Clean the fog lights?

[Mneofreek]

For some reason my drivers side