Clear lens question... not the usual one!!
Discussion
I have a 996 with clear lenses all round but, in certain lights (normally bright sunshine), you can see the orange indicator reflector within the clear lens unit rather than an orange bulb being used.
You can see what I mean here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PORSCHE-986-Box
I find this really annoying. Has anyone found a way to resolve, or has this never actually bothered anyone!?
Thanks,
Mark
You can see what I mean here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PORSCHE-986-Box
I find this really annoying. Has anyone found a way to resolve, or has this never actually bothered anyone!?
Thanks,
Mark
Edited by mark355 on Friday 6th October 22:25
Edited by mark355 on Friday 6th October 22:25
If you take your light off the car, and take out the indicator bulb, you can see the orange plastic reflector inside.
If you now take a small soldering iron and some small long nose pliers you can melt pieces of this reflector off and remove them ( eventually it will all be removed - but be careful not to melt the opening you are gaining access through.
Then all you need to do is buy some of the silver bulbs that light up orange and that is the job done! Just make sure you get the right bulb fitting.
If you now take a small soldering iron and some small long nose pliers you can melt pieces of this reflector off and remove them ( eventually it will all be removed - but be careful not to melt the opening you are gaining access through.
Then all you need to do is buy some of the silver bulbs that light up orange and that is the job done! Just make sure you get the right bulb fitting.
Apparently there is still a little confusion.
If you look at the photo in the link in the first post, you will see that this is the clear lens headlight unit... BUT you can see a little bit of orange in there. The orange is the reflector housed INSIDE the clear lens headlight unit.
I found it very annoying in sunlight and in artificial light when it was dark that my clear lenses looked a little 'orange', hence the post. So you still need the clear headlight units to do this mod!
I can post a pic this weekend, but basically it will look exactly the same as any other 996 clear headlight unit EXCEPT it will look completely clear with no orange whatsoever!
(And forget any £22 or side repeaters, I was just using that photo as an example and I was focussing on the HEADLIGHT UNIT)
If you look at the photo in the link in the first post, you will see that this is the clear lens headlight unit... BUT you can see a little bit of orange in there. The orange is the reflector housed INSIDE the clear lens headlight unit.
I found it very annoying in sunlight and in artificial light when it was dark that my clear lenses looked a little 'orange', hence the post. So you still need the clear headlight units to do this mod!
I can post a pic this weekend, but basically it will look exactly the same as any other 996 clear headlight unit EXCEPT it will look completely clear with no orange whatsoever!
(And forget any £22 or side repeaters, I was just using that photo as an example and I was focussing on the HEADLIGHT UNIT)
It's really easy to be honest, and I used a bent piece of metal which I heated with a blow torch... but sure anything hot, 'delicate' and sharpish will work well.
Remove the indicator bulb from the housing and then remove the buld from the baynet fitting so not to smash it accidentally.
Sorry if this explanation is no good, let me know and I'll try to re-explain. The orange plastic is in a 'U' shape if looking through the hole at it in a 2D perspective. In 3D, each of the 3 bits of the 'U' is (from memory) ~1.5inches square.
The minimum number of burns you can make to ensure the plastic pieces are small enough to fit through hole is 3 (which will result in 4 pieces in total). In 2D, the 3 burns need to be at the middle of the base of the "U", ~3/4s of the way down the left stick of the 'U' and ~3/4s of the way down the right stick of the 'U' (this will result in 2 flat pieces and 2 pieces with right angles in them).
When you make the burn, simply push the hot metal through plastic and burn down to the base and then burn up to the top, there will be no need for any left or right movements... simply push down and pull up for straight line burning.
Be careful with the soldering iron when putting it through the hole into the headlight unit (it's a reasonable size hole, this shouldn't be a problem). Fortunetely, on mine at least, there was nothing behind each of the 3 squares you have to burn through so you don't have to be as delicate as you might think.
You will need snipe nose pliers to remove the four pieces of plastic. Note that I burned a piece then removed it, then burned the next, then removed it, etc.
If this all sounds like nonsense, please let me know!!
Remove the indicator bulb from the housing and then remove the buld from the baynet fitting so not to smash it accidentally.
Sorry if this explanation is no good, let me know and I'll try to re-explain. The orange plastic is in a 'U' shape if looking through the hole at it in a 2D perspective. In 3D, each of the 3 bits of the 'U' is (from memory) ~1.5inches square.
The minimum number of burns you can make to ensure the plastic pieces are small enough to fit through hole is 3 (which will result in 4 pieces in total). In 2D, the 3 burns need to be at the middle of the base of the "U", ~3/4s of the way down the left stick of the 'U' and ~3/4s of the way down the right stick of the 'U' (this will result in 2 flat pieces and 2 pieces with right angles in them).
When you make the burn, simply push the hot metal through plastic and burn down to the base and then burn up to the top, there will be no need for any left or right movements... simply push down and pull up for straight line burning.
Be careful with the soldering iron when putting it through the hole into the headlight unit (it's a reasonable size hole, this shouldn't be a problem). Fortunetely, on mine at least, there was nothing behind each of the 3 squares you have to burn through so you don't have to be as delicate as you might think.
You will need snipe nose pliers to remove the four pieces of plastic. Note that I burned a piece then removed it, then burned the next, then removed it, etc.
If this all sounds like nonsense, please let me know!!
I got on fine - instructions were spot on thanks very much. My soldering iron was 40W though - think a higher rating would have been swifter, and possibly cleaner.
End result - I think it looks great and with the silver 'flash to orange' indicator bulbs, there is no deterioration in function.
Easy job with great results - thanks for the tips!
End result - I think it looks great and with the silver 'flash to orange' indicator bulbs, there is no deterioration in function.
Easy job with great results - thanks for the tips!
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