disclaimer: if you break anything because of something you read here, it is not my fault. ok?

i bought some foglights from someone who'd had them on a car, but never wired them in or tested them.

I found that one side (right-hand side lamp) was spot-on, worked brilliantly, whereas the opposite side was dull and didn't seem to project much light at all in comparison.

i went and swapped the bulbs around - the bulbs were identical in spec and brightness so it wasn't that, confusing!!! as the beam of light was aimed the same on both lamps, they have the same bulbs, but one projected a significantly darker beam of light!

so, well, i started dismantling them! !

i noticed that the black one in the photos (my left one) got very hot to touch the casing (the black bit) whilst on for a short period of time, but the browny coloured one didnt get anywhere near as warm....

upon dismantling, you can see in the photos that the brown one has a layer of silver lining which acts as a light (and therefore heat) reflector/deflector (whichever!) so that more light is aimed at the lens and out through the glass...... although its silver, it isnt very shiny/reflective so can be improved!

everything on the foglights is the same on both sides except the obvious bits which are identical just mirrored as they are mirrored for the opposite side lamp.

tomorrow - i'll be getting some of that plastikote silver metallic reflective spray paint (as long as it doesnt warn about being used in hot environments) failing that i'll be bonding some tin-foil in. then i'll put them back together and take some more pictures and show the results!

basically, you can make your mk3 polo foglights better by making the backing (if your have any) more reflective!!!!

plenty of pics from dismantling below (all already with the bulb & holder removed)

the unit together (yes i know it doesnt look like a very good repair on the bracket, but its solid!)

if you dont want to risk breaking the adjuster trying to pop the black bit out, completely undo the adjuster screw (adjust it so far the screw detaches from the black bit), then pull the lamp housing away from the bracket (it may have blobs of glue around the square bit of housing)

the two halves and the water-tight seal

the unit in bits (in order) [note: you dont have to remove the glass, i did out of curiosity - be warned, they break easily!!! it is held in by the 3 metal lips squeezing the glass]

the metal braket that holds the lens in will prise out gently with a long screwdriver... put a screwdriver through the bracket to the opposite side, under the metal bracket between it and the plastic housing, and then twist it to force the bracket away from the plastic housing... or you could do it properly and remove the sealant from the four corners of the metal on the behind of the plastic , and lever the brackets straight... see below

as you can see from the reverse side after removing the rubbery sealant, the metal bracket could probably do with a blob of glue & sealant on it to stop any water getting in and to stop the lens holder from coming away from the plastic at any point in the future.

notice that the brown plastic lens housing has a silver reflection ! this is the reflective backing inside where the bulb sits, and on the black one there is no reflection whatsoever.

more tomorrow...

Edited 21 September, 200718 yr by rae

Mine are like this, so I'm eagerly awaiting tomorrow's post!

well as long as i can find some decent paint or a decent reflector.... all will be well! going to take some pics of what they look like now when they are on (good one vs bad one) too i think...

Something like this?

Something like this?

yes! lol

when putting the units back together, i didnt think about what i was doing very much and pushed the metal bracket back on to take the pictures....

as the metal bracket clipped into place the pins shot through the plastic and i punctured my finger deep!!!! blood all over my desk. yukky!!!!! not fun! (bad times!) dont worry, no pics of the wound or the blood.

<- notice the boots plaster in the background!

left side (darker one)

this one has a more scattered, darker beam from same bulb tested on the brighter lamp - dont forget the camera has left the shutter open slightly longer for this as the room was darker, i couldnt figure out how to manually set the speed so both foglights have a decent comparison

right side (brighter one)

this one has a more defined and brighter beam from the same bulb as i used on the darker lamp

Edited 19 September, 200718 yr by rae

this is the spray i bought, £3.29 at halfrauds.... it looks dull, but silvery chrome coloured. the spot i did on the newspaper was very reflective when only just applied!!!

