1998 V70 T5 Headlight Reflector Questions

[WagonLagan]

I've narrowed down the issues I've been having with my dim headlights to a likelihood of bad reflectors.

I have a couple questions regarding these that I hope someone can answer or at least theorize.


I found one new headlight with a great reflector from a salvage yard (lucky me!). However, there was some water in it, and I'm looking for a way to SAFELY clean the condensation/water marks off the reflector.

Just to be clear, when I say reflector, I'm referring to the silver part in this picture:

HeadlightReflector.jpg (79.56 KiB) Viewed 4819 times

#1: How can I safely clean the inside of the reflector without risking damage to it? I thought perhaps 91% isopropyl alcohol might be best, but I don't know what they're made of.
1a: Also, can I use alcohol to wipe off the bulbs?

#2: It's clear to me that this light is OEM. It's Hella and even had a Volvo sticker on it. However, it has no means to adjust the angle of the lamp! No level, no screw thingy on the top. This confuses me.
Is it important to be able to do that?
I could take the reflector out of this lamp and put it in my old one which does have the adjuster and level.

#3: Planning on cleaning the inside and outside of the glass part with Invisible Glass, any issues with that?

#4: Any additional thoughts, particularly on how to avoid condensation/water marks after I install the headlight? The seals seem to be in decent shape, guessing that's the only thing I can control. I just really don't want this headlight to go bad too. It was difficult to find, and I'm still searching for a passenger side one.


Thanks a lot for any help, thoughts, or answers you're able to provide!

[cn90]

Once you touch the reflector material, game is over.
Do not touch the reflective material, no matter what method (alcohol etc.) you use.

[WagonLagan]

Thank you for the advice cn90!

To clarify, do you mean only to ensure that my fingers don't touch them, or to not touch them with ANYTHING?

[rspi]

Do not touch the reflective material, no matter what. Once you touch the reflector material, game is over.

[Ozark Lee]

Thank you for the advice cn90!

To clarify, do you mean only to ensure that my fingers don't touch them, or to not touch them with ANYTHING?

Touch them with nothing. They cannot be cleaned or polished by any means that I know of.

...Lee

[WagonLagan]

Thank you both for the clarification! That removes any inclination I had toward trying something like alcohol and a cotton ball.

Robert: Big fan of your Youtube videos. Helped me through my PCV system replacement! Doubt I would have had the excitement or confidence to do work on my Volvo without the encouragement of your guides. Thanks so much for your amazingly informative videos.

cn90: Just realized, you had posted that mod to the PCV system tubing (https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=53448). I used 5/8" heater hose as you suggested and it saved me money and seemed to work great! Thank you for that brilliant idea.


Clearly the consensus is to not touch them or place anything on them. I realize even any kind of water or liquid could potentially damage them.
I need to do something, however, as I am not satisfied with leaving mineralized spots on the reflector when I put it in.

Do not worry, as I will try anything I do on the old, already ruined headlight first to examine the results.

On to how I may be able to accomplish removing those mineral spots:

I've seen some people talk about cleaning headlight reflectors from other vehicles.

By combining a few methods:
"I suggest that you remove the lens assembly from the bike, soak it in soapy water to remove most of the grime, rinse it with tap water, soak it in Windex to clean it, and rinse it with distilled water."

and some thoughts from here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=748258

and realizing how delicate they are (as you all communicated quite clearly! ).


I've extrapolated a possible way to give them a gentle rinsing:

> Remove reflector. Rinse gently with distilled water. Use compressed air to blow remaining water clear.


From a purely theoretical standpoint. They've already been touched with dirty water before I got them from the salvage yard (hence the mineral spots), and surely they must be designed to tolerate some occasional moisture. Does a distilled water rinse and blow dry seem feasible?


Any further thoughts are appreciated!

[cn90]

I guess you can do the distilled H2O experiment on the old HL assembly and see what happens.
Please let us know what works and what doesn't.

[cn90]

You may want to read the recipe by anderssj in the post below. This is for Bosch and Hella HL assembly. His recipe sound yummy...
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/lofiversio ... 89217.html

In the event that you screw it up (hope not), PM me, I have a LEFT-side Hella assembly for a 1998 S/V70 lying around in the garage, that I'd rate as 8.5 out of 10. Good service conditions.

[WagonLagan]

I surely will share my results. I'll likely be trying all this tomorrow (Sunday).

Thanks for the encouragement and the link to that information. Hadn't found anything like that yet about car lights.

[WagonLagan]

Any thoughts on my 2nd question?

#2: It's clear to me that this light is OEM. It's Hella and even had a Volvo sticker on it. However, it has no means to adjust the angle of the lamp! No level, no screw thingy on the top. This confuses me.
Is it important to be able to do that?
I could take the reflector out of this lamp and put it in my old one which does have the adjuster and level.

Trying to figure out why they would make a headlight assembly without the ability to adjust it. That seems important to me from what I've read.