Quote:
Originally Posted by DrRuckus13
Be sure to find out WHY the headlamps are fogging or becoming discolored. I have a tiny small cracks on the bottom of my driver’s side headlight at the bottom where the bumper connects to it. It’s not visible without getting deep in there and peeking through the bumper plastics. This is the root cause to my discoloration issues.
There is no magic cream that will restore the color and clean up the clear plastic because it’s the moisture filled air that penetrated the inside of the clear plastic. In my case, which should be similar everyone else who has Toyota headlights it's not cheap plastic, its internal damage to the structure itself.
Once the sealed lights are cracked it can only be glued or replaced. If there is absolutely no cracks you should check your light bulbs because they have a rubber gasket to help seal them into the headlight fixture.
good luck with the headlight ointment though
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All headlamp housings have
Vents for moisture relief. A perfectly brand new headlamp housing may exhibit moisture within the housing from time to time because these housings are not sealed from atmosperic conditions i.e. high humidity and heaving rain and ice buildup on the outside will induce internal moisture. This is part of the design. It is important to inspect these vents as they can get clogged with dirt over the years and can also be the cause of persistant internal mositure...which can cause permanent clouding inside the lens over time.
BTW, 99% of the time
it will never be the "O" Ring on the bulb causing moisture leaks. They just don't fail. Of course
human error by not properly installing the bulb can always be an issue. But, that's a given...
These
Vents are usually located high up on the rear of the housing... ususally two of them located apart from each other.
As the heat from the bulb builds up, the moisture evaporates and exits
through these vents and the inside lens clears up of mositure..
So in fact it is not necessarily a slight or minor crack that will produce this moisture alone. Sometimes the seal of the lens to housing will breach over the years and silicone may be reapplied around the whole assembly .
These vents appear to be short rubber downturned nipples/hoses or similar in description. Look closely at the back of your light housing(s).
For many many years Europe has been using this "unsealed design" and for this reason The USA/DOT (feds) have only recently allowed them for US use. That's why the "Sealed Beam Headlight" Bulbs only disappeared recently during the mid '80's in favor of this European design. The Feds finally allowed them along with with it's inherent design flaw/characteristics. But it enabled Mfrs. to contour these "Unsealed headlamp housings" more efficiently into the front body design for esthetic, more focused light projection and aerodynamic purposes.
BTW..
ALR looks bogus to me.
Just some food for thought.
LT