(edit: where a glove on the spraying hand...)

masked up, spend a bit of time doing this if you dont want silvery overspray on your foglights! small bit of newspaper scrumpled up in the hole where the bulb goes too will help

first coat (with no flash)

first coat (with flash forced on)

second coat (with no flash)

the spray is a bit runny so more lighter coats = better than one big heavy spray.

more soon... waiting for it to dry a bit before next coat & to fill in all the roughness on the whiter one where the old reflector is scabbing off

Edited 20 September, 200718 yr by rae

I've tried that chrome spray paint before, years ago, and yeah it's really runny so you do have to be very careful with it.

Depending on how yours comes out I'll probably do this when I get my car back. :)

I've tried that chrome spray paint before, years ago, and yeah it's really runny so you do have to be very careful with it.

Depending on how yours comes out I'll probably do this when I get my car back. :)

very very runny! and takes longer to dry than the big plastikote stuff (45 mins as apposed to 15min till touch dry).

the chrome spray can't make them any worse now, can it!!! LOL! if it does, will be bonding some tin-foil into the reflector bit i've sprayed. no harm in that, albeit a bit pikey but if i got to resort to that, why not.

i've had to clean the browny coloured one of all its paint and strip out most of the old reflector as it was peeling off with the paint running, and paint wouldnt stick to it!!!

<-- much better without the flaky reflective stuff behind the paint

right, third and final coat done. just waiting for it to dry (3 hours or so from now)

a bit worrying, but the masking tape seemed to be shinier & more reflective than the actual bit i want to reflect light!! (may mean i need to start again with some primer or something!)

no flash (left one had the reflector previously. right one was the dull one) , and with the flash

from above no flash (left one had the reflector previously. right one was the dull one), and with the flash

now to start re assembling...

Edited 20 September, 200718 yr by rae

i was so impressed with the improvement of the beam of light that came from the foglight after test-reassembly (wet paint still!!!) that i have also sprayed the lens bracket too, as this is also used as a reflector! (the metal work is very dull to start with :()

be careful not to crack / damage the lens

lens bracket before spraying - clean it up as best you can with thinners / brake cleaner / carb cleaner, whatever. and make sure its dry!

finished article reflective bit - no flash and with flash

under side also needed painting - pic with flash

whilst waiting for the paint to dry.... been looking at the H3 Bulb HID kits, cant quite justify £100 on a hid kit just for the foglights....

this is the bulb without the new shinier lens bracket,

Edited 20 September, 200718 yr by rae

four hours later and paints still not touch dry (says 3 hours on the tin!) update later..

i tell you what , you should do your own "rae's manual"

much better than the other one thats available

i tell you what , you should do your own "rae's manual"

much better than the other one thats available

yeah i like the sound of that! only if theres some money in it though lol!!!

well, paints pretty much dry. whilst testing one of the lamps started smoking - i can only put it down to wet paint dripping on the bulb as theres a small patch on the reflector with no paint now (1mm or so wide), and paint on the bulb that wasnt there before...

i hope this paint withstands the temperatures around the bulb!!!!!!!!!!

ignore the position of the light, all 4 of the pictures were taken without the outer lens on as its easier to stand them up on my desk that way!!!

Left side foglight : Before and After (the one that had no reflector in it)

Before: After:

Right side foglight : Before and After (the one that did have a reflector that i removed and re-did)

Before: After:

like i say, i just hope the paint can withstand the heat of the bulb! :s much much brighter now though!!!

Edited 20 September, 200718 yr by rae

fuck man good work!

A job for me when my car gets back, definately.

wheres it gone? i'll be impressed if it's grown a mind of its own and turned into brum !

hopefully paints completely dry now, so ill put them back together properly and see what they are like, then maybe tomorrow put them on the car

Last I saw it was on a low loader on its way to PSD with blown oil seals :(

Last I saw it was on a low loader on its way to PSD with blown oil seals :(

gutted, well i put my foglights back together and they are much better compared to before

with the outer lens & housing on, that "line of light" isnt as noticeable, which is a shame, as i quite like it :)

ill get a pic when they are on the car too another time, got to swap bumpers around