Repairing Headlights for Maximum Visibility and Safety

We see them every day - cars we can barely see at night due to bad, ineffective, or improperly aimed headlights. "An average of 9 out of every 10 cars on the road today has dirty or yellowed headlights that greatly reduce vision and need to be replaced or professionally restored." - AAA Foundation for traffic safety. Not only can you barely see them, but what can their driver see - or not see for that matter? "Your night vision can be reduced by as much as 90% by dirty headlights." Road & Travel magazine.

This is just not safe. What if there is a large pot hole, children near the street, a deer nearby, etc... Cars with cloudy, dirty headlights just aren't safe and can be down right dangerous. In a recent search of the leading search enginesGoogle and Yahoo there are thousands of accidents, many deadly that were attributed to cloudy headlights.
How do we repair or fix the headlights on our cars? "Clean the headlights or have them professionally restored and repaired (our department uses New Lite headlight repair on all our police cruisers and department vehicles - www.mdwholesale.com).

Dirty headlights will decrease visibility by as much as 90%." New York Police Traffic Division's Traffic Safety Team. You can now purchase an amazing product that will remove years of neglect and damage and repair, clean and restore the headlights to new again for a fraction of the price of new replacements which can cost $300 or more at your local dealer. For more information on this product look it up on the search engines google or yahoo.
Another important item is to have your headlights properly aimed. If they are off even by a minor amount this can really reduce your visibility and your headlights effectiveness. Go to your local inspection station and for a nominal fee they will professionally calibrate your lenses. Its well worth it.
After professionally restoring, repairing and aiming your lenses, you might want to consider xenon replacement bulbs. They are pretty cheap and can be purchased all over the internet (just look up xenon in the search engines google and yahoo or ask jeeves). They cost around $5-$15 a piece and will increase your light brightness by 20-40%. This could be the difference in being able to stop in time from a deer running out in the road, or worse like stalled cars with no lights.
This is why many states have thorough inspections to determine the effectiveness of your headlights. Its for your own safety and not to line the states coffers with a new source of revenue - thats what traffic tickets are for! So get your headlights repaired, cleaned and restored. Have them properly aimed and inspected. And upgrade to xenon bulbs for maximum visibility. You will save money and be glad you did - you may even save a life!

Blown Automotive Fuses

Repairing blown automotive fuses requires substantial knowledge about its placement and how it works.
Automobile fuses come in a type of glass formation. It is cylindrical in shape while the ends are stainless steel and made of glass at the center. Others are made of plastic. It also has links acting as a backup fuse.
Below are some types of automotive fuses:
• Mini (for small-current applications)• Standard (common circuits)• And Maxi (for higher-current applications)
These are the three types used in today’s vehicles. The fast-acting fuses are the standard and mini because it protects the vehicle circuitry. This would go with the vehicle’s lights and radio wires.

