fiber optics
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 150
Likes: 8
From: Scottsdale AZ
Each indicator on the console plate has a fiber optic lead running from it to the light it 'monitors'. The fiber optics simply pick up the light when it is turned on and pipe it back to the console so you can see which are working and which are not. In the case of the turn signals and brake lights, as the lamp gets brighter/dimmer, so will the fiber optic indicator. If the fiber is broken, or the end is disconnected or dirty, the indicators will not work (or possibly be very dim). Before you tear into it too far, I would take an empty paper towel tube and look through it at each indicator to determine whether they are not working at all or just really dim.
The most common cause of failure I've seen (and the easiest to check) has been dirt build up on the end of the fiber at the light. I've used a Qtip dipped in alcohol to clean them up. If the console has been out of the car, it is also common for the fiber optic leads to not have been re-seated in the lens correctly, and after a while they fall out.
One of the rear indicators (left tail light, I think) will always be dimmer than the rest. This is because the fiber optic lead on the console for that one actually inserts at a right angle to the lens. All the rest insert straight in so that the end of the fiber is pointing straight at the lens.
The most common cause of failure I've seen (and the easiest to check) has been dirt build up on the end of the fiber at the light. I've used a Qtip dipped in alcohol to clean them up. If the console has been out of the car, it is also common for the fiber optic leads to not have been re-seated in the lens correctly, and after a while they fall out.
One of the rear indicators (left tail light, I think) will always be dimmer than the rest. This is because the fiber optic lead on the console for that one actually inserts at a right angle to the lens. All the rest insert straight in so that the end of the fiber is pointing straight at the lens.
