CTLR FINDS THE APCH LIGHTS TO BE OUT OF SERVICE AT SAT; TX; RWY 12R; WHEN HE IS TOLD BY GND INSPECTOR. CTLR WANTS SOME OTHER SYSTEM TO INDICATE WHEN APCH LIGHTS ARE NOT OPERATIONAL.

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ON 5/XA/98 AT APPROXIMATELY XA52; THE APCH LIGHTING PANEL FOR RWY 12R WAS LOGGED OUT OF SERVICE. THE OUTAGE WAS CARRIED OVER ON THE NEXT DAY'S LOG MEANING IT HADN'T BEEN FIXED; OR WAS NOT EVEN LOOKED AT. ON 5/XB/98 AT APPROX XA45 THE WX WAS INDEFINITE CEILING 100 WITH LESS THAN 1/4 MI VISIBILITY THE RVR FOR RWY 12R WAS DOWN TO 100 FT. THE APCH LIGHT PANEL WAS STILL NOT INDICATING WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE ON; AND WE COULD INCREASE THE INTENSITY TO STEP FIVE. SINCE WE WERE DOWN TO CAT II MINIMUMS WE HAD THE ARPT OPS DO A CAT II CHECK OF THE RWY LIGHTS. IT WAS AT THIS POINT WHEN WE DISCOVERED THE APCH LIGHTING SYS WAS NOT EVEN WORKING PROPERLY. AT LEAST THREE ACFT MADE THE APCH WITHOUT BEING NOTIFIED THE APCH LIGHTS WERE OUT OF SERVICE. MY COMPLAINT IS THAT THE OUTAGE WAS RPTED AND AFTER 24 HRS NOTHING HAD BEEN DONE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT FROM THE TWR HE COULD NOT TELL WHICH STEP THE APCH LIGHTS WERE SET ON. THE WARNING BUZZER WAS ALSO INOP. HE WAS UPSET WHEN 3 ACFT LNDED IN LOW VISIBILITY CONDITIONS; EVIDENTLY BECAUSE THEY IDENTIFIED THE SEQUENCE FLASHER LIGHTS THAT LED THEM TO THE ARPT. THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW IF APCH LIGHTS ARE WORKING EXCEPT FOR A VISUAL INSPECTION. RPTR WOULD LIKE SOME TYPE OF WARNING SYSTEM AVAILABLE IN THE TWR TO ANNUNCIATE WHEN APCH LIGHTS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. INSPECTIONS OF THE APCH LIGHTS ARE MADE TWICE PER NIGHT AND ONCE PER DAY BY A GND MAINT CREW. ALSO THE CTLR HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING THAT STEP 5 OF LIGHT INTENSITY WAS NOT AVAILABLE.