Maxi fuses are slow-acting fuses with large current draws found in rear window defoggers, anti-lock brakes and traction controls. Cartridge types of fuses are used in older vehicles. This is while blade style fuses have become the standard fuse application nowadays.
Thorough Fuse Checking
Every user manual contains a help guide discussing systematic instructions. Using these manuals enables the car owner to locate the fuse since it can be under the dashboard or beneath the side kick panels. It also helps in immediately detecting problems.
A non-functional fuse should be removed from the box using your hands. This should be done especially if you’re checking for blown or burnt fuses. A blown fuse has a separated metal coil that needs to be replaced.
Fuse Replacement
It only takes five minutes and a dollar to replace fuses. After locating the fuse, remove its cover and find the locator sticker. There are many fuse covers that has an extra fuse and pullers on it. If confused, a manual would be of great help. Most of it has diagrams for the fuse panel corresponding to the fuse lining.
Next, look for the amperage rating of the blown fuse. Most of these would be color coded. Different ampere ratings may damage the equipment again. After this, remove the non-functional fuse with the use of a puller or needle-nose pliers.
The next step is to hold the fuse up where the burnt area is located. The fuse is good when there is a fine wire connecting the two sides. It is bad when one section of the wire is burnt. Auto shops provide an array of different fuses.
Replace fuses with ones that have the specified ampere rating. A smaller fuse, particularly in a size smaller than the former, can be installed until a new replacement has been bought. Usually, carmakers use a resettable fuse type for circuit breakers. These are unlike replaceable circuit protectors. Examples of where these fuses are used include headlights, power windows and seats.
If the fuse blows after replacing another one, circuitry is the problem. Replacing fuses is easy to do on your own but make sure you make an appointment with the dealer or service station so as to have it repaired for more serious problems.
Tips on maintaining fuses
Always refer to the vehicle’s manual for fuse capacities in order to prevent malfunctions. New electrical systems on vehicles have more than one fuse panel situated in different locations. Carmakers have a labeled fuse access panel, having “FUSES” for an easier diagnosis. Some of its components also have built-in circuit breakers. However, tripped circuits usually give out more serious problems like the use of more current.
Good maintenance and handling of automotive fuses also require hassle-free auto configuring probabilities. Preventing serious problems is the key to good mechanical and electrical efficiency of a vehicle. Owners can buy auto fuses at retailers, especially at reputable online electrical providers. You need to choose one who has a wide range of inventory selections as well as the best value and return policies.
Automotive fuses are designed to protect circuits from electrical overload. It is the main part of the electronic system, preventing fires and burns. If the wires are burnt, the auto will stop functioning.
Different types have their own capacities. Manufacturers tend to cut it into different lengths for greater accessibility. The fuse box is located under the cabinet or the steering wheel for easy management of malfunctioning cases. Some changes that might take place when problems arise include times when the lights go off and the radio stops working.

LED Car Tail Lights

We live in highly industrialized world today. Our cities, and even the towns, are equipped with too much lighting system that you sometimes wonder where those lights came from. Well, most of the lights you see (especially the ones at night) come from your vehicles. Because automobiles are a common ride today, it is never a wonder why our roads are full of lights these days.
When you view cars at night, you can compare their lighting systems; you can tell whether they are weak or they have just been replaced with batteries. More specifically, you will know if the bulbs mounted on the rear of their rides are LED car tail lights or not.
So how do you know if the ones mounted on a particular vehicle are LED car tail lights? Well, that is just very easy. If you see lights which have very high beams and if you see them with a very bright glow that only means that the light you're looking at are the LED car tail lights.
The Popularity Of The LED Car Tail Lights
Why are LED lights popular among cars? The answer lies on the three most beneficial features of LED car tail lights – the quality, durability, and the affordability. These three features are arguably the marks of great lighting system. They are so to speak the soul of any product out there in the market. Because all three important light characteristics are already found in one lighting system, more people deem it convenient to buy this type of light.
First, let us know about the quality of these LED lights. The Light Emitting Diodes is a property which is made from the earthly elements of aluminum and silicon. Because they are all natural, you can only expect the quality to have higher standards.
Next, let us try to review a LED light's durability. Most of the LED light users say that this type of bulb lasts for more than five years. Compared to the olden halogen bulbs, these LED lights are by far, the "longest living" lights. Because they do not heat up that much, the glass surrounding the bulbs do not get easily destroyed or mottled.
Lastly, let us try to know how much affordable the LED car tail lights can be. Most of these lights have the same prices as the halogen bulbs. Of course, everything depends on the brand and quality of the lights. The price also depends on where you get these lights from. If you purchase them over local stores or warehouses, then you can expect the light rates to be a little less costly; but if you purchase them over big city stores, then you can anticipate for the costs to go up.
LED Tail Lights And Their Beam
People have noticed that with their usual bulbs, the lighting system seems to reflect low beams especially at night. So to attend to customer needs, the LED lights have been made. Because of this type of light, road hazards are considerably decreased and mitigated while road visibility is increased.
The LED light's high beam offers more illumination during the night and even the day. Because the bulbs emit powerful light beams, the front and back pathways of your vehicles are also lighted up. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone. Moreover, the LED light's illumination capacity can even reach up to the peripheral sides of the road, thereby causing more glow of light to be reflected on dark roads.
The Safety Of LED Car Tail Lights Earns Popularity
Almost all lighting systems mounted on cars are safe to use. However, you need to be extra careful when changing the lights. Because everything is generated from the car's power, that can only mean that electricity is present in the wirings and bulbs of the light.
So when you try to replace your old tail lights, you need to kill the power first before holding them. Moreover, you need to wear rubber gloves to shield you from the electric current that's present in lights. If you do all precautionary measures, then changing the lights would not be a dangerous task for you.

