How did that get in there?

[tforturton]

And how do I get it out? Okay, I knew my o/s headlight was losing it's silvering, but now it's filling up with water! Any ideas how to solve this one, or will I just have to bite the bullet and pay a king's ransom for a 'new' one?

[silverbullet]

The bond between reflector and lens has failed. Remove the lamp, cut round the seal and remove all residue. Re-bond with a high-temp polyurethane sealant (not bathroom silicone)
Best done before the lens falls out and gets smashed.

[tforturton]

The bond between reflector and lens has failed. Remove the lamp, cut round the seal and remove all residue. Re-bond with a high-temp polyurethane sealant (not bathroom silicone)
Best done before the lens falls out and gets smashed.

Any way I can repair/replace the silvering while I'm at it?

[Drucifer]

Places like Halfrauds sell chrome spray paint, is pretty good stuff as used it to repair reflectors in old bike lights.

[tforturton]

I've read a few stories online about using this chrome spray. General consensus is that it works in the short term, but long term, you need to replace the whole thing. Oh well, it'll do me for a while, at the very least. When is someone going to get these lights re-made (and at a reasonable price)? Looks like a job for CampervanCulture....

[silverbullet]

Have you any idea of the investment and tooling costs to make headlamps?

[tobydog]

As silverbullet -

Injection mould tooling from the far east - circa £15000? No experience of the glass tooling, probably about the same. Short run, material costs, plating, assembly, packaging, transport costs and markup - ?? Doubt if there's enough demand to justify the investment,

Found this -
http://www.dual-metallising.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[silverbullet]

The above is why Hella have said catagorically that they will not remake RHD square lamps for our buses.
I sold my set and the spares, going quad 5 3/4" for less hassle and a fresh look.

[tforturton]

Must admit, I've looked at various alternatives - you may have seen my questions regarding the ease (or not) of swapping to different types. The easiest way seems to be to buy a twin round light grill (comes with inner lights), plus a pair of outer lights. Can be done for less that the current asking price of a set of squares, but obviously, it does alter the look of the bus. You could fit truck-lite LEDs instead of the standard outers, but that would,bump the cost up a bit.
Interested in the sound of those quad 5 & 3/4s. Can you post a link to what you're looking at?
Interesting comment re Hella - no wonder they don't want to do it!

[silverbullet]

ShadetreeTim has a topic on thesamba.com

[tforturton]

Okay, I've been outside in the wind and rain, removed the headlight, and brought it back inside. I've taken off the main bulb mount, let the water out, and had a good look inside. Looks to me as though the silvering is completely shot - there's nothing left on the bottom face, and it's coming away everywhere else, so this one looks dead. So I'm going to put up a wanted advert to see if I can find another. Yes, I know I did this before, but it passed the MOT, so I thougt it was okay.
Anyway, back with the one I have - I had a bit of a poke around the edges, but it's stuck down very tight - any ideas as to what they used to stick the two halves together? Can I soften/weaken it with anything? I don't think spraying with chrome paint is going to resurrect this item, but I may need to do something until I can get a replacement. So any hints on getting it open, without breaking it?
In the meantime, I'll put an ad up, and hope for the best.

[tensilekid]

Have you considered buying a new or used LHD lamp dismantling it and fitting your unbroken RHD lens to the good reflector ?

[tforturton]

Interesting idea. Got to figure out how to open the damn thing first.....

[Superal]

on my old fiesta days i used a hair dryer to heat up the glue on my old fiesta headlights & used a screwdriver to carefully spilt the headlight open once the glue has soften up. we used to do this & take the orange lens out.

[tforturton]

Okay, that sounds as though it might be worth trying. I've had the kind offer of a cracked LHD unit to play around with - so if I can split both units, I could then fix the RHD lens to the LHD reflector. It's the glass that 'throws the beam', so this plan might work. Only problem is separating them. All suggestions welcome....