Duetto Headlight glass

Clues on how to clean the glass on my headlights needed. I noticed today that they are getting quite opaque. The van is 1996 Transit

Hi there,

Same happened to me.

Problem!!  They are made of plastic and glued together so they cannot be dismantled and cleaned!!

Had to buy a new set.     

The good news is that I can now see where I am going (especially with the new Osram bulbs) the new set are glass so they shouldn't go opaque.   

Hope this helps.  

Best regards,
 

If it's the plastic outer cover that has gone opaque on the surface, it's sometimes possible to polish the opaque layer out. I've done this on a Toyota Yaris with some success, using a polish called Peek which you can buy reasonably cheap in places like Dyas.

However, there are two downsides to this:

Firstly the polishing is quite a slow process, even with a random orbit electric polisher
Secondly they typically have a UV resistant coating which you polish away - so they go opaque again even quicker!

So... if you can get glass replacements at a reasonable cost, I'd probably take that route...

Dutto wrote:Problem!!  They are made of plastic and glued together so they cannot be dismantled and cleaned!!

Had to buy a new set.     

The good news is that I can now see where I am going (especially with the new Osram bulbs) the new set are glass so they shouldn't go opaque.   

BIB.....where did you get glass headlight units from and what price were they?

Here you go.
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Bulletguy wrote:

Dutto wrote:Problem!!  They are made of plastic and glued together so they cannot be dismantled and cleaned!!

Had to buy a new set.     

The good news is that I can now see where I am going (especially with the new Osram bulbs) the new set are glass so they shouldn't go opaque.   

BIB.....where did you get glass headlight units from and what price were they?

Local garage!

Decided on the "non-tilting" ones as they were much cheaper; I think they were about £100 the pair, fitted.

Best regards,
  

PS  The "tilting" headlights are designed to be used as the weight in a Transit VAN changes and alters the angle of the headlights.  As a motorhome is basically "fully loaded" all of the time they aren't really necessary.

Dutto wrote:
PS  The "tilting" headlights are designed to be used as the weight in a Transit VAN changes and alters the angle of the headlights.  As a motorhome is basically "fully loaded" all of the time they aren't really necessary.

The Transit based A-S that I owned for 8 years had headlamp levelling control, and I used the feature frequently.

However, that was only because the control knob was to the right of the steering wheel, where it was annoyingly easy to knock it with your knee while getting in and out of the van. Other than for fixing that, it was a feature that I never used, and would have happily done without!

I was just wondering whether there was some legislative requirement for headlamps to have a leveling control.

What made me think this is that the last few cars I've owned (and the current motorhome) have all had this feature (which I have never used), despite being extremely basic in terms of other features.

Celticbiker
Here you go.
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Dutto
Local garage!
Decided on the "non-tilting" ones as they were much cheaper; I think they were about £100 the pair, fitted.

Surprised they were still available new. My van came with rubbishy plastic and one lens has oxidised pretty badly. Think i may well replace with a new pair in glass as they're much easier to clean than plastic and don't scratch.

A search on ebay shows a Trader in Birmingham selling new at £27.40 inc postage   

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Thanks. It looks like new headlights for camper.

shargrea wrote:I was just wondering whether there was some legislative requirement for headlamps to have a leveling control.

What made me think this is that the last few cars I've owned (and the current motorhome) have all had this feature (which I have never used), despite being extremely basic in terms of other features.

Hi there,

Headlights with levelling control are a fairly new innovation and I am not aware that they are a mandatory requirement even on new vehicles.

Best regards,
 

From the MOT manual:

Reason for Rejection

Where HID or LED dipped beam headlamps are fitted, switch on the headlamps and check the operation of any headlamp levelling and cleaning devices fitted.

A headlamp levelling or cleaning device inoperative or otherwise obviously defective.

Maybe not a mandatory fitment by the manufacturer, but if fitted..........

PB