S15 Headlights - how to clean the lenses?

[mitch]

Mine look like they are dirty on the inside and one has insects inside it. It looks as though someone has drilled a hole in the base and added sidelights, but one has fallen out, allowing crawly things in.

I've got a brand new set at home, but am kind of saving them for a rainy day . Is there a way of getting the lens off to clear the inside? On Tanaguchi's S15 lights, the insides are painted red, so I assume there must be.

 

[Nicely]

I understand that the sidelight thing is now a requirement of the ESVA. They have to be visible up to x degrees away from the front.

 

[mitch]

I don't think it was for that, as the car was imported a good few years ago, if I'm not wrong.

 

[ichi-go]

Pretty sure you can take out the headlight cover. Not sure bout nissan but I know hondas headlights you can just bake it in oven in light heat for bout 15mins. Then the glue that holds the housing and lense will melt lightly. Then repeat process to put it back together.

 

[Dazz0i]

yea, i did my civic lights like that... eneded up just using a hair dryer though....safer!

i've got condensation inside one of mine, so i'm thinkin' about whipping of the bumper and pulling a light off, see what the situation is....

it's annoying! lol

 

[mitch]

No worries, just been offered an N1 exhaust in exchange for the old lights, and I can put my brand new ones on. They should stay clean for a while

 

[Nicely]

Pretty sure you can take out the headlight cover. Not sure bout nissan but I know hondas headlights you can just bake it in oven in light heat for bout 15mins. Then the glue that holds the housing and lense will melt lightly. Then repeat process to put it back together.

...then spend ?500 for a new pair if they get 'well done'...

 

[Yakozan]

You can take the cover off. I had this done to convert the lights to RH traffic light pattern. Be careful though. If the oven gets too hot you might warp the plastic or in a worst case scenario they melt

I did it myself on the Skyline.
Put the lights in a drying locker (for drying clothes after wash) which had a maximum temp of 60 degrees C (Not sure but it was well below 100 degrees C). Left them there for about 10-15 minutes and then pulled the glass off by hand. When the glass started to come of I used a screwdriver to "cut" the sticky stuff. Don't try and use the screwdriver to bend the glass off as it will leave nasty marks. The plastic is heated and much softer when warm.
When i put the lights together again I preheated both parts and just pushed it on. The sticky stuff went sticky again after I heated it.

attempt at own risk. New pair of front-lights are 22000 SEK from Nissan Sweden.
22000 SEK is about 2350Euro or ?1600 or 3770AUD

 

[baynz]

wow thats a bit expensive... didnt think they would be that much.

thout they may be a few hundred quid but y r they so expensive?

 

[Nicely]

That's the price for HID units...

 

[Topper]

So how do you go about getting rid of the condensation inside the headlights? is there no easy fix method? Even for a short period?

 

[Nicely]

If there's condensation, you've got to have a point which isn't sealing properly. I've got the slight 'glaze' on the inside of the plastic, but I've never had condensation.

 

[PhilV]

so whats the general recommendation of product to use to clean headlights? mine have a gold like tint to them and i see other people like nicely's have quite a clear look to them, i wanna buy a product today at lunchtime and was wondering what to do for

 

[Topper]

Metal polish seems to be the weapon of choice.

 

[PhilV]

oki doki, will try tonight

 

[Yakozan]

I prefer Lahega cleaner and some elbow grease

 

[Oki S15]

Hey Yakozan, I've done the oven trick before on my Mitsu Eclipse. Been scared to do it with the S15 headlights though cause they are $$$. Question was, do you think they will be okay in the oven the the HIDS also?

 

[Yakozan]

Hey Yakozan, I've done the oven trick before on my Mitsu Eclipse. Been scared to do it with the S15 headlights though cause they are $$$. Question was, do you think they will be okay in the oven the the HIDS also?

I removed all the bulbs and basically anything that could be removed just in case.
My lights are still OK 2 years after the operation

But try to clean the outside first. It can really look like the haze is on the inside. But after an outside clean it look much better.
I was pretty sure my lights was dirty on the inside. But a good clean on the outside was pretty much all it needed.

 

[Paddy mack]

i have the haze in mine to i think its only a problem with hIDs tought as for water in rear lights you should have seen my evo 4 lights they were like gold fish bowls i drilled holes in them but then water started getting into the boot. water is the lesser of two evils