Cleared My Headlights

tylerhodgson · September 15, 2014

The whole process was pretty simple. Baked in the oven for 10 minutes @ 220 degrees to remove the chrome trim. The chrome trim is clipped on as well as 2 way taped. Then put the lights back in for 18 minutes @ 220 and had the lens off in 5 minutes. When I silicone them back together I laid rags down over my lenses and uses 2 ratchet straps per light to hold my lens down tight.

blackout07 · September 15, 2014

Looks great.

KUUG · September 15, 2014

looks good! Did you use yellow or white bulbs after? How bright are they at night?

tylerhodgson · September 15, 2014

looks good! Did you use yellow or white bulbs after? How bright are they at night?

I totally forgot to grab orange bulbs until I went to put my lights back in Saturday night. The blinker is still obvious but I will probably grab some orange bulbs to swap them with just for legal reasons

stevev · September 15, 2014

^actually then get those aftermarket bulbs that are silver when off, but then blink orange so you're still legal.

tylerhodgson · September 15, 2014

^actually then get those aftermarket bulbs that are silver when off, but then blink orange so you're still legal.

Ordered some this morning!

blackout07 · September 15, 2014

I used stealths. Good bulbs.

Daly · September 15, 2014

Looks good Tyler, been thinking of doing this on my truck, but I think the amber looks good with the Brownstone paint…

desert · September 16, 2014

That looks genius ! ... Does the orange plastic piece of crap just pop out after you open the fixture ?

tylerhodgson · September 16, 2014

Looks good Tyler, been thinking of doing this on my truck, but I think the amber looks good with the Brownstone paint…

I liked the look of my diamond white with the reflectors so I was nervous at first but so glad I did it

That looks genius ! ... Does the orange plastic piece of crap just pop out after you open the fixture ?

Pretty much! one end is kind of clipped on, you just push and it pops off and the other is held there by GM melting a little plastic to hold it. I just popped the plastic blob off with a screw driver and then it fell off. So far so good with no condensation either. Its rained all day and I also washed my truck tonight and all is good!

Spurshot · September 16, 2014

I totally forgot to grab orange bulbs until I went to put my lights back in Saturday night. The blinker is still obvious but I will probably grab some orange bulbs to swap them with just for legal reasons

^actually then get those aftermarket bulbs that are silver when off, but then blink orange so you're still legal.

Looks sharp.

But it will not be legal without an orange DOT APPROVED reflector somewhere up on the side near the front.

blackout07 · September 16, 2014

Looks sharp.

But it will not be legal without an orange DOT APPROVED reflector somewhere up on the side near the front.

Not sure about Canada, but I've never seen this anywhere other than passed through forums. I'm told its federal so if you can lost a link that'd be great. I know texas state law doesn't require it. :shrugs:

Spurshot · September 16, 2014

It's a law on the federal register in the U.S.. State laws don't usually get into this area. Im on my phone now. But google federal vehicle standards. You'll find all the stuff from seatbelts to lights.

Alright, I guess for you that haven't dealt with federal laws, it's a tough thing to find. But everyone should be somewhat familiar with how our federal laws are structured, IMO. I happen to work in the regulatory area of aviation, which drove me to get very familiar with federal laws.

Here's a link to the federal laws of the land that govern everything from the President to Congress. You'll find Title 49 for Transportation. Under 49 it provides for authority to make laws for Transportation. DOT created laws for motor vehicles which you'll find in the links below this one.

http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=03950BC477A1FB8AAD93212E31E61495

Here's a link to the whole vehicle safety standards list (only). (Title 49, section 571)

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/fmvss/

This link is to the specific regulation (law) for lights and reflectors.(Title 49, section 571.108)

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2004-title49-vol5/xml/CFR-2004-title49-vol5-sec571-108.xml

My educated guess is that Texas doesn't require side reflectors because it's covered under federal law. I believe it's highly unlikely that Texas wrote a law to override the federal law requiring side reflectors. But, I could be wrong.

tylerhodgson · September 16, 2014

In Canada we are required to have side reflectors. I had them painted black on my old truck for 5 years and never had an issue. I am going to get orange flashing bulbs for the fact if I was ever in an accident and someone tried to say they couldn't see my blinker (although it is very visible) I would be in trouble.

KUUG · September 16, 2014

My educated guess is that Texas doesn't require side reflectors because it's covered under federal law. I believe it's highly unlikely that Texas wrote a law to override the federal law requiring side reflectors. But, I could be wrong.

In Texas as long as your bulb is yellow/orange your not going to have much trouble. I rode around for the first 5 years I started driving with out reflectors in my vehicles and never once got questioned. I even had them white at one point. It may be different now because was a long time ago