LED String Missing Bulb

[IndianaChristmas]

A squirrel  unfortunately attacked my LED string.  To make matters worse it decided to chew off right at the base of the bulb. There is no lead wire to reconnect the bulb.  These strings are CDI strings.  I know strings are made to for the specific number of LEDs, in this case 70.  Would the string suffer greatly if it were to be put back together and only have 69 LEDs?  Shorten lifespan?  Safety issue?

[rmp2917]

It should be OK. It should be no different than having a burnt out bulb with the others still lit.

The current to the remaining bulbs will be slightly higher. Therefore, they will be slightly brighter although it probably won't be noticeable. This will make the lifespan of the bulbs slightly shorter, but you will probably end up replacing them way before that.

If you remove too many LEDs, the current will eventually exceed the limit of the LED and they will burn out. You will most likely have to remove several LEDs to get to this point.

There should not be a safety issue as long as you do a good job on the repair. Make sure there are no exposed wires and that they can't be pulled apart easily.

[tbone321]

LED's are not like mini's and there is a difference.  LED's are VERY current sensitive so you really need to be carefull about simply splicing the wires together.  If the socket is destroyed you could solder a LED or even a regular diode directly to the wires (with the correct polarity).  This will restore the voltage drop and maintain the curent flow that this string needs to operate properly.