De-icing LED Headlights

[Jas2001]

How do folks de-ice their car headlights when they're frosted over? This is my first car with LED headlights and I notice they remain completely cool to touch and therefore, you can't simply rely on residual heat like you can with ordinary halogen headlights. A scraper would probably scratch the plastic lens cover. Use some de-icer?

[TonyHSD]

Hi, 

better don’t use any de icers or you are risking get in yellowish headlights sooner than usual. Even led bulbs emit some heat although much less than halogen bulbs it will be enough to help melt the frost, plus the air stream as you drive which is mixed with exhaust pollution and salt and grit.
If that doesn’t help then best solution is bottle of cold water , could be slightly lukewarm but not hot and just poor over before you drive off. Can do that to the windscreen too. Never scratch clean with amy hard subjects or use anything other water or non acid cleaners . 
Regards 

[Cyker]

My Mk4 has LED headlights but I've not had any issues with them icing up while driving so far; The only thing I've had frosting over that badly was the radar emitter, which got so covered once the cruise control turned off.

I guess the light from the LEDs must generate just enough heat to stop snow freezing onto the lamps?

That said I'm a soft southie - the colder temps you midlander/The North folk get might be more of an issue but I don't recall anyone mentioning it...

[APS]

It is a problem that manufacturers have been dodging for a while. When it's cold there just isn't enough heat given off to defrost the lights. It can also stop adaptive headlights from working. They may very well come up with heated headlights for cars sold in colder climates. Here in the UK I tend to just use the windscreen/headlight washers to clear them since I always have a strong mix during the winter season. 

 

[Jas2001]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

My Mk4 has LED headlights but I've not had any issues with them icing up while driving so far;

I was really thinking about when they frost over during the night and having to clear them in the morning (like you do with the windscreen) rather than them icing over during driving.

[Jas2001]

1 hour ago, APS said:

Here in the UK I tend to just use the windscreen/headlight washers to clear them since I always have a strong mix during the winter season. 

 

Unfortunately the Corolla doesn't come with headlight washers. The last car I had with headlight washers was a Ford Sierra 🙂.

[Cyker]

41 minutes ago, Jas2001 said:

I was really thinking about when they frost over during the night and having to clear them in the morning (like you do with the windscreen) rather than them icing over during driving.

Oh, sorry!

Hmm, I've had snow build up on my lights, which I just brush off, but haven't had frost built up to the extent it affects the lights enough that I could be bothered to do anything about it, so not got much helpful advice I'm afraid; I'd just drive and let them sort themselves out because it's usually such a thin coating!  

 

[Roker]

2 hours ago, APS said:

It is a problem that manufacturers have been dodging for a while. When it's cold there just isn't enough heat given off to defrost the lights. It can also stop adaptive headlights from working. They may very well come up with heated headlights for cars sold in colder climates. Here in the UK I tend to just use the windscreen/headlight washers to clear them since I always have a strong mix during the winter season. 

 

I cannot understand why manufacturers put the washer bottles at the front of the engine compartment near the lights where they freeze up. Instead of on the bulkhead. It's very dangerous on a motorway when you cannot stop to clean the windscreen

[Cyker]

I find the problem is more the pipes and the actual washer jets freezing than the bottle itself. Most washer fluid contains some alcohol so I think putting it deeper in the bay where it's much hotter could be a potential fire hazard in summer!

[Don Mac]

24 minutes ago, Roker said:

I cannot understand why manufacturers put the washer bottles at the front of the engine compartment near the lights where they freeze up. Instead of on the bulkhead. It's very dangerous on a motorway when you cannot stop to clean the windscreen

I think it's because they put cheaper, easier to replace components in the space behind the bumper to reduce the cost of repairs after minor collisions.

As I recall there were some grumbles years back about expensive air con systems etc. getting broken too easily in shunts which looked like nothing because the plastic bumper had sprung back afterwards. This put insurance costs (& groups) up.

 

As for de-icing the lights - if you don't want to use de-icer (reasonable), how about keeping a spray/squeezy bottle of winter strength washer fluid handy to give them a squirt? That's meant to be safe for the plastics, isn't it?

[Derek.w]

Just dont dilute the additive screenwash to much and use winter screenwash.

[TonyHSD]

But when you top up neat you need to run the pumps front and rear for some time to flush the previous weak mixture or it will freeze along the lines and nozzles and won’t work again. What had happened last year big freeze with many of us , remember 🥶

[APS]

21 hours ago, Roker said:

I cannot understand why manufacturers put the washer bottles at the front of the engine compartment near the lights where they freeze up. Instead of on the bulkhead. It's very dangerous on a motorway when you cannot stop to clean the windscreen

Providing you have windscreenwash mixed, bottle placement makes little difference when it's cold. The problem is in the spray nozzles (there's a reason Volvo puts heaters in them). You need to have a strong mixture. I mix for -20 or so to cope with just a few degrees below freezing. 

To clear frozen over headlights you can pour undiluted windscreen wash on the lights. 

[AndrueC]

On 11/11/2023 at 8:21 PM, Roker said:

I cannot understand why manufacturers put the washer bottles at the front of the engine compartment near the lights where they freeze up. Instead of on the bulkhead. It's very dangerous on a motorway when you cannot stop to clean the windscreen

Nissan didn't on my Sunnys. They were at the back and the tubes ran on the engine side of the bonnet insulation to help keep them warm. Then again the Sunnys were the only cars I've owned that had low washer warnings. The last Nissan I bought was an Almera and it didn't have the warnings and I remember the washer freezing one winter as I drove up to see my parents.

I suppose that's progress for you 

[AisinW]

Car Wax/polish, especially glossy polish, bond really well to the acrylic coating on headlights.   I did it on my all cars, it works perfectly.  No dirt, ice, or bird !Removed! can stick on it anymore.  Ice cannot stick on waxed surface and easily fall off. 

But do not wax or polish your windshield with anything. It will create haze in winter wet days at night that really cloud our view.  But this is not the case for headlights.

If you accidentally wax the windshield, we can remove it with a lot of work. Nothing works except glass cleaner. The same glass cleaner is used for our stove and kitchen. It has some abrasion, but it works faster. Just be gentle on the pressure. Use speed instead of pressure.  Isopropanol and glass cleaners such as Autoglym work on mildly waxed or oiled windshields. 

[twintopp]

park mine in the garage .....no problem in the morning just get in and go.

[AndrueC]

8 hours ago, twintopp said:

park mine in the garage .....no problem in the morning just get in and go.

Same here 🙂