After driving my '96 GC for 8 years and almost 150k, I've noticed that at night the headlights are not as bright as years ago. I was wondering if there was something out there that would take off the road grime that has accumalted over the years?
Ed Wojciechowski proclaimed:
As bulbs age, they build up a deposit of metal on the inside of the bulb. Halogen helps delay this, but it still happens, and is a significant source of dimming in older bulbs. Small amounts of corrosion in the lamp socket and all along the electric path also contribute.
Dirt buildup is trivially removed with a polishing agent. Cleaning all electrical contacts and simply replacing the aging bulbs helps.
Rather than repairing, I'd suggest upgrading with a Hella replacement or similar from suggestions by the group. My 2000TJ lights were relatively dim in as-new condition. Low beam was bad, high beam didn't go any distance down the road. It was a constant problem to see on dry country blacktop, and awful in the rain or just wet conditions.
The Hella's are about $35 each, allow replacement bulbs, and appear to provide two to three times the light for both low and high beam. Installation and minimal adjustment took about 30 minutes.
That's the upgrade I am constantly rewarded for, every time I drive at night. A rock fractured one of the Hella's in a three-way pie pattern over a year ago but the bulb continues to work fine and you have to look hard to see any distortion down the road.
I'd swear you can hear the woosh when the high beams are flipped on. adn the low beams are wide and incredibly well defined in height. Legal in all 50 states... they say.
-- snipped-for-privacy@usace.army.mil
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