Cleaning Dirty Fiber Optic Ports And Connectors - 3Com CoreBuilder 2500 Getting Started Manual

Cleaning Dirty Fiber Optic Ports and Connectors

Fiber optic transceivers are sensitive optical devices
that you must handle carefully. If dirt collects on
the fiber optic lens, you might notice that the LED
for an FDDI port either does not light or lights
yellow. You might also notice degradation in port
performance, indicated by an increase in the Link
Error Rate (LER) count for that port.
To prevent dust from collecting on the fiber optic
lens, keep the dust covers on any ports at all times
when not in use. To clean a fiber optic lens, take
these steps:
Remove any accumulated dust or debris from the
1
port or connector by blowing across all surfaces
with a canned air duster.
Compressed gas is recommended, such as
Chemtronics' Ultrajet or the Triangle Tool Group's
Liqui-Tool Dust-A-Way. Do not use commercial
compressed air or "house air" because of the risk of
oil contamination.
Reconnect the cable to the port to check whether
2
the dusting corrected the problem.
If the LED still does not light, or if it lights yellow,
continue with steps 3 and 4.
Gently wipe the ports with a lint-free, nonabrasive,
3
nonadhesive swab. Microswabs by Texwipe are
recommended.
Related Maintenance Procedures
Gently wipe the connectors with a lint-free,
4
nonabrasive wipe or pad. Texwipe pads are
recommended.
Avoid touching any surfaces after cleaning the
connectors. Keep all unused ports covered.
7-7