Can I Fix Lily Lightly?

[JanuaryJoy]

My birthday was January 18th, and of course, I asked for a few specific My Little Ponies. One of them was G3 Lily Lightly from an eBay listing. She's in pretty great condition, and cleaned up very well!

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Unfortunately, after sanding her corroded battery compartment and putting new batteries in, it turns out a light is broken. Everything else seems perfectly functional, but the second red light in her dress (farthest from her head) never glows.

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Does anybody have information or experience repairing Lily Lightly? Is there a suspected cause? All I know is that the red light isn't shattered, and the wires aren't torn apart. She's not rare, so I'm willing to break appropriate seams to examine the bulb and its wires inside her dress. But I'm not sure how. I'd like tips on what to do from knowledgeable collectors before attempting anything!

[starrynights]

I'm not too sure but I just want to say she is gorgeous!

[JanuaryJoy]

I'm not too sure but I just want to say she is gorgeous!

LOL, thank you very much!
Her mane was in one of the worst tangled messes I've ever seen, but turned out to be undamaged and styled beautifully!

[MintyMyndi]

Ah, the one that got away! I found a Lily Lightly at my favorite extremely lucky out-of-state flea market for five dollars. Either her batteries were dead or she didn't have any, but she looked like she'd clean up well. I was looking at her mane, thinking there was something off about it, so decided to check her tail as I was getting checked out to find a stump. Only after seeing that did I remember that she was supposed to have a Super Long mane- hers had been cut to normal length! The cashier at that booth assured me that they didn't know her hair was cut and that she wouldn't have been priced as high if they did, but she didn't have the authority to change the price and the individual who did wouldn't be there until after I would have gone home... I figured it was okay, since I wouldn't know how to open one anyway, but the more I think of it, the more I wish that I'd just paid the five dollars for her as-is. Would've made for a cool alt reroot, I think.

All that said, if you're brave enough to dissect her, the anatomy of "special" ponies is appreciated information for customizers and restorers, so do take pictures if you do open her! Even if you don't know how everything works, the images would be greatly helpful to anyone who'd need to know what it should look like in there.

Though, if you ask me, in your Lily's case it's probably just that a wire attached to the bulb has broken internally. Have you tried manipulating it to see if there's an angle it would work? That'd help you locate the break if there was. I was a headphone slayer before I discovered the magic of Bluetooth and my dad would solder the headphone wire a few times before a new pair was purchased-perhaps that's all Lily needs. Alternatively, the bulb could just need replacing; try to find a red LED that you'd use for a high school science fair project that's similar in size and brightness.

Either way, I wish you good luck in your endeavors! Even if you decide to keep her as-is, she's in lovely condition (and one of my favorite ponies, so I'm super jealous)!

[JanuaryJoy]

... If you're brave enough to dissect her, the anatomy of "special" ponies is appreciated information for customizers and restorers, so do take pictures if you do open her! Even if you don't know how everything works, the images would be greatly helpful to anyone who'd need to know what it should look like in there.

... It's probably just that a wire attached to the bulb has broken internally. Have you tried manipulating it to see if there's an angle it would work? That'd help you locate the break if there was. I was a headphone slayer before I discovered the magic of Bluetooth and my dad would solder the headphone wire a few times before a new pair was purchased-perhaps that's all Lily needs. Alternatively, the bulb could just need replacing; try to find a red LED that you'd use for a high school science fair project that's similar in size and brightness.

Huh, well judging by your response and the lack of anybody else's, I guess nobody's recently documented or attempted to fix Lily Lightly. I'm kinda reluctant to be the first though. I think in her current great condition, I'd just devalue her more by ripping/re-doing seams and potentially replacing original parts. She's still technically working.

Also, I evaluated the wire's condition as you suggested by bending it every which-way I'm able: no success. Either the wire's damaged pretty freakin' bad, or it's the bulb...

[lonewolf]

I don't have any experience with her, but I'm well versed in LED lighting. If it's not a wire then the LED has burned out (they do burn out just like light bulbs). No matter what it will likely require some soldering to fix the wire/put a new LED in. Good news is LEDs are cheap now (especially on Ebay). If you have to get a replacement make sure to get one that has a clear lens (instead of "diffused") as they're brighter, and of course the same size and type (can't tell what type it is from the picture) .

[CrystalSnowflake]

It's also possible that the led light never worked from day one. 
I think you brought her back to really lovely shape and she looks amazing.

I think that in order to diagnose the issue you would have to pull a few seams on the dress. It might be worth buying one that is in bait condition to take appart and document before attempting anything on one is great condition like yours.

Honestly I think if i took one apart I would probably do a lighting upgrade and put in a bunch more lights in that dress. Maybe some tiny twinkly ones.

Anyway best of luck! if you decide to attempt a fix then you should document it for others. I would be curious to see it.

[PrincessRoyalBlue]

She's quite beautiful, but I'm afraid I have no advice, I'm sorry.

[Minty_Magic]

It's also possible that the led light never worked from day one. 
I think you brought her back to really lovely shape and she looks amazing.

I think that in order to diagnose the issue you would have to pull a few seams on the dress. It might be worth buying one that is in bait condition to take appart and document before attempting anything on one is great condition like yours.

Honestly I think if i took one apart I would probably do a lighting upgrade and put in a bunch more lights in that dress. Maybe some tiny twinkly ones.

Anyway best of luck! if you decide to attempt a fix then you should document it for others. I would be curious to see it.

Omg some white twinkle lights would look awesome in that dress! What a great idea! I’ve always hated the red and blue combo she has in there. It makes her look like a cop car.

Personally, based on the condition yours is in though, I think I’d just leave her. I don’t feel like 1 light burnt out is too big of a deal. I’d be worried I’d nip some wire and kill all her other lights by opening her up, but you may be more well versed in electronic stuff than me!

[starrynights]

I’ve always hated the red and blue combo she has in there. It makes her look like a cop car.

Pony patrol!