Fog Light - Yikes

I finally got the light apart. First had a heck of a time getting the housing to detach from the reflector/lens part after turning the plastic “screws” on the rear. Ending up using the edge of a screwdriver around the perimeter to finally break it loose. First thing I noticed was the rubber seal was pretty dried out, yet remained intact :disappointed_relieved: (btw, should it have a break in it, or contiguous circle? Mine had a break in it :confused: )

Once the reflector/lens was off, though, omg … the entire inside of the housing is covered with rust (so much for my belief that the housing = polished SS). What I can’t figure out is how any water got in there to do that damage, as tight as the reflector/lens was attached to it. :confused: It’s possible it’s repeated condensation, but if that was an issue with the fog lights you’d think Jag would have put a tiny drain/vent hole to the outside in the housing somewhere along the bottom edge. The outer translucent plastic “covering” on the pair of wires flaked right off when touched, exposing their (fiber?) insulation. I guess I’ll use the liquid electrical tape to re-coat them before final reassembly.

I then put the reflector/lens assembly in the oven, per the instructions from WelshNet. 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I admit I did leave it in there a bit longer than that, b/c my damn kitchen timer failed to go off. :angry: Taking it out when “done” I noticed the lens did not readily detach from the reflector part. Using my screwdriver around the perimeter though, it came off w/o too much effort. However, there was no sign of any gooey adhesive present. :confused: Instead, just a small part of the perimeter had a dried hardened substance on it that was kind of pinkish-white in color. It actually came off in one piece and could be broken into chunks. wth? Is that the OEM stuff that Jag used on them, or something done by a PO? Once I got the lens away from the reflector, I could see that in fact the orange coloration I saw from the outside of the lens was rust staining, due to the reflector being rusted up around the edges. Also, although there was no rust in the main center part of the reflector, it was a strange olive color. Only a couple of small patches of reflective silver were present on it.

Anyway, it looks like I will be using a lot of rust remover gel on all the inside parts, except the lens, to clean them up as best can. I’ll respray the reflector surface with some “silver” paint and I’ve already soaked the rubber seal in some WD-40 to help “revitalize” it. After that (and the liquid electrical tape job mentioned above), I’ll put it all back together with that white silicone adhesive sealant made by Dow as recommended by WelshNet. :triumph: I’m just glad the other light is (apparently) in O.K. shape.

Oh, btw, the halogen bulb appears to still be O.K… However, after putting it in a baggie with the other parts it just came apart from its holder. So, I’ll have to get a new one. The electrical contacts on the “holder” also have rust on them, so I’ll hit those with a shot of electrical contact cleaner spray.

you may know this already but in case you don’t touching the bulb with your bare hands is a no no

And if you have clean the glass with de natured alcohol/methylated spirits.
I would try some chrome tape rather than silver paint.

Yep, if I had been able to still use it, I would have cleaned it good with alcohol before putting it back in. btw, Welshnet also advises putting the rubber seal back in with emblem adhesive (I use that 3M stuff in the red tube), so I’ll be sure to do that. However the water is getting in (or condensation not draining out) hopefully no more issues in that regard. :crossed_fingers:

Good idea, Robin. I would be worried whether my silver paint would hold up to the heat in there (unless I bought high temp silver paint). :grimacing: btw, I think I’ve gotten about all the rust off with the remover gel as possible, but there is now a large area that is black on the inside of the housing, almost like it had been hit with rust reformer instead. :confused: No idea why, unless the rust had eaten all the way through the chrome in that spot and that’s the color of the bare metal underneath. :frowning_face: I guess I’ll hit it with some silver paint as well, if so.

I would agree with Robin’s suggestion of chrome or even aluminium tape in preference to paint. I guess you still may have heat issues affecting the glue though. Maybe it would be worth considering LED bulbs, they would run a lot cooler than halogens.

I tried looking at WM yesterday for some “chrome” tape … They do have reflective duck tape that comes pretty close, but, as you pointed out, don’t know how that would hold up to the heat next to a fog light halogen bulb. :grimacing:

Regular duck tape, with a cloth type backing, is probably a no-no. The type you get as exhaust bandage may work, osme on eBay look quite shiny. I don’t know if you can get a high temp version of Mylar type silver foil. High temp Polyimide (Kapton) tape would handle the heat but I’ve only seen it in a translucent gold colour, not reflective silver.

Try the guys that wrap cars, they may have some scraps from cars they chrome wrap.

There is a bright shiny silver tape, with a removable paper backing, that is used to seal heating ducts, that may work for you - Tex Terry, II - 1991 XJS V12 Classic Coupe, 1986 XJS V12 Coupe - sent 7/25/2020 2347hrs. EDT USA.

That’s aluminum tape. Great stuff. You can apply it to a duct and it’ll still be on the job in 30 years.

I’m not sure what we’re talking about here, though. If you’re talking about a reflector, know that aluminum tape is very reflective and stays that way, but the finish is flatter than the original chrome or silvered glass. It tends to “soften” the light.

It also doesn’t fit to complex curves well, since it won’t stretch at all. So you end up with a lot of folds or crinkles in it.

Thats why I suggested looking to the Vinyl wrap guys, that stuff can be shaped.

I doubt seriously vinyl wrap would work because of the heat generated by the halogen bulbs, maybe work if were able to convert fog lamps to LEDs