I realized that on my headlights the small square of metal inside of it broke off. I was wondering how crucial it is to having my lights shine bright? I have really bad night vision and was hoping to improve my stock set which are pretty dim.
Are you talking about the lightbulb itself, or the headlight housing?
I don't know much that can help with the stock headlight brightness, unfortunately. From the factory, they weren't as good as any of today's HID-equipped cars. After a few years of UV degradation, the polycarbonate lenses aren't helping either. You can help a bit by cleaning/restoring/sealing the lenses and by using brighter bulbs (along with using relays to minimize stress on the switch).
I wish updated, new housings were being produced that fit our cars...
Na its actual piece of the housing inside of the headlight not the bulb. And yeah I wish new housing were made night vision is crucial.
A piece of the reflective material delaminated off of the plastic surface? That's what I'm gathering here.
Unless most of the metal coating in the whole capsule is GONE you'd probably be hard-pressed to notice a difference.
This has been discussed on and off, you can search things like "metal headlight" "headlight reflector" and search terms like that here, you should find something.
Vinnietbird knew of a place that could "plate chrome" on almost anything. It's a different process, plastic doesn't conduct electricity so it can't be electroplated like a bumper or piece of trim on a motorcycle. It's not real cheap but there is no other way to "repair" that. You can take the headlight apart and spray that b.s. "chrome paint" on it but it will not be a mirror. Only a very smoothed metal surface can do that.
Are the clear plastic lenses of your headlights foggy/yellowed? This ruins your brightness at night severely. They can be wet-sanded / buffed / polished to some extent when this happens.
Keep an eye on eBay for N.O.S. replacement headlights. They are out there but few and far in between. And pricey...
That piece inside the headlights is not crucial to light output since it will not reflect any light out the clear lens
I was just thinking about it and I believe it's to absorb heat instead it the top of the headlight taking all the heat from the bulb
If the reflective surface on the inside of the headlight is still in good condition sanding, polishing, and buffing the lens will really make the headlights more effective
heat mitigation part.
it pulls out of its track and slips back in.
put it back in with glue, lay a piece of reflective metal tap down on it.
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