A friend had her '98 S70 flunk the safety inspection because the headlights weren't bright enough. I installed Sylvania Ultras, thinking that would easily solve the problem, but it didn't.

It has been suggested that there is some kind of problem with the electrical system. The lights looked pretty bright to me, but I wasn't there when it was being re-tested.

Any suggestions about what might cause this issue and what tests I could do to find a malfunctioning part would be appreciated.

Follow-up: Further investigation reveals that I should replace the headlight units. I will search the forums for info on aftermarket units.

 

The headlight housings turn yello......it's a pretty common thing for the plastic to turn that hazy color. It's caused by UV rays from the sunlight.


The plastic needs to be polished to get rid of the yellow haze. There are head light restoration kits that you can buy and you can restore the lens clarity with a little physical effort. It takes some amount of time tho.


Here's what I do because I hate wasting time: I get some coarse grit automotive paint buffing compound.....I load up a buffing pad with the coarse grit.....I then attach the pad to my cheap $20 Walmart paint polisher machine and I buff the lights for about 5 minutes......remove the buffing pad then.....using the same method I use fine grit compound in a POLISHING (terry cloth softness) pad......and I do each light a second time.

Takes all of about 20 minutes per head light. And then they are good as new.


Or just buy the restoration kit and spend hours doing the job manually in the end you'll wind up with a midiocre fuzzy looking light.

 

Thanks, Tony. I wasn't sure that polishing would work, since the headlight lenses are glass and not any type of plastic. It won't hurt to give it a try, though. I appreciate your response.

 

Wait.......If they are glass, don't polish them. Polishing glass with grit compound can only harm them.

Instead you should remove the alternator and have it tested at a local auto parts store. Maybe the internal regulator is failing and the alternator needs to be replaced.

Or, you could test the alternators power output yourself with a simple voltage meter. Normal power output of most vehicle alternators is 14.8 volts. It's kinda become the standard in the automotive world. Measure the voltage with the engine running and no accessories turned on. Write down that reading.

Next, turn on the interior lights, exterior lights, the air conditioner in its highest setting, the radio, the windshield wipers, basically turn on everything on in the car and all lights......record the alternator voltage reading while the engine is running.

Heres a link to testing voltage
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...iviORGwYC7jIYQ





As you turn on all the vehicle accessories, the voltage should drop,but should not fall below 13.8v....if the volts do drop below that number you may need to buy a higher amperage alternator. Which leads me to think, maybe a previous owner installed a cheaper (lower amperage) alternator onto the car for whatever reasons. Might even want to see if that is even the correct alternator for that particular car.

 

Thanks again, Tony. Especially for the link to testing voltage. My friend had the car into a shop yesterday. They told her the headlight units need to be replaced. They wanted over $750 for aftermarket units and over $1,000 for Volvo OEM. I have decided to install some aftermarket units ($245) myself.

That said, the units may be only part of the problem. The alternator may well be contributing. So, I am going to test the alternator as shown on the video. I figure the more knowledge the better. I haven't installed an alternator before. But, I will cross that bridge when/if I come to it.

Regards,
John

 

I have seen the 'chromed' portion of the lights go bad - in essence 'desilvering' and that kills the output.

My alternater lasted 180,000 miles and I've been told that is not uncommon . That said, it proved to be an all day job. The time consuming part was loosening the belt. I tried several different 'remedys' I found online, pennies on a half inch socket cheater bar worked but it was not a smooth and convienent solution. And somehow I had to pull the bar with my last two fingers which 'popped'' a couple tendons in my hand. Now 3 years later I have to have surgery to remove all the scar tissue. So - my advice - buy the little tool from Volvo or IPD. You'll need it anyway. Think it's about 25 bucks from IPD.

 

Thanks, Don. I am going to test the alternator. The car is less than 100k, so I sure hope it's not bad. I looked at a video of changing it and thought I could probably tackle it. But, I don't have a good place to work in cold weather. So, I'm hoping the aftermarket headlights I'm getting from FCP Euro will be all that is needed.

I know what you mean about having the right tools. I have never had much success, and definitely didn't save any time, trying to work around not having the right tool.

John

 

I'm not trying to rain on your parade here, but you may want to find out if those Euro replacement lights are legal for use here in the USA.

One of the cars I own is a 1996 Impala SS. My son wrecked it....the insurance totaled it....I bought it back from the insurance company.

Due to the fact that the car was totaled, I had to have a smog, brake and light inspection performed. Well, I couldn't find any oem SS Impala specific headlights. So what I did was I bought a pair of lights from an aftermarket company. The lights fit and exactly as the original ones were supposed to. However.......here's my point:

The lights didn't have the letters 'DOT' cast in the mold.
DOT=Department of Transportation Approved.

The shop that performed the light inspection FAILED my car because the aftermarket lights that I bought did not have the DOT letters.


Just something to think about before you drop $250 on a pair of lights that might not pass inspection.

Here's a link I found, it's topic is headlight design approval and the subject is a Mercedes Benz. The location is Virginia.....you might find interesting: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...oH5TbHRaG-gaxA


This will shine some light on WHY it is important to have USA federal DOT approved headlights and why a shop will fail the car inspection for the wrong lights.

The inexpensive Impala lights that I bought.....yeah, I paid a cheap price for them from an american based online warehouse, however the lights were "E1" approved and not DOT approved. Read the link....that'll explain it.

 

I appreciate your bringing this to my attention. I verified that my state (as a matter of fact, Virginia) requires DOT or SAE approval and will fail any headlights without one of them. I contacted the seller and was told that the units are DOT approved. I will make sure I see the DOT letters on the units before I install.

 

This is likely the real issue. I have been dealing with this on a few of our cars. The reflector in the back of the light assembly gets damaged and fails to "reflect" the light out on to the street. I have never heard of a car failing inspection because of this.


You can open the lens, pop out the back, clean the reflective part (which will totally destroy it), then paint it with HIGH TEMP, CROME, REFLECTIVE paint. Hard to find but it will do the trick. Or simply purchase another light assembly from www.FCPEuro.com, www.iPdUSA.com or some place like that.

 

Thanks for your response. The headlight issue got resolved this weekend. A friend of mine wanted to take out the headlights and polish the reflector. So, we took them out and tried it. As you said, the polish totally destroyed the coating on the reflector. He wanted to find some silver paint in his workshop to re-paint, but, in the interest of a guaranteed fix, we installed the units I had purchased from FCPEuro.

The headlight replacement got done pretty easily. The only issue we had was that the small plastic catches that hold the turn signal units in place broke off. They were just old and had lost flexibility. As a temporary measure we used silicone to hold them in place. I will probably get some replacement units ($28/ea. at FCP) to be sure they don't fall out after a few months in the summer sun.

Thanks to all for the input. Although this S70 is not my car, I have enjoyed tackling a few repair issues over the years and have found this forum to be a great resource.