Hi all,

 

Just discovered the inside of the headlight projector lens for dipped beam has gone all milky.  I was wondering why my headlights were seeming less effective and distinct.

Any tips on cleaning/dealing with this issue? Mk2 Pre-FL

 

Thanks

I found these kids sponge brushes invaluable when I cleaned the projector lenses on my old mk2 Octavia.

 

As the headlights are so easy to remove, it was quite easy to do on the dining table.

 

Popped the bulbs out, sprayed in some glass cleaner down the hole and then used one of these to clean the lenses.

 

I then wrapped a piece of kitchen roll around the end to ensure they were fully clean.

 

22 minutes ago, softscoop said:

I found these kids sponge brushes invaluable when I cleaned the projector lenses on my old mk2 Octavia.

 

As the headlights are so easy to remove, it was quite easy to do on the dining table.

 

Popped the bulbs out, sprayed in some glass cleaner down the hole and then used one of these to clean the lenses.

 

I then wrapped a piece of kitchen roll around the end to ensure they were fully clean.

 

 

Cool. Thanks for that. It's a brilliant idea.  Did you find cleaning them made a big improvement?

I noticed how poor my lights were performing after driving my wife's Polo the other night. Her beam pattern was far more defined than mine.

Yes it made quite a difference.

 

Also make sure to clean the reflector, as I found that was also covered in a layer of dirt.

Got round to doing this job today. What a FTFTBBW (far too fiddly to be bothered with!)

 

I used pipe cleaners and IPA. I found that the front of the lens was as bad as the back. Had to get a bendy pipe cleaner and wound a few together to get the length and rigidity (f’nar) to get through a tiny gap in the side to access the front of the lens. A bit like keyhole surgery wearing boxing gloves. Made a huge difference. Can’t wait for a test drive to see what it’s like. 

Aaaaaaa....

Right now I see how it was and what should be after cleaning...

So mines seem to be a bit milky too, and noticed with other same age cars the difference..

On 20/12/2021 at 12:31, softscoop said:

 

I then wrapped a piece of kitchen roll around the end to ensure they were fully clean.

What about inserting a micro fiber towel and going round and round, wouldn't remove the dirt normally?

Micro flokati!

1 hour ago, AVHreplica said:

What about inserting a micro fiber towel and going round and round, wouldn't remove the dirt normally?

I very much doubt you'll get a microfibre cloth anywhere near the lense.

 

The only real access you have to clean it is through the bulb hole, or as golf-fiend has shown, with some seriously bent pipe cleaners.

So after cleaning the lens, is the light output improved? Mine are also milky, and could do with a clean. 

 

It's really annoying that you can undo the lens by unscrewing it, but are unable to get it out of the headlight assembly.  😬

I didn't clean but changed to new LHD units so as good a clean as you can get, the dip beam pattern aside which was the goal the difference in light output was astounding.

 

They were still crap units compared to my Yeti though.

 

On my MK1 before eventually biting the bullet with new LHD units when I found the light output had become feeble on one unit I realised it was because I had lost the bulb access dust cover years before and the reflector silver was grimy, when cleaned once again the difference was astounding.

14 hours ago, softscoop said:

The only real access you have to clean it is through the bulb hole, or as golf-fiend has shown, with some seriously bent pipe cleaners.

Don't remember if it is possible or there is the appropriate space to take apart  projectors from headlights then the cleaning will be easier?

I will have to find time to disassemble mine to verify..

@J.R.

I've always thought the headlights on the Octy were a poor design with high beam wasting much of the light to the sides and above instead of being focused purposely centrally into the distance.

 

I recently drove in night fog where I could see the high beam dispersal pattern, and it was terrible as I detailed above.  So much wasted light that could be better focused for better driving.

 

I might try adjusting the beam and will report my findings on a separate post with photos, hoping for foggy weather!

Edited 25 December, 20214 yr by MicMac

Depending on the fog, you may need not to use high beam...... High beam hitting fog, may dramatically reduce your vision in a lot short distance due to excess light thrown on the fog in front of the car and thus normally differentiate the pattern of high beam.

Better reduce light output from higher level of the car and use the lower, like the fog lights.

Tha's why they are there.

Personally I find the high beam not bad and use it when want to throw and focus light far more ahead that the xenons do not reach and when I'm allowed to do so.

I do not see much of light to escape wide and out of range, but getting most of the light in a long distance  cone in front..

So perhaps any possible adjustment is required.

Merry Christmas!

Edited 25 December, 20214 yr by AVHreplica

I was using high beam in the fog to visualize the beam pattern, I could see and almost touch exactly where the light was going.

 

The fog was a handy tool.

Sounds like the high beam needs adjusting. 

 

The few times I've used it I've found it very good and lights up well into the distance.

 

Done often need to use it.

 

Most of the time I'm either just in town/city or on the motorway where the xenons seem to do a good enough job of lighting the way.

 

I also have the full AFS II activated which also adapts the lights for motorway driving.

25 minutes ago, Phil-E said:

The few times I've used it I've found it very good and lights up well into the distance.

Yeah I agree , high beam I find   not to diffuse light a lot up-down rather than targeting almost all in front and far in a narrow cone, not to end in excess output but where you need all the light.

My Suzuki Ignis though has a completely different variation, it diffuses the light all around in front due to having a big and wide lens design

Hi All,

 

Merry Christmas! Yes, I can confirm after driving home yesterday (Christmas Day) that the lights were vastly improved now the lenses are clean and I installed some Osram Nightbreaker +150% bulbs.

 

However, I found for town driving that the beam pattern is still poor for picking out nearby kerbs and other traffic islands compared to the wife's VW Polo (9N3 model) with the same bulbs.  It's just a design flaw. Overall I'm happy with what I did and the time it took me - about 1-1.5 hours per headlight.

so this projector ball, how does this seem - not bad?

2 minutes ago, AVHreplica said:

so this projector ball, how does this seem - not bad?

 That looks fine. It’s best to look at it with the headlights on and from a side angle. If it’s milky you’ll soon see it. The FL headlights look a lot easier to clean the front of the lens than my older model. 

ok, i'll light it in night time and see it from an angle view , i'll attach photo to confirm - thanks

Some  photos with bulb lighten to show if it is considered as a milky one 

Sorry for not cleaning the cover of it was necessary..

Edited 27 December, 20214 yr by AVHreplica

2 hours ago, AVHreplica said:

Some  photos with bulb lighten to show if it is considered as a milky one 

Sorry for not cleaning the cover of it was necessary..

I’d say that looks milky to me. The only way to tell for sure is to get them out and clean them. You’ve nothing to lose apart from a few hours of your time and maybe your sanity! 

Thanks Golf-fiend, I'll arrange someday to do so.

I'll post same view photo as a comparison then.