1998 V70 T5 Headlight Reflector Questions

[cn90]

I wonder if you can do this experiment on the old HL assembly:
- Spray bottle #1: spray tap water, then let it dry, so some residue will be left behind.
- Spray bottle #2: spray some rubbing alcohol, then let it dry.
- Spray bottle #3: spray some distilled H2O.

Awaiting experiment...

[WagonLagan]

I should be able to do that! About to hit the store for the distilled water now, I'll report back the results and try to include some pictures.

[WagonLagan]

Headlight test as requested by cn90 has been finished. I'll share results later after my new headlight is installed!

Correcting this for now:

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.

CORRECTION:

There are means to adjust the headlight, but there is no level. Is the level important? Would it be worth combining the reflector into my existing headlight assembly which has the level?

I would super-appreciate thoughts on this as I'm putting the headlight together and installing it tonight.

EDIT: Found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ3OZnzR1Zc

This leads me to believe the level is important. How else would you level your headlights? Why would they make a version without a level??

[matthew1]

The real level of the headlights is where they throw light, not necessarily what a level implanted in the housing says.

Can the level be useful? Yes. Can it be exact? Yes. But I'd zero it out... actual light throw vs. level. You can do this at night.

Here's what I do: play with the level of the lights while driving at night in a neighborhood or some such area where you won't bother anybody. Get the angle that's good for you. Leave it there, and forget the level.

I make sure it's not too high by comparing the height of the throw against that of new vehicles while waiting at a stoplight.

[mikealder]

The beam length adjustment (or height) can be adjusted in one of two ways, some cars had an electric motor with dash mounted control to move the reflector in pitch, other cars have a manual adjuster that fits in to the same hole in the back of the headlight assembly.
You can remove the adjustment mechanism by rotating it through about 30 degrees then it simply pops away from the headlight assembly, the actuator rod is coupled to the reflector via a ball and socket which is simply a push fit - Mike

[WagonLagan]

Hey all. I have been amazingly busy since resolving this issue. I am very sorry it took me so long to post the final results.

Thank you to everyone that assisted me with this. You helped make it safe for me to drive at night again!

The original post that helped me track down the actual problem is here: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=66704

Also, sorry for the huge pictures, but this was a very detail-specific situation. Hope the large pictures aren't a problem. If they are, let me know, and I'll be happy to size them down or something.

First the test results!

I wonder if you can do this experiment on the old HL assembly:
- Spray bottle #1: spray tap water, then let it dry, so some residue will be left behind.
- Spray bottle #2: spray some rubbing alcohol, then let it dry.
- Spray bottle #3: spray some distilled H2O.

Awaiting experiment...

Results are in, and it's a resounding, "eh."

Not much happened outside of some minor cleaning and possible degradation of the reflective surface by the 91% isopropyl alcohol.

I forgot to take a before picture, but trust me when I say that I saw no noticeable difference before and after the tap water application. Consider that the before if you need one.

For all steps I sprayed generously, tilted out the excess, then let air dry outside.

Step #1: Tap water.

Sadly, the reflectors are in such poor condition that any remaining residue is difficult if not impossible to see.

Some dirty water accumulated. No degradation noticed to the reflective surface.

In the left corner on this one, you can see I intentionally scratched at the finish to see how fragile it was. It actually took a bit of force to cause that much damage.

If the surface wasn't already so badly compromised, it's likely that mineral spots would have been visible afterwards. I noticed them on my new headlight from the salvage yard when I brought it home.
This was from dirty, stagnant rain water though, so maybe distilled water wouldn't do this?
You can see the mineral spots in the bottom left of the reflector in this picture:

NewHeadlightBefore.JPG (118.17 KiB) Viewed 2499 times

Be careful when removing a headlight from a junk car. Water had accumulated in the bottom of the headlight assembly, and because I was careless it splashed up onto the reflector, causing my need to clean/rinse it in the first place.

Step #2: Isopropyl alcohol 91%

This seemed to either cause minor degradation of the surface coat, or simply cleaned more gunk off that then spread over the rest of the reflectors.

There seemed to be issues from using the alcohol. At the very least, I theorize that the alcohol was slightly damaging to the finish. Regardless, I would not feel comfortable using isopropyl alcohol straight on a reflector I intended to use. This potential damage becomes more noticeable when comparing Step 1 pictures to Step 3.


Step #3: Distilled water.

Damage is noticeable when comparing a Step 1 picture to a Step 3 picture:

^ Step 1 ^ | v Step 3 v

As stated earlier, I believe the alcohol may have done some damage to the finish, and this round of distilled water just rinsed the lifted finish away.

I did some other minor testing. With mild pressure using a cotton ball, I could not see any damage to the surface or residue on the cotton ball (This could be because the reflector was already so old and worn, but I tried this on the parts that were still shiny).
With moderate pressure, however, I would start to notice specks on the cotton ball:

Going past moderate pressure runs the risk of severe, irreparable damage. When I applied moderate pressure and scrubbed, or swiped with heavy pressure, this was the general result:

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After trying all this on the old headlamp, I felt confident trying a distilled water and compressed air combination.

Before and after pictures of the new headlamp.
Before:

NewHeadlightBefore.JPG (118.17 KiB) Viewed 2499 times

Obvious mineral spots. Probably wouldn't have significantly affected the function of the headlamp (especially when compared to my previous one), but I just had to be a little obsessive.
After:

Noticeable reduction in mineral spots, though there is still some staining at the bottom. I decided to let this go and be happy with the improvement I had achieved.