Plastic Headlight Lenses Cleaner

In the past, automakers designed headlight lenses made from glass so they were limited in the size and shape they could produce. Since then, auto manufacturers began designing cars with plastic or polycarbonate headlight lenses. This modification mainly occurred due to the change in the design of cars---cars became lighter and more aerodynamic, plus plastic was by far less expensive to produce than glass. Today this plastic material is the chosen choice because it is very light and can be transformed into unlimited sizes and shapes to satisfy new car designs.
Polycarbonate has its advantages but also has its disadvantages---namely oxidation / discoloration. To the naked eye one cannot tell that these plastic lenses are actually a porous material that expands ever so slightly when it gets hot. Degradation of the lens occurs over time. Having your headlights on or being exposed to the heat of the day causes the pores to open allowing debris from the road to get in. Debris, together with a combination of environmental factors such as the sun (UV rays), smog, acid rain, car exhaust, and harsh chemicals used to wash you car can cause the plastic headlight lenses to become oxidized.
Plastic oxidation leads to lens discoloration, which transforms new, clear, bright, shiny plastic to a dull yellow tint that appears to be foggy, hazy, or cloudy. This process (oxidation), as described above, not only becomes an eyesore but also is unsafe. Because of the degradation of the plastic lens, less light passed through resulting in diminished visibility during night driving. The car owner either had to deal with these cloudy yellow, oxidized headlight lenses posing serious safety issues or purchase expensive replacement headlights costing hundreds or thousands of dollars.
We feel it is necessary to inform the public so that they may know and learn how to restore, clean, polish, and clear those cloudy, yellow plastic headlight lenses on their own without putting more money into the car manufacturer's pocket. One can restore headlights to like-new condition by taking off the top layer of oxidized plastic. This can be achieved through polishing, wet sanding, or through the use of chemicals. Auto manufacturers would rather you go to them for a headlight repair (charging as much as $150) or headlight replacement ($100-$1,000). The top layer of plastic on the headlights contains a UV polymer that retards or slows down the aging of the plastic lens. Therefore, it is important to use a polish (containing UV polymers) or UV coating to slow down the oxidation or discoloration of the lens. Parking your car in the shade or garage, or maintaining the lens by washing, waxing, and polishing a minimum of every three months, could avoid damage to the headlight lens.
There are many companies that specialize in headlight restoration and one can easily find one by simply putting in a keyword phrase such as "cloudy foggy headlights" into any of the popular search engines like google, yahoo, or msn. There are two types of headlight cleaners / headlight restoration kits:
1. Basic Headlight Restoration Kit (for light discoloration) 2. Advanced Headlight Restoration Kit (for more severe discoloration)
Most headlight restoration kits work extremely well. Choosing a kit depends on the severity of your vehicle's lenses. Most kits available online are very easy to use and do not require the use of special tools or training. Beware of kits that offer backing plates and drill attachments. While they may save time, they may cause irreversible damage due to various drill speeds causing burning or swirls in the plastic lens. First-time users should avoid these kits because it takes skill and practice to control the drill from making these mistakes and possibly slipping off and ruining a perfectly fine paint job.
In some kits like an Advanced Headlight Restoration Kit, they may even supply a small roll of blue painters tape to mask your headlight to protect your paint job during the restoration process. Along with both kits, one should receive a step-by-step brochure outlining how to clean headlights appropriately to obtain bright, shiny headlamps while restoring optical clarity to your lenses. Both kits should carry a satisfaction guarantee. It is also a great resource if the company has tech support for anyone that has questions while reconditioning their headlamps so trained technicians can walk you through the quick and easy process of headlight restoration.
For more great information, tips, safety and money saving products please visit: The Headlight Solution at http://www.headlightsolution.net
John Steel is an alumni of The University Of Miami with a degree in Biology and Exercise Science. He is currently working as an Nuclear Medicine Technologist in South Florida. He is also the President/Owner of The Headlight Solution-A small company with a big goal of safer driving at night through restoring aging plastic headlights to like new condition providing optical clarity for night driving.