Problem with windshield or headlights - can't see

Could be one or more of the following:

1. Built up oil and grime on the glass. This grime can be hard to see and usuallly takes the form of streaks. Try cleaning the glass with 409 or a similar product.
2. Bad wipers. Replace your wipers.
3. Scratched and/or pitted glass. Have a glass shop check the window closely for pitting.

What make/model car? That would answer whether or not its got notoriously bad headlights or not.

Do you have the same problem when driving other cars? If so, it could be your eyes (not being insulting- if you've got poor night vision, the beginnings of cataracts, or a few other problems, difficulty with night driving is one of the first symptoms to appear).

If you think there may be a film on the exterior, one of the oldest tricks in the book is to get yourself a Coke in a bottle and take a couple of swallows. You then shake the hell out of it with your finger over the opening allowing it to spray onto the windshield with the wipers running slow speed. You'll have to ask a chemist why it works on road film. Do not do this on the interior - it may get sticky when dry.

Lugnut

Here in Ontario Canada some brain dead bozo decided it would be a good thing to spray the roads down with some kind of liquid antifreeze. This crap gets on the windshield and your symptoms happen.

It becomes almost impossible to see though the glaze it makes. You need to put new wipers on before every trip and make sure the washer bottle is filled with the right kind of cleaner fluid.

On our last trip, suddenly on a clear road everyone is down 20 or 30 mph below the speed limit running with wipers on. Then we got the blast of crap and eventually caught up to and managed to get by the truck spraying the shit.

It is really dangerous crap...

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

I have not found any chemical cleaner that gets glass truly clean. The only help is an ultra-fine abrasive like Bon-Ami, Barkeeper's Friend, or ultra fine steel wool.

nate

Two problems.

1) your windshield probably is dirty. Almost all windshields are, unless you have a brand new car. About once a year, I like to clean my windshield and all the glass on my car, inside and out, with some *aerosol* window cleaner (Stoner's Invisible Glass is good, but there are other products that work) and 0000 steel wool. Then follow up with window cleaner and paper towels, and finally polish with crumpled up black and white newsprint. You won't believe the difference!

2) Does your car have "aero" headlights and are the lenses starting to get cloudy? New headlight assemblies may make a world of difference. If you can get "E-code" (European pattern) headlights for your vehicle that will make even more of a difference, although they are not technically legal. Finally, running your headlights off a relay harness will increase your lights' output for just a little work. Here's one site explaining a relay harness:

good luck,

nate

One other slight possibility is a small heater core leak, sending A/F steam up through the heater vents onto the windshield. Very slight possibility, though it happened to me. The leak was small enough to be unnoticed for awhile, but my interior glass would film up constantly.

I'd almost forgotten about that one - it does work. I think it's the phosphoric acid. I've done this before, but only in the middle of long road trips where I wasn't able to clean the windshield by more conventional means.

nate

Crappy fogged-up plastic lenses usually polish up nicely. hardest part is finding a drill that goes fast enough to polish quickly. Of course a car-buffer would work better.

It seems as though the UV gets blocked by a layer of UV damage, so some

400-grit wet sandpaper and some polishing works wonders.

Dave

Believe it or not, I've used red-can Brakleen. Stinky, but it strips the crap off glass.

Clean the glass with some ammonia based cleaner on both sides. Take the car to a nice level area and check the aim of the lights.

Just find a level area with a straight wall on one side that you can get

20 feet away from. (parking lot at a store will work fine). Pull up to the building and turn on your lights on low beam. Get out and see if the hot spot of the lights is just to the RIGHT and just below the center of the lights on the car. Then back away from the wall and see if the lights go down and to the right. Now pull up and check the High beam. Those should show the hot spot centered on the light both up and sideways. As you back up they should stay close to centered. If they are aimed high they will create a LOT of glare in fog or snow. If a mechanic actually checked the aim of the lights and said they are OK then they may be. It may just be that the glass has crud on it or is sand blasted from use.

I believe it, but it may not be the best stuff to use over a vinyl dashboard :/

I'm curious if the OP has tried any of the ideas given in this thread; I know I've had real problems with this on some of my cars because I tend to buy well-used cars; however, after a good cleaning and replacement of the original sealed beams with E-codes and relays, I'm more confident driving my old 944 at night than I am any new car.

nate