Are your headlight lenses getting cloudy?

Umm - because life's too short? If you start jousting at windmills over
this, where do you stop? Windshiled wipers that don't work right below
29°F? Window motors that fail? Window lift brackets that fail? Brakes
that vibrate?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Rick is one of those "my car has Warranty for life, guys" Doesn't matter
what, nothing should ever break, or get worn out. Christ, I'm surprised the
fact he has to change his engine oil was not brought up. Oh, and the
tid-bit in the manual about washing a car properly is a waste too. Since it
does not specifically mention headlights! Lets not mention the fact that the
headlamps are covered under the basic warrany, but yes sand abrasion, and
fogging due to the increased UV rays, from air polution is the manufacturers
problem.

 

It's probably a good idea to put in UV 400 protection into almost
everything. I believe it's standard in plastics like CR39 for
eyeglasses although they try to charge for UV coating. And
polycarbonate and glass naturally have UV 400 protection. I don't know
the details of how much all the above protect from ultra-violet rays.

If there is increased UV now because of thinning of the ozone layer,
then this is a probably everywhere from our eyeballs to auto lenses.

 

No, David, I'm just discouraged by D-C's (and other mfgrs) trend towards
using pisspoor quality parts, like changing clocksprings, front stabilizer
bar bushings, head gaskets and other items that fail at 36,001 miles, thats
all. Read the litany of complaints in this NG, its all there.
I dont think your personal attacks are very productive, since you know
nothing about how I maintain my vehicles.
--
Rick

Rick is one of those "my car has Warranty for life, guys" Doesn't matter
what, nothing should ever break, or get worn out. Christ, I'm surprised the
fact he has to change his engine oil was not brought up. Oh, and the
tid-bit in the manual about washing a car properly is a waste too. Since it
does not specifically mention headlights! Lets not mention the fact that the
headlamps are covered under the basic warrany, but yes sand abrasion, and
fogging due to the increased UV rays, from air polution is the manufacturers
problem.

 

Understandably, because it's clear from that litany that the
recent trend is towards Chrysler (Throwaway) Engineering.

BTW, forgot to mention those serpentine belt tensioners...

 

For one thing we know for sure is you obviously did not provide the proper
maintenance for you headlamp covers or they would not have degraded

 

Let's see, proper maintenance, I missed that in the owner's manual and
the shop manual. Is there a section on polishing your headlamp lenses?
What do they recommend anything in particular? Any time periods, like
once every six months? I had always thought the headlights were like
the brake lights, don't need anything to keep them clear - silly me

 

the headlamp fluid must be changed every 30k!

 

Silly you, obviously you thought wrong. Particularly when you failed to do
anything when the lens covers first started to degrade. There are any
number of things on an automobile that require preventive maintenance over
time that are not specifically listed in the manual. What is in the manual
are those MINIMUM warranty requirements you must complete to avoid negating
warranty coverage. By the way tail lamp covers will degrade over time as
well

mike hunt

 

I was not in possession of the vehicle when it started to degrade and I
guess it did not bother my friend who was. When it was brought to my
attention by a mechanic, I cleaned up the lenses. The mechanic wanted
about $400. I spent about $1 on Meguiar's PlastX which is a little
pouch filled with something that looks like toothpaste.

 

Then why are you bitchin' in a NG about the lenses being cloudy? If you
want a vehicle that is like new you need to buy new, not used.

mike hunt

 

I'm bitching about your bitching. Your comment about new versus old is
a straw man's argument. It's irrelevant who bought the vehicle.

 

Enlighten us, Mike, what we should be doing to our headlights to prevent the
eventual cloudiness, cover them in the parking lot during the day? I've been
told that the DC vendor could have put about 2 cents worth of UV protection
in the plastic mix.
Another thing, if they know that they degrade that fast, DC should have made
it easier to change them out, and not charge a fortune for a new one. They
are difficult to replace. Spark plugs last longer.
Rick

I'm bitching about your bitching. Your comment about new versus old is
a straw man's argument. It's irrelevant who bought the vehicle.

 

That easy, apply a little polymer polish on occasion and the lenses will not
become cloudy.


mike hunt

 

I agree.
Sealed beam head lamps were excellent for a similar bulb technology.
Of course bulb technology has moved on.

Current head lamp enclosures are a styling item, where style is ahead of
function.
Now we have head lamps that scratch and age plus a lens cavity that
inhales dirt and corrodes.
Current separate bulbs take me back to my father's '36 chev.

I will admit that current head lamp bulbs last longer than the old seal
beam head lamps, but replacing the relatively low cost sealed beam units
of old provided a completely new head lamp.

Fortunately the reflector on my oldie '95 concord's head lamps hasn't
corroded yet, although I do need to remove the enclosure and shake out
some dirt that has collected inside. I've seen much worse on other 10yr
old cars.
I've changed the lamp to a higher wattage more efficient one.
To a lamp that has a low beam, that I usually use, wattage equivalent
to the original high beam.

 

Fortunately my '95 Concord's headlight lenses are still quite clear.
The car is garaged most of the time and we don't get much sun for half
of the days.
Perhaps this is saving it?

 

That should help it. I found with our old Aerostar years ago that
polishing the lights with Turtle wax every time I waxed it kept them
crystal clear while other one's faded. Cheap simple maintenance.

 

Interesting.
I wash the car with a Turtle Wax wash and wax concentrate, which
certainly gets on the lenses.
Perhaps that is also helping keep the lenses clear.

 

And to top it off the Aerostar Lenses are GLASS! wow Glass lenses stayed
clear what a revelation.

 

Lets complete the thought. The Sebring are not glass ???