Fogged Headlights

[cicsprog]

My 1988 911 Carrea headlights have a haze when you look into them. The haze seems to be inside of the lens. My neighbors 1987 Carrea has the same problem. Any way to clean this - rubbing compound, simple cleaning by removing the lens and using window cleaner. or ????.

[89911]

Remove the trim ring and the whole headlight assembly. DO Not try to remove only the lens. If you do not touch the adjustment screws, you headlight alignment will stay. Remove the rear bulb and then clean with alcohol, windex and some small wadding with a pencil or other tool. The haze is easily removed. Reassemble.

[Don Plumley]

Yes. This is what I did: Remove the headlight, remove the bulb. Remove the dehumidification cartridge. Wash interior with non-ammonia Window cleaning stuff. Being very careful not to bend the interior bulb support, use a long stick (e.g. serving chopstick) and a soft cloth to clean the lens and reflector. Allow to dry. Replace dehumidification cartridge and remount. Admire clean, non-fogged headlights.

Don

[cicsprog]

Thanks for the posts. Amazing the amount of imformation for common problems here for us newbies. Thanks!

[GSpreeman]

Question, there is a few British sites for Porsche parts that advertise lenses for cheap prices. Isn't it possible to remove the glass lens somehow? Or, is the grey sealant they used in the factory just not meant to be taken off?

[Argo]

Isopropyl alcohol works great to clean up the fog. If you use a swab, be very careful to avoid bending the metal arm that holds the bulb. If you do bend it, you'll never get it repositioned correctly again. If you try to reposition it too much with tweezers and forceps, it falls off. If you try to remove the lens to replace it, you'll find that that gray goop pretty much makes that impossible. Then you go out and buy H4's (which are great, by the way).

Before I tried a swab, I'd just pour some alcohol in,swish it around real hard and let it dry. I read on a thread somewhere that this works as well and can be a whole lot cheaper .

Argo
88 Targa

[Milu]

Originally posted by GSpreeman
Question, there is a few British sites for Porsche parts that advertise lenses for cheap prices.

NB Left hand drive and Right hand drive lenses are not the same.

[65_lincoln]

I had never noticed the fogging of my headlights until I had my car parked next to a friend's '85, and what a difference! With much help from the Search function here, I found the advice (from John Walker as I remember, among others) to remove the assembly and clean the inside using Isopropyl alcohol (91%) and some dry rice to shake around inside, to do the scrubbing. It worked like a charm!

Be sure to remove the dessiccant pack that attached to the bottom of each lamp assembly first, once you have the lights out of the car. I then used my thumb to plug up that hole, filled the reflector / lens assembly with about 1/3 cup of the alcohol and probably 1 Tablespoon of dried rice (long grain brown rice, actually!). Shake it around for a while, then quickly pour out the fluid to get as much rice out as possible. I then rinsed the assembly out with clean cold water until all the rice was out, shook out as much water as possible, and finished with another 1/3 cup of rubbing alcohol, shaken around vigorously. I let them air dry overnight, and what a difference! See the photo below of my before and after.

Hope that this helps someone else.

[rick-l]

I filled it half full of windex and shook the crap out of it.

[Paul K]

Great thread- mine are cloudy too. Thanks guys!

Paul.

[Por_sha911]

Chris, I have posted (along with others) numerous times how to clean these. You will want to consider using the search feature to mine a wealth of info already in previous posts.

[MAS956]

H4's are the solution for that fogged-up design....

[dshepp806]

Strong Isopropyl took care of my film,..clean it twice!

Best,

Doyle

[Mark Harris]

Originally Posted by 65_lincoln

dried rice (long grain brown rice, actually!). Shake it around for a while, then quickly pour out the fluid to get as much rice out as possible.

Great thread. I going to attempt mine tomorrow? If I get hungry during the process is it safe to eat the rice? [img]

[nabfa1]

The Rice worked like a charm !!!! Thank you The alcohol alone did not achieve very much . The combination is key .

[wildthing]

Resurrecting the thread after Bay Area rains. I have H4s and they still fogged up. I removed them to air them out, which helped, but when I put one back, it fogged up again. Should I take a chance and disassemble the lens to wipe it?

[creaturecat]

might need a new seal. that headlight.

[wildthing]

I think with H4s the seals only prevent the rings from touching the fender metal to metal. H4 housings aren't sealed. There are vent holes in the housing, the reflective cone itself doesn't touch the housing, and there's a drain hole in the fender...

[speedster911]

Does the rice/ alcohol technique really work?

Does the rice leave any residue? Thanks for the guidance.

[HaroldMHedge]

After cleaning the H5 lights, you might want to replace the Humidity Absorbent 911-631-968-00.