A monitoring system for a wayside signaling device includes a light emitting diode (LED) circuit with an LED array, a LED driver unit for driving the LED array, and a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the LED circuit, and an optical light sensing circuit with a light-controlled variable resistor operably coupled to a resistor driver unit including relay functionality. The LED circuit and the sensing circuit are arranged such that the light-controlled variable resistor monitors an output of the LED array, and that the relay functionality triggers the mechanism to connect or disconnect the LED circuit based on the output of the LED array.