talley1968

The headlights on my 1968 coupe were all working, but were not all T-3 bulbs. Also, sometime in the 1970s the fiber optics stopped working (I've owned the car since 5/70). Finally, my wife just bought me a complete set of T-3 bulbs. When I took the old bulbs out, none of them had the little rubber boots on the back. When I installed the new bulbs I used new rubber boots on each bulb. Now the RH high beam fiber optic is working. The others are not. Looking through a catalog I noticed there is something called a fiber optic ferrule end (or something like that). Is this something I should replace and, if so, how is it done?

MelWff

scroll down to the section on fiber optics to see what you may be missing

https://www.lectriclimited.com/repair-components/

sjhanc

Look for cut fiber wires where a mechanic might need to get in for repair. Around the radiator frame is a good place to look. If you find cut fiber wires they can be rejoined, I think special
fiber optic crimp connectors are available, but I have spliced them with tight fitting wire butt connectors.

Alan 71

Hi T,
Make sure the end of the f/o cable that's in the connector is very clean.
If it's been sitting unused it might be quite dirty which might be blocking the light from entering the cable.
Regards,
Alan

The f/o cable is captured in the center of the connector.

talley1968

Alan - Thanks for the info. What do you recommend as the best way to clean them? Would shining a flashlight at them afterwards be a way of checking them before reassembling the headlights?

Alan 71

Hi,
I think you can use whatever cleaning product you wish.
I use diluted Simple Green.
Yes shining a flash light in the end of the cable will give you an indication if the cable is intact.
Remember except in very dark conditions the 'glow' seen in the lens in the interior is faint at best….. bu should be visible.
If in looking closely at the end of the cable it appears the end is damaged you can try slicing a very thin slice off to give the end a new surface. But do this cautiously.
Regards,
Alan

This is the parking light cable but should give you an idea of what the end of the headlight cables look like. You can see the tip of the cable sticking out.

talley1968

Alan - Thanks for your help. I understand the system a lot better now.

loup68

I should mention that you need to make sure that the new headlamp bulb, or an old one, has the evacuation nipple cleaned off. This is what the fiber optic cable "see's". I have always had to scrape paint off of new bulbs to allow the lamp light to shine out of the back of the bulb. I worked at GE for ten months and watched how bulbs were made. The final process is to pull a vacuum on the bulb and seal it up using that nipple. Lou.

theandies

I've worked with fiber optics my whole electronics career. One way to clean this type of fiber optics cable (they are single strand plastic) is to use 1000 grit sandpaper. Use it in a spiral pattern and it will clean them up perfectly. Also as mentioned make sure the light can escape from the back of the bulb. If it's painted over with no way to get a small amount of light to the FO cable then they just won't work (obviously).
It's hard to find a break in the cable since they are wrapped in the wiring harnesses.
Good luck. I like my FO system and when I upgraded my headlights to relays and ceramic lamp plugs one of my priorities was to retain the FO's which I managed to do.

loup68

I have a 68 coupe and with 68's being the only year with four real tail lights, I added the two outer fiber optics to my shifter consol to monitor all four of my brake lights. Lou.