Would anyone know if it is possible to clean the inside of a headlight unit on an x308, or does it need to be replaced?
If it can be cleaned, how is it done without damaging it?
I put a new bulb in, then removed it before it had cooled sufficiently, causing the foam I used to hold it to melt on the bulb. On reinserting it and testing the light beam, the remaining foam residue burned and seems to have discoloured the headlight reflector. -oops!!

 

I have recently replaced the light housings in my XJ6, and I think yours are almost identical. They are just ball and socket mounts, so you can pop them out. The trouble then starts.
The glass is bonded with an adhesive. I was able to get one separated using a heat gun to soften the adhesive, and two others just fell open. But it's easy to break the plastic housing. Some people have had success heating the unit in an electric oven at 250F.
You can clean dust and dirt by submerging in a mild soap solution without separating the glass, but I don't think that will remove the foam residue, and strong cleaners or solvents will probably damage the reflective coating, as would scrubbing.
It would be best to look for a used unit, and also to replace the bulb which will probably fail soon.

 

The foil coating is very fragile so if swilling the housing with warm soapy doesn't shift the new tint, then it's a replacement. You can pick up second hand units on ebay iro £30 left or right inners and outers fit either side.

 

Hello All!!

After seeing this.... https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-video-110342/ I feel much better about removing my lights for cleaning. During some point in its life span the brights have developed a film of sorts on the inside and the headlamps themselves must not have had a good seating lightbulb as condensation/water (dry water spots?)what have you have developed on the inside that bothers me once the car is clean.

My idea is to remove as shown above and then rinse them out with windex, and/or vinegar to clean them and final rinse with distilled water and let dry and reinstall.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks!!

Chris

 

Any one? Good, bad, idea?

Thanks!

Chris

 

I am at the same point, and searched lots of posts for it.
I will go the same way as on the video, wait for some warmer weather, grease the sockets in preparation, and see if I can pop them out without damage.

On my Ducati motorbikes, I have the same problem, it seems the bulbs leave residue on the glass if they get hot.
I clean those lenses once a year, just with warm water and a bit of dish washer, and clean them dry with compressed air, and a rag on a chopstick. They come out like new every time I do it.

E.

 

when removing them it's best if the car's been on a run, it warms the sockets enough to dodge a breakage, they get brittle with age.
Hope that tip helps!

 

I went to polish my headlight and after washed them with water and some detergent. Then i clean them with vodka to prevent any stains. And then dry headlights with hair drier.

 

Did the same last night, without the wodka though ...
Thanks to all info here, lamps popped out like a charm.
Flushed them with alcohol, let them dry overnight, and just installed them with new 6500K bulbs.

Although the judge is still out on the 6500K color (don't know, yellow seems to make the car more classic), very happy with the result.

E

 

All the film is gone? what kind of alcohol did you use?

Thanks!

Chris

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badbenz94

All the film is gone? what kind of alcohol did you use?

I cut a 10" piece from the sleeve of an old T-shirt (the double sewed part), which can be inserted (and also removed!) to act as a sponge.

I also cut a plastic clothhanger to get a piece of 10", and covered the end with some tape to create a knob (and cover the steel wire inside)
Such piece can be easily bended for every shape you need.

Then I went through 2 options:
- Used hand warm water and some dish washer, tumbled it for a couple of minutes, then rinsed it with 1/2-1/2 warm water and 75% rubbing alcohol.
Then slowly dried it and warmed it with a hair blower.
This looked ok, but it actually left residue from the dishwasher (visible with the bulb inserted on a test).

- So I washed the others again, this time with pure 75% rubbing alcohol, and used a same piece of T shirt (but dry) and the clothhanger part to dry every drop inside, poking through the hole.
Used the hairblower to warm up after that.

The 2nd option worked like a charm, they look great, and the lighting surely improved.

 

Cleaned mine this weekend by dumping in Windex, sloshing it around for 2-3 minutes and rinsing with distilled water. AMAZING and no water spots.

However, I did have some loose chrome around rage base of the bulb and I don't know if windex was too strong of a solution or if it would have come off anyway with any sloshing of liquid inside. Either way you can't see it. I tried the alcohol and didn't like how it was drying, for me the distilled water just came off the clean surfaces without any beading.

It looks so nice without the haze(especially the inner bright lights), just need to find someone to polish the glass(minor chipping you can't even feel)

Thanks,

Chris