Lastly, I had noticed there was some discoloration, presumably from normal heat/wear, in the ridges that did not seem willing to rinse out at all:

It is clear to me that distilled water would not be enough to restore any kind of shine or clean any discoloration.


Conclusions:

Distilled water coupled with some minor compressed air use to avoid any settling seemed to work! I don't think I would be too concerned about doing a distilled water rinse on my reflectors in the future, but I would be very cautious if I decided to use compressed air again.

More than likely, this process wouldn't exactly clean your headlight reflectors from dirty to a shine or anything. In a pinch, or after recovering some salvaged ones, it may help give them a light rinse to get some dirt off.

From my experience, I can say that the distilled water rinse and compressed air dry, if done carefully, should be a safe procedure.
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Compressed Air Note: If you use compressed air in a can, be EXTREMELY careful not to let the propellent get onto the reflector, I fear this may damage it. I was able to avoid this by keeping the can upright, moving the headlamp around and not so much the can, by doing short "bursts" no more than a couple seconds long, and by starting the air release while not pointing at the reflector.
Also, I don't think I would try compressed air unless I coupled it with distilled water, as I fear a solid piece of matter could be pushed along by the air and gouge small scratches into the reflective coating.

I'd wager that any type of cleanser is likely to damage, or has a strong potential to damage, the headlight reflectors.
Isopropyl alcohol definitely seemed to have a damaging effect. As an absolute last resort to try and remove some strange gunk from the reflector, I may try it (possibly diluted further with distilled water) only if I had a replacement headlamp located and the money to buy it available, but I'd probably try the other technique I mention further down first.

In the majority of situations, I believe any physical attempt to clean it, even mild pressure with a cotton ball, is likely to cause more damage than good (thanks to all those who warned me before I attempted any of that on my new headlight!).

The only exception to no physical cleaning I might make is if somehow there was a substance actually stuck on the reflector that might dislodge with minor effort, however before that I would strongly recommend trying distilled water and compressed air (I used it from a can, not sure how harsh an actual air compressor might be).
Also, based upon my understanding of how headlight reflectors are assembled (aluminum deposited by a gaseous powder coat or something like that), I find it unlikely that anything that is physically stuck on them that is not dissolvable by water will come off without the coating coming off with it.

One extremely theoretical possibility to clean a reflector more thoroughly would be a technique I saw recommended somewhere else while scouring the internet. Basically, a very small amount of dish soap (drop or two?) and distilled water poured into the headlight assembly, then sealed and sloshed around a bunch. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS as dish soap is a surfactant (Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension between two liquids or between a liquid and a solid.), and that makes me believe it could affect the bond of the reflective material. Perhaps as a last resort, if I had a source for a headlamp already lined up, and had the money to buy it, I might try this technique.


Tips:

-It's surprisingly easy to tell if your headlight is still reflective or not. When I found the good one in the salvage yard, I could look through the clearer parts of the glass and see the reflection. If you can't do that, it's likely your headlight reflector is getting pretty yucky.
-Be careful when removing a headlight from a junk car. Water had accumulated in the bottom of the headlight assembly, and because I was careless it splashed up onto the reflector, causing my need to clean/rinse it in the first place.
-I would not feel comfortable using isopropyl alcohol straight on a reflector I intended to use.
-I'd wager that any type of cleanser is likely to damage, or has a strong potential to damage, the headlight reflectors.
-I see no possibility whatsoever to polish the inside reflector. As I understand it, it is vapor-deposited aluminum, not chrome paint, and would therefore simply wipe off or become discolored.
-Any physical attempt at cleaning the reflector is very likely to do more harm than good.

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Hope this helps somebody, obscure as it may be.

[JimBee]

I think what deteriorates the reflective surface is moisture trapped inside the reflector area then heated when the lamps are on. A headlight that had water trapped inside has been affected. If you use the same seal without ensuring that it won't leak, more water will get inside and shorten the life of your replacement.
My experiment: pull the lens, clean it with a non-residue cleaner and let dry.
Likewise, clean the seal.
The seal that allowed water to leak in has probably failed, or wasn't properly installed.
Did the damaged lens have all of its clips? I believe there are 3 along the top, two on each side, 3 along the bottom (from memory). If not, that could cause leakage.

Now the tricky part and I don't guarantee this, but so far, it's good:
I think I wrapped the seal on 3 sides, top, back and bottom with a strip of teflon plumbers tape. That's a 3-handed task, so a helper is worth paying (if you need to), even up to $50.00 per hour (it's only going to take 5 minutes with his her help, so it won't break the bank : )
Replace the lens and install the clips.

You could use some sort of paste type sealant, but if you want the lens to be removable I wouldn't recommend it.

[ThommyKent]

Dish soap and water does the same thing from experience as the alcohol. There is no way to safely clean the refelectors.

[jbkeene]

maybe you should change strategy

you're trying to recover a delicate, oxidized metal surface

why not apply a new coating instead?
like a highly reflective chrome spray paint or such?

[matthew1]

It'd have to be a very high heat-resistant paint. I think that's the problem with that approach.

But I don't know for sure, leaving thread now .