Headlights Interior Dirt

I have a 97 Plymouth Grand Voyager. The headlights are quite dirty inside.
It really seems to cut down on their illumination where the dims are
"really" dim and brights not that much brighter than dims.
I called a chrysler dealer today. He was quite familiar with the problem but
said they are "sealed" units. They can't just be cleaned but must be
replaced and it would cost $150-$200 each. He said his daughters car (also a
chrysler) has the same problem and he hasn't replaced them because of the
cost.

 

I wish they were sealed, but they are very poorly designed non-sealed units.
It can be removed and cleaned, but the reflective coating may not be in good
shape after all these years. After market replacement units may be the best
bet for your, and a lot less money.

Richard.

 

These headlamps are of a completely lousy design. Even when brand new and
picture-perfect clean, the low beams are almost useless and the high beams
are only marginally better.

Well, he's not correct that they're sealed, unless what he meant is that
the lens cannot be removed from the reflector without destroying the
headlamp assembly.

If your problem is actual dirt inside the lamps, then you can try cleaning
them yourself:

Remove the lamp assemblies from the vehicle, and remove the bulbs. Place
one or two drops (ONLY!) of transparent liquid dish detergent in each
lamp. (e.g. regular green Palmolive, regular blue Dawn, regular yellow Joy
or Ajax, etc...pick something you can see through and that does NOT
contain any kind of hand lotion.) Fill each lamp about 3/4 full of hot
distilled(!) water. Cover the bulb holes (the clean palm of your hand will
work) and vigorously shake/slosh/swirl the lamp to agitate the hot soapy
water. Do this over a sink, and hold on with both hands so the lamp
doesn't slip from your grip, fall and break. Then turn the lamp
bulb-hole-down, and swirl the lamp to cause the water to drain from it in
a circular fashion. Rinse the lamp repeatedly with hot distilled(!) water
until all traces of soapsuds are gone.

To dry the lamps with minimal spotting, place them in your clean kitchen
oven and close the oven door. Turn the oven to Bake/350 for 3 minutes,
then turn the oven off and leave the door closed. In about an hour, your
lamps should be thoroughly dry. If your oven is gas instead of electric,
find an alternate hot/dry location (heat register?) to dry them with.

Notes:

1) It is possible that what appears as "dirt" in your lamps is actually
degraded reflective material. If this is the case, the cleaning process
will usually finish-off the dead reflector.

2) If these lamps are original to the car, it's probable that the lenses
have gone cloudy and yellow due to UV exposure. You can try polishing them
with e.g. Meguiar's Body Scrub car polish or any of several special
"headlight lens polish" products that are more or less the same thing in a
smaller, more expensive bottle.

3) The lamps are unrealistically expensive from the dealer. Taiwanese
aftermarket ones can scarcely be too much worse and they cost a great deal
less.

DS

 

Chrysler had it right in 1940 when it standardized sealed beam
headlights, looks like we are going backwards!

 

Daniel (previous post) has really good cleaning advice.

Here are 2 additional thoughts;

1) Seals do fail - I had a seal fail on a 2 headlights that eventually
allowed me to eventually separate the lens from the reflector back. I
was then able to clean all the old-dried-up glur off, clean the parts
carefully and reseal the assembly using clear silicone. My repair
long outlasted the original (and the car).

2) Inexpensive replacement headlights often leak - I had both OEM
headlights on our '95 GC not leak for 3 years before an accident. My
insurance company then insisted on saving money and forced the repair
shop to use less expensive aftermarket units that both leaked within
18mo. When the first one leaked moisture, they replaced it with the
same and it eventually leaked again. I then requested they use OEM
headlights on both, and the seals have held up for at least 3 years.

- Duane

 

Would this be better than the resin glaze polish, blue-label can of
TR3?

 

Any polish is going to need to be redone periodically (every few weeks).
There is a clearcoat on the new assembly (I do not know if it is
identical or only very similar to the clearcoat on the paint). Once
that is degraded (hazed) and subsequently polished, it is either gone or
made much thinner, and you are left with much less scratch- and
UV-resisant base plastic exposed.

Many have found that polishing as Daniel has suggested, or even sanding
with successively finer sandpaper, ending with 1500 or 2000 grit,
followed by painting with actual clearcoat will give as close to new
appearance and zero maintenance longevity as you can get. It's either
that or periodic maintenance (every few weeks) with another coat of
polish. If you sand and then polish, make sure you thoroughly clean the
polish residue off before clearcoating to prevent chemical reaction
and/or bonding problems due to the polish.

One other note: After sanding even with the finest sandpaper, the
surface will look hazy, and you'll think you totally ruined the
assembly. Polish or clearcoat will take care of that by filling in the
microscopic scratches to give a glass-clear surface, but sanding prior
to polishing or clearcoating will give the quickest and overall best
results.

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

 

Easier to find, probably. Either will work.