Headlight Cataracts?

[wholberg]

My '87 Carrera has H5 headlights; are they sealed beams?

The Driver's side headlight appears to have a hazy, white coating on the inside of the glass. High and low beam work just fine, and the intensity of the lights at night does not seem to be affected, but it looks a little strange in the daytime.

Has anyone else seen this? I',m gonna guess that the filament is about ready to die and the residue is vaporized metal. Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[island911]

Great title

check out Is it me, or do H5 headlights completely suck?

[ZOA NOM]

Dude, you'll be very pleasantly surprised when you remove and clean those lights. I have the H5's and had the same hazy buildup. There is a dessicant package that needs to be replaced that attaches to the bottom of the light assembly. I replaced them and used a long flexible grabber tool with window cleaner on a soft cloth to reach inside the lens and clean every bit of the haze out. You would not believe the bright, shiny difference.

[magic930]

Mix up some non spotting dishwashing soap (Cascade) with hot water, pour it in shake it around, then rinse and repeat...Then replace with H4's

[ZOA NOM]

The best mod is to replace your fogs with Hella 450 flamethrowers, and don't worry about the H5 high beams. The Hellas will show you the light.

[wholberg]

Thanks for the info. I will take them apart this weekend and let you know what I find out.

[wholberg]

Originally posted by ZOANAS
The best mod is to replace your fogs with Hella 450 flamethrowers, and don't worry about the H5 high beams. The Hellas will show you the light.

I have one fog that is burnt out, so I think I will just do that!

[ZOA NOM]

Yeah, I love em, and they don't look bad in the Carrera fog holes, either. The other nice thing is the bulbs are the same wattage as the OE fogs, so no wiring issues. Just hook em up to the stock wires.