Fiber optic lights for bar in restaurant

[patricknola]

Hey guys, I've got a service contract with a Cheeseake Factory here is New Orleans. They've got fiber optic lights that illuminate glass shelves behind the bar. They have the oriiginal building plans and the as built. What I'm seeing above the ceiling isn't what the plans say should be, as far as junction boxes what have a transformer that send power to an illuminator that lights up the shelves. None of the fiber optic lights are working so it's a central problem, common to all the lights. I can't put my hands on any part of the system because the lights are incorporated into a milled bar, everything is running behind wood. Does anyone have experience with fiber optics and the way they are usually set up?

 

[brantmacga]

All of the fibers will route to an enclosure somewhere with a light bulb and probably a color wheel. If all of them are out, it sounds like they’re grouped in a single collector with one lamp.

There’s nothing conductive in the fibers. There’s a bulb inside the illuminator.


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[hillbilly1]

The journeyman I started out with many years ago said “when troubleshooting behind somebody, just remember; If I was an idiot electrician, where would I put it? LOL!

 

[Joethemechanic]

If I was an idiot

In the 70's and 80's Mack truck used fiber optics to illuminate the heater controls. One day I took one apart and found the fiber optics spliced with a crimp on butt connector.

 

[Todd0x1]

I used to work a little with similar fiber optic lighting almost 30 years ago. The illuminator should be accessable somewhere. I'm willing to bet this is just a matter of the bulbs in the illuminators being burned out, or some other issue with the illuminator itself. Some use a MR16 lamp, some used a metal halide lamp, and some used this short arc light engine thing from GE which would be pretty difficult to replace today.

Look for boxes on the wall in the area on the back side of the bar, look in cabinets under the bar, look above drop ceilings, and look for access panels in hard lid. They're there somewhere, likely close to where the illumination happens as the fiber was somewhat expensive. The fiber for those edge lit shelves is likely the thicker single fiber type and will be either clear and look like a really long hot glue stick or it could have a black jacket and look like a thick coax. Whatever you do don't scrape, nick, or cut it.

(everyone newer to the industry installing LEDs these days has NO idea how easy they have it)

 

[Arester]

The glass fiber last forever. I have a Christmas tree 25 years old that still works and only once had to replace the bulb. Brantmacga explained it and hillbilly1 give you a hint where to look for the bulb (it will be in metal enclosure) keep looking and good luck.

 

[Todd0x1]

The glass fiber last forever.

Its plastic. Typically PMMA or MMA. Communication fiber is glass.

 

[Sberry]

In the 70's and 80's Mack truck used fiber optics to illuminate the heater controls. One day I took one apart and found the fiber optics spliced with a crimp on butt connector.

My neighbor had a tractor come back from the dealer with mechanical heat ga tube spliced with a wire nut.