How to clean dirty water out of Hellas?

[R_Lefebvre]

Well, on my first big trail weekend, I ended up doing some pretty big water fording. About 36" is the high water line. :snorkel: It got into my Hella 1000's mounted on my bumper and now I have "googly eyes". My headlights seem to have gotten moisture in, but not mud.

What's the best way to clean them out, get the reflectors clear again? I was thinking of just dissassembling and washing in soap and water. But what if they need a bit of contact to get the scuz off the silver? I also though maybe to use rubbing alcohol to help dry them out. But I'm not sure if that would damage the silver coating.

Any way to seal them up so this doesn't happen again?

 

[ntsqd]

I have a tooth brush that I heated and bent so that I could reach in through the bulb hole and scrub the backside of the lens. I use nothing except IPA and I try hard to leave the reflector alone. If the lights have a hole or holes in the reflectors they are to let condensation out.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Yeah, I know the put the holes for condensation, but... Couldn't it also be made as a totally sealed system?

Doens't IPF make waterproof lights?

And what's IPA? Can't be India Pale Ale, not sure that would clean well. :beer:

 

[madizell]

Totally sealed is generally hard to do, and is usually a bad idea anyway. When turned on, off road lights generate a lot of heat. If the case is actually sealed, the expanding air has nowhere to go which can sometimes cause your sealing efforts to fail, and unless the unit was filled with some kind of inert and dry gas to start with, a "sealed" lamp will condense moisture out of the air when heated and cooled. Since sealing usually just makes them vent poorly but won't keep out atmosphere anyway, interior condensation is more prevalent with a sealed unit than one which is not sealed.

Major point of ingress can be sealed easily enough with a dab of silicone, but some form of vent is usually a good idea and won't cause substantial intake of water.

Otherwise, lights on off road vehicles just need a bit of maintenance from time to time. That's life.

 

[WhereTheHellIsJames?]

A friend who owns a flower shop gave me one of these. Pretty nifty little gadget.

 

[ntsqd]

Sorry, Iso-Propyl-Alcohol.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I took the lights apart, and got most of the dirt out, but as I feared it has "stained" the reflector and probably needs a bit of surface contact to get it off.

I tried using a toothbrush, doesn't work for me. The shaft is the same size as the hole, both are rectangular. I jam it in, but can't rotate it. What I need is some kind of bottle brush with a thin wire shaft.

How sensitive is the reflector to scratching?

I bet ultrasonic cleaning would work perfectly, but of course who has one of those...

That scrubby thing is neat, I'll see if I can find one. I'm sure it would be great for the glass, but I dunno about the reflector.

Also looks like I have muddy water in the headlights. More fun...

 

[MoGas]

I bet ultrasonic cleaning would work perfectly, but of course who has one of those...

I have a couple gallon Branson unit.

 

[madizell]

Every time I have tried to clean light reflectors, I have permanently scratched the silver coating. I suppose you could try some liquid silver cleaner (I don't think the reflector metal is really silver but who knows, and the liquid stuff is usually very gentle). It might even work without scrubbing, then rinse with alcohol and dry thoroughly.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

So do you just live with dirt on the reflector?

I have a couple gallon Branson unit.

Jerk. So have you cleaned your lights in it?

 

[MoGas]

Jerk. So have you cleaned your lights in it?

No. Mostly small parts for motorcycles or bicyles. Chains, bearings that sort of stuff.

Dave

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Hmmm... I washed them in dish soap water, rinsed, then put in IPA and swished that around and let them dry. They're completely covered in dusty material inside. I'm sure they'd "work", but... is this what everybody is living with or did I do something wrong?

 

[M.Bas]

> I've cleaned the inside of the glass on some Hella 2000 rally lamps by
> swishing around some rice & soapy water inside the lamp,(couldn't really
> get anything through the hole) then putting the works in the oven to dry
> out. Bit of a pain gtting all the rice out again...
> You might find something better to use than rice, too..

try salt. use too much to dissolve in the water and it acts as a mild
abrasive. Just make sure to wash it all out with hot water afterwards.

old coffee pot cleaning trick...

Something I found on the internet. Don't know if it really works...
Haven't had the pleasure of cleaning my Hella's yet

 

[rickc]

Rob:

When you put them back together seal them! I'm not sure how the Hella glass fits the casing but you should be able to use a good smear of vaseline all the way around the glass where it makes contact with the casing. Also make sure that the hole where the wires exit are sealed - if in doubt use a silicone goop or something similar.

That's pretty deep fording. Are your hubs, tranny, transfer case (winch) all vented? If not and you plan to do more fording you should consider venting these components.

Good luck.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

The only venting is the factory venting. It was designed for 24", but this was more than 36". I don't plan to do it again anytime soon.