OK have spent some time cleaning my headlamps- inside- to help get the maximum amount of light onto the road.
A fair amount of dirt and dust gets into and accumulates on the inside surface of the headlight and it can't be cleaned too easily. You can see this my turning the headlights on at night and seeing how much dust is illuminated by the beam inside the clear headlight cover- it isn't obvious in daylight. Even the slightest bit of dirt will diffuse the beam and reduce efficiency.
Seeing as my Puma is nearing 8 years old I thought it would be time to tackle the job seeing as I've adjusted the aim to get a good spread of light.
Lights removed from the car and in the bathtub to be washed. It pays to wash the outside of the body of the light first to prevent dirt getting inside.
I used Autoglym Interior Shampoo as a general cleaner and a sponge, rinsed off with clean water. Be careful not to use too much water and tilt the light away from the drain tube hole to avoid too much water getting in.
Clean on the outside helps keep it clean on the inside. Dry the outside off with an old towel.
This standard HB3 bulb has been in the dipped headlight for just 12 months and functions fine. Note the element has melted and shortened which has bent the element support slightly and the glass envelope has started to go white. This will not help the efficiency of the light. I replaced all 4 bulbs (main+dip) for £25ish with quality Gerlux bulbs from a motor factor (compare this to Halfords/dealer prices!)
You will now need to split the light. 4 clips hold it together, sandwiching a rubber seal. 'Pop' the clips carefully, don't force them or they will break and the light will not seal properly. Avoid touching the inside of the light unit.
I used an air blower to dust the inside of the reflectors and lenses.
With the front half you can safely rinse these off under cold running water. Fill the light up then swish the water around to clear out the loose dust and dirt.
Finish off the rinse by using plenty of DE-IONISED WATER. This is vital to avoid watermarking the inside of the headlight- if this happens the marking will be impossible to remove.
At this stage you must let the headlight air dry naturally. I left mine for 3 days in a warm well ventilated dust free room.
My favourite product for hard plastic surfaces is Crystal Glo. I've not seen anything that does it better.
The headlight must be totally dry before polishing the inside. I used Bounty towels as they produce little if any dust. Fold a small piece into a square then put the polish on sparingly.
Apply via the headlight holes, avoid getting the polish anywhere but on the clear inside cover.
Using circular motion apply in the areas you can reach. You will need to apply some pressure to lift the dirt so don't push the polish into areas you cannot reach.
I used a soft microfibre cloth, well shaken, to remove the polish. I reapplied and polished off 3 times to ensure good coverage. An impressive amount of dirt came off the first time I polished.
I also polished the glass lenses of the headlight units themselves. Finally put both halves of the headlight back together- listen for a positive *click* when the clips engage- finished off by polishing the outer cover with Crystal Glo.
Put the light back together and tested, looks much better, not bad for an 8 year old. There are a still lot of fine scratches on the cover caused by stone chipping which cannot be removed by polishing.
A fair amount of dirt and dust gets into and accumulates on the inside surface of the headlight and it can't be cleaned too easily. You can see this my turning the headlights on at night and seeing how much dust is illuminated by the beam inside the clear headlight cover- it isn't obvious in daylight. Even the slightest bit of dirt will diffuse the beam and reduce efficiency.
Seeing as my Puma is nearing 8 years old I thought it would be time to tackle the job seeing as I've adjusted the aim to get a good spread of light.
Lights removed from the car and in the bathtub to be washed. It pays to wash the outside of the body of the light first to prevent dirt getting inside.
I used Autoglym Interior Shampoo as a general cleaner and a sponge, rinsed off with clean water. Be careful not to use too much water and tilt the light away from the drain tube hole to avoid too much water getting in.
Clean on the outside helps keep it clean on the inside. Dry the outside off with an old towel.
This standard HB3 bulb has been in the dipped headlight for just 12 months and functions fine. Note the element has melted and shortened which has bent the element support slightly and the glass envelope has started to go white. This will not help the efficiency of the light. I replaced all 4 bulbs (main+dip) for £25ish with quality Gerlux bulbs from a motor factor (compare this to Halfords/dealer prices!)
You will now need to split the light. 4 clips hold it together, sandwiching a rubber seal. 'Pop' the clips carefully, don't force them or they will break and the light will not seal properly. Avoid touching the inside of the light unit.
I used an air blower to dust the inside of the reflectors and lenses.
With the front half you can safely rinse these off under cold running water. Fill the light up then swish the water around to clear out the loose dust and dirt.
Finish off the rinse by using plenty of DE-IONISED WATER. This is vital to avoid watermarking the inside of the headlight- if this happens the marking will be impossible to remove.
At this stage you must let the headlight air dry naturally. I left mine for 3 days in a warm well ventilated dust free room.
My favourite product for hard plastic surfaces is Crystal Glo. I've not seen anything that does it better.
The headlight must be totally dry before polishing the inside. I used Bounty towels as they produce little if any dust. Fold a small piece into a square then put the polish on sparingly.
Apply via the headlight holes, avoid getting the polish anywhere but on the clear inside cover.
Using circular motion apply in the areas you can reach. You will need to apply some pressure to lift the dirt so don't push the polish into areas you cannot reach.
I used a soft microfibre cloth, well shaken, to remove the polish. I reapplied and polished off 3 times to ensure good coverage. An impressive amount of dirt came off the first time I polished.
I also polished the glass lenses of the headlight units themselves. Finally put both halves of the headlight back together- listen for a positive *click* when the clips engage- finished off by polishing the outer cover with Crystal Glo.
Put the light back together and tested, looks much better, not bad for an 8 year old. There are a still lot of fine scratches on the cover caused by stone chipping which cannot be removed by polishing.
k:
