide 1” of 3/8” shrink tube over installed shrink tubes and inject with silicone sealant. (see note 4 below)
9) Shrink the 3/8 tube in place.
10) Allow to cool before wiping off excess sealant.
11) Install wired easy splice on to rope light.
12) Coat the splice and ½” of the rope light with silicone sealant and slide a 2” piece of 3/8” shrink tube over the coated area.
13) Shrink this tube in place to complete the rope light to wire splice.
14) Allow splice to cool before wiping off excess sealant.

NOTES:
1 - If you view the rope from the end with the hole below the wires, the right hand wire is (+).
2 - Use only enough heat to obtain a good joint. The pins and tinned wire solder well. You may heat sink the other end of the pin with a clip if you wish.
3 - You will need a small pair of side cutters or a fingernail clipper to cut close to the pin.
4 - Use the nozzle tip that is furnished with the tube of sealant to make this job easier.