How To Make A Marquee Chase Sign With Christmas Lights

A marquee sign is the old theater trick: a ring of bulbs around a sign where the light seems to run around the edge, over and over. You can build the same effect for your Christmas display with C9 bulbs and a chase controller. You don't need any special bulbs. What makes it work is how you wire it.

How The Marquee Chase Effect Works

A chase controller has several outputs, called channels. It turns channel 1 on, then switches it off as channel 2 turns on, then channel 3, and so on, then repeats. Each channel switches everything plugged into it on and off together. It doesn't control individual bulbs within a string.

So the trick is to spread each channel's bulbs around the sign. With a 4-channel controller:

• Channel 1 powers bulbs 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and so on
• Channel 2 powers bulbs 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, and so on
• Channel 3 powers bulbs 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, and so on
• Channel 4 powers bulbs 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and so on

When the controller steps from channel 1 to channel 2, every lit bulb goes dark and the bulb right next to it lights up. From the street, your eye reads that as light moving around the sign. That is the marquee chase.

What You Need

• A chase controller. A 3 Channel Chase Controller or a 4 Channel Chase Controller with a speed control dial is the simplest choice. Compare every option in our Christmas light controllers collection.
• SPT1 zipcord wire, one run per channel. See our SPT1 and SPT2 wire.
• C9 replacement sockets (pack of 25), one per bulb. These thread onto SPT1 zipcord at any spacing you want, which is exactly what a marquee needs.
• Slide-on vampire plugs to finish each run. A male plug goes at the start of each run, where it plugs into the controller.
• C9 LED bulbs, one per socket.

Step 1: Plan Your Bulb Count

Measure the outline of your sign and decide on the spacing between bulbs. Divide the outline length by the spacing to get your bulb count.

Here is the one rule that matters most: your bulb count must divide evenly by the number of channels. If it doesn't, two bulbs on the same channel end up side by side where the loop wraps from the last bulb back to bulb 1, and the chase visibly stutters at that spot.

For example, a 4' x 6' sign has a 20-foot outline. At 6 inches between bulbs, that is 40 bulbs. 40 divides evenly by 4, so it works with a 4-channel controller and you get 10 bulbs per channel. For a 3-channel controller, you would adjust the spacing slightly to land on 39 or 42 bulbs, which divide evenly by 3.

Step 2: Build One Run Per Channel

Each channel gets its own wire run that travels the full outline of the sign. On each run, place a socket only where that channel's bulbs go. With 4 channels, the sockets on each run sit 4 bulb positions apart. At 6-inch bulb spacing, that means a socket every 2 feet on each run. At 12-inch spacing, it is a socket every 4 feet.

To build a run, thread the C9 replacement sockets onto the SPT1 zipcord at your spacing. Place each socket over the wire so the wire sits in the slot along the socket body, then press the bottom cap on. The cap pushes the wire onto teeth inside the socket that pierce the insulation and make the connection, so there is no wire stripping. The caps can be hard to press by hand, and a pair of C-clamps or woodworking clamps makes the job much easier.

Add a male vampire plug at the start of each run. Then offset each run by one bulb position so the four runs interleave around the sign. Run 1 has the socket for bulb 1, run 2 starts one position later with bulb 2, and so on. Our guide to building custom Christmas light cords with SPT wire and vampire plugs covers the plug side of the build in more detail.

Step 3: Keep The Order Consistent

Go around the whole sign in the same direction, always 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Two bulbs swapped anywhere on the outline break the effect at that spot. A quick way to check: label the start of each run with its channel number before you mount anything, and lay the runs out on the floor in order before you attach them to the sign.

Step 4: Connect The Controller

Plug run 1 into channel 1, run 2 into channel 2, and so on. Plug the controller into a GFCI-protected outdoor outlet, turn it on, and use the speed dial to set the pace. A slower setting looks like a classic theater marquee. A fast setting looks like a carnival sign.

Want the light to travel the other way? Reverse the channel order at the controller. With a 4-channel controller, swap the plugs on channels 1 and 4, and on channels 2 and 3. With a 3-channel controller, swap channels 1 and 3.

Using A 3-Channel Controller

Everything works the same way with 3 channels. You'll have every third bulb on each channel and a socket every 3 bulb positions on each run. A 3-channel chase moves in bigger steps, since one of every three bulbs is lit instead of one in four. Both look good, so pick the controller that fits your bulb count.

Which Controllers Work For A Marquee Sign

• 3 Channel Chase Controller With Speed Control Dial: one channel on at a time across three outputs, with a speed dial. Handles 2 amps per channel and 6 amps per controller.
• 4 Channel Chase Controller With Speed Control Dial: the same classic chase across four outputs. Handles 2 amps per channel and 8 amps per controller.
• 4 Channel Chase Controller With Push Button: eight built-in chase patterns selected with a push button, a weatherproof casing, and memory that resumes your last pattern after a power cycle. Handles 1.25 amps per channel and 5 amps per controller.
• GFade 8 Channel Controller: a fully programmable controller that can run 1 to 8 outputs. Use 3 or 4 of its outputs for the layouts in this guide, or build a custom chase in its drag-and-drop timeline. Programming custom patterns requires a desktop or laptop computer.

Check The Load

A marquee sign is a light load for any of these controllers. A C9 ProCore® LED bulb draws 0.84 watts, so 10 bulbs on a channel use about 8.4 watts, a small fraction of even a 1.25 amp channel. Still, add up your bulbs before you plug in, and always stay under your controller's per-channel and per-controller amp ratings.

Weatherproofing Tips

Point plug connections down or off the ground, leave a drip loop where each run enters the controller, and keep connections out of standing water. Don't wrap plug junctions in tape. Tape traps moisture inside, and after a rain you would have to unwrap every junction to dry it out.

Need help planning your sign? Our team decorates rooflines, trees, homes, businesses, and some of the largest Christmas displays in the world, so the advice is based on decades of experience and practical application. Reach out, and we'll help you choose the right controller and parts list for your sign.