Dirty headlights and fogged lenses, "Let's clean it up!"

Headlight bulbs and position lamp holders are equipped with rubber or plastic gaskets (gaskets). Surprisingly, the inside of the headlight lens is often fogged up or dirty due to moisture because those covering parts have not been installed or have been lost. In such conditions, the original brightness of the headlights is not obtained. A surprisingly large number of motorcycles that have been stored in the open air in the past have such symptoms, so let's try some cleaning practices here when you notice such moisture and dirt.

Advanced moisture can cause reflectors to corrode and peel off.

When you turn on the headlights, are they strangely dark? If the headlights are strangely dark or do not seem sharply bright when turned on, check the condition of the bulbs and at the same time visually check the condition of the reflectors and whether there is any dirt behind the lens.

Many headlights of large vehicles from the 1980s onward use H4-type halogen bulbs, which have a large bulb holder area. Since there is a gap in this bulb holder, a rubber cover to prevent moisture and debris is also included in the set.

When looking at the headlight lens from the front side, is the reflector on the body free of fogging? Or is the back of the lens dirty and foggy? In fact, it is surprisingly common for headlights to be fogged up due to moisture. This is not a good way to get sharp brightness.

Cut a strip of rag with frayed fibers to clean the dirt!

Cotton rags vary, so it is best to cut a clean rag with a pair of scissors and choose one that does not shed threads from the cut end and use it. If thread dust is left in the lens, it will be harder to remove.

Even if you try to wipe the inside of the reflector by placing a rag inside the headlight or wrapping it around your fingertip, it is difficult to get your finger to the fogging and dirt. Keep in mind to proceed with the work without straining.

The valve holder's mouthpiece is sharp and can cut your fingers. I have heard stories of people who have cut themselves in the past and found themselves with fresh blood running down the reflector. ...... Be careful.

Surprisingly useful is the use of "dry cleaner hangers"

When you order a Y-shirt or other garment to be cleaned, it is sometimes hung on a wire-type hanger when the finished product is delivered. As we have all seen, these hangers do a surprisingly good job because they are wire protected by plastic.

By bending and twisting the wire hanger and tying a cut rag to it, you can wipe moisture and dirt from inside the headlights. To prevent the rag from coming off the hanger, tie it securely before proceeding.

Another feature of this hanger is that it follows the area to be wiped. Above all, it gives the impression of being easy to work with and easy to use. If the inside is badly soiled, you can jab wash it with tap water and wipe off the water at the same time as drying in the sun.

The reflectors and the back of the lens, which had lost their shine due to moisture, were noticeably crisper and shinier than before. The headlights with the rubber covers of the bulb holders removed are also required to be covered when storing them as spare parts, as the inside will fog up due to moisture.

Headlights revived to a brighter, sharper shine to behold.

Perhaps the reason for the moisture fogging was that when the headlight bulbs went out and were replaced in the past, the rubber covers were forgotten to cover them. In particular, owners of bikes that are run for commuting even in the rain should be careful about dirty headlights!!!

If the headlight seems dim, you should suspect that there are other causes other than light attenuation due to bulb deterioration. One of the most common causes in old cars is the deterioration of the electrical harness itself. Even if there is no functional problem, the wiring code itself may have increased resistance due to deterioration over time. We often hear stories of old car owners who have changed to a new main harness or switch harness and the headlights have become brighter, but this is mainly due to excessive resistance caused by deterioration of the main harness.

As a countermeasure against such a deteriorated electrical harness, installing a "headlight relay" or "reinforced relay" that sends battery power directly to the headlights is also effective. In a general electrical circuit, power for the lights is sent to the bulbs via the headlight switch, but in a circuit using a dedicated relay, power for the headlights flows from the battery to the dedicated relay to the headlight bulbs, and then back to the ground. In other words, the lights are turned on without bypassing the switch circuit. Specifically, switching the light switch "activates the dedicated relay. This is a "direct power supply" system that sends electricity to the headlights and turns them on. In this case, the headlight ground wire is also connected directly from the bulb terminal to the battery terminal in order to increase the efficiency of power transmission.

Another interesting feature is the "body ground circuit" to simplify wiring. While it is good if the body ground circuit is conducting electricity correctly, in some cases, rust and paint film on the fastening bolts and bracket contacts have clearly increased resistance. Of course, the same is true for headlights. In many cases, simply changing the wiring from the bulb's ground terminal to the "battery ground connection via a dedicated ground wire" from the body ground connection is enough to increase brightness. It should be noted that this kind of electrical tuning is also available.

The headlight cleaning described in this report should have been done before all of the aforementioned items. Since they are obviously dirty, the headlights should be clean by removing moisture and dirt. If the dirt is severe, it is effective to spray household detergent (Easy My Pet in a spray bottle is effective without being too strong) inside the light body, wait for the dirt to float, and then run water from the tap into the reflectors and jab it into the reflectors to clean them. Headlights that have been stored indoors and have become "yellow with cigarette smoke" can be cleaned and refreshed in this way.