Headlamp Glass

K

ksimpson

Member
Hi,

Was doing some work on the wife's A2 tonight and noticed that the headlamp glass on the drivers side looks as though it has been sandblasted. The body work around it is fine so not sure what caused it.

When driving in front of her a few days ago, I noticed that this headlight looked brighter than the other to the point where it could be glaring other drivers.

I would have assumed that it was an alignment problem if the previous owner hadn't put it through the MOT early in March and failed for a headlight alignment problem. He had it fixed and the car then passed.

Could this damage to the lens be causing the problem? Is it something I should consider replacing?

I suppose it would be too good to be true if the lens was available separate from the whole headlight unit?

Thanks,

Ken.
 
Hi Ken,

I've seen this on one other A2 and on several other cars before now. It is caused by internal cracking (micro-cracks in the fabric of the plastic), probably from UV break-down or a similar phenomenon.

These tiny cracks will cause a diffusion of the beam and may result in an MOT problem.

On early (model year 2000) A2s, you could get the lenses separately, but snce 2001, the units have been sealed and you can only buy a complete headlamp now. They cost about £106 from a dealer.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Thanks Mike. It's due a service next week. I think I'll get it replaced as it's pretty bad. If it's not distorting the light pattern, it's certainly reducing the light output.
 
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