95 Sc300 Light Problem

[BlurrySC300]

Anyone ever heard of the head lights kinda fading from the inside? Almost like there is some kind of residue on the inside of the housing. I talked with technicians at my dad's work (Lexus of Austin) and they said that there could be moisture built up on the inside. Then they told me that there was no way to get it out. Any ideas? Don't wanna spend even more money on getting new lenses.

--John

[SPORTcoupe300]

Courtesy of lex400sc of www.itellexual.net:

"Restoring Cloudy Headlights:

To eliminate condensation in the headlights, remove the headlight assembly from the car. It is held in place by three 10mm hexnuts. Examine the headlight housing and find the fracture(s) or crack(s), usually in the black plastic backing piece. Thoroughly seal the fractures with a silicone glass sealant or hot glue. The condensation problem should be eliminated.

To remove the cloudy mildew build up on your headlight covers you will need 2000-grit sandpaper, polishing agent, and water. It is recommended that you wrap the 2000-grit sand paper around a block or something flat and smooth so that your sanding work is clean and even. The mildew is most likely on the outside of the headlight covering so wet down the effected area and gently sand away the grime while flushing liberally with water. Continue sanding as need until the cloudiness is gone. Dry the heeadlight covers, apply a protective coat of polish or wax, and buff out any fine scratches you see.

To clean mildew or hard water stains from the inside of the headlight cover, you will need to remove the headlight housing from the car and open it up. The headlight cover, headlight shield, and headlight backing pieces are held together with a very strong, resilient adhesive. In order to break this adhesive bond, you will have to heat the adhesive material to the point where it softens up enough to seperate. Three methods exist to accomplish this: 1) the heat gun trick, (2) the hot water trick, and (3) the oven trick. The safest method is the hot water trick due to its inability to melt the headlight backing piece. The melting point of the backing piece is a few degrees above the melting point of the adhesive so it is critical that you monitor the process.

The Hot Water Trick: Remove all loose pieces, such as metal clips, rubber nozzles, and screws, from the headlight housing. Fill a bucket or tub, large enough to completely submerge the headlight housing, with simmering hot water or 190-degree tap water. You can wrap the headlight housing in three garbage bags to keep them dry or you can submerge them in the water bare. Hold the headlight housing under water for 15-20 minutes. Remove and begin prying away at the seals with a flat, non-sharp straight edge such as a butter knife, ruler, or flat-head screwdriver. Work quick as the adhesive is constantly cooling and hardening. Work around the entire housing prying open a wedge between the seal. Submerge in a fresh new batch of simmering hot water for another 15-20 minutes. Remove and repeat the prying process. Repeat this process as many times as it takes before you can get a solid finger grip in-between the cover and backing pieces. At this point you want to pry open with as much brute force as you can. Once you find a weak point on the housing, exploit this weak point and continue working a larger wedge in it. Once the two pieces seperate even slightly, the whole headlight housing will snap open with ease. Press the stray strands of adhesive back into the seal groove and do not get this adhesive dirty.

The Hot Oven Trick: Remove all loose pieces, such as metal clips, rubber nozzles, and screws, from the headlight housing. Preheat oven to 250-degrees. Place headlight housing on a baking sheet in center of the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and begin prying away at the seals with a flat, non-sharp straight edge such as a butter knife, ruler, or flat-head screwdriver. Work quick as the adhesive is constantly cooling and hardening. Work around the entire housing prying open a wedge between the seal. Repeat this process as many times as it takes before you can get a solid finger grip in-between the cover and backing pieces. At this point you want to pry open with brute force. Once you find a weak point on the housing, exploit this weak point and continue driving a larger wedge in it. Once the two pieces seperate even slightly, the whole headlight housing will snap open with ease. Press the stray strands of adhesive back into the seal groove and do not get this adhesive dirty or contaminated."

[Bubbles]

it's www.intellexual.net

It could either be the condensation or your bulbs are getting worn out. Have you ever seen those 2 AA maglites? The bulb is clear at first but after a few hours of use the bulb looks black but still works.

For my condensation problem:

One of my headlights had a ton of water inside when I washed my car for the first time . First I had to take the headlight out. There are 3 nuts. One you can see, two you can't... yet. The first one is on top of the headlamp. The other two are in a dark place between the headlamp and the tire. What you have to do is unscrew two or three more screws that hold the plastic cover in the wheel cavity. From there you can pull up on the plastic cover and if you get a flashlight and point it towards the headlamp area, you'll see two nuts and I think they are 13 mm, but I'm not sure. Just unscrew that and before you take the headlamp out put masking tape on the areas around the headlamp to prevent scratching of paint. Also disconnect all the headlight connections (you may have to take the battery out to access the connections on the driver side headlamp, but if you do you'll need to restart the car properly) For me the hardest part was taking the headlamp out. It was such a pain, it took me half and hour to pry that bleep out.

Once I got it out and shook the headlamp and all the condensation started collecting and I got a nice puddle in the headlamp. There's a small hole on the back of the headlamp and I angled the headlight so most of the water would go out. For the rest of the water I just let it sit in the sun for about 2 hours and the water evaporated and went through the little opening. I then took some clear tub caulk (the stuff that lines your toilet to the ground) and sealed every spot that looked like a crack. I let it dry for a day then I put it back in. I then let it cure for 2 weeks and the next car wash I didn't have water inside... yay :magic: Hopefully I don't push my luck too far.

[SPRUCE SC300]

I have no moisture problems, but did have the typical faded 11-year-old headlights. I wet sanded my headlights with 2000 grit, then clayed them and finished of with some 3M finesse it, which is a non-silicone micro polishing liquid. I’ve used this method countless times and it works very well. Any polish should do the trick, I’ve even used mothers with great success, which is a metal polish, but have had the best results using 3M finesse it.

Good luck.

[BlurrySC300]

Thanks for the suggestion...i'll try and get it done this weekend...not enough time to take care of my car since summer is over...school is back up..and job demands...

Thanks again guys (and gals)

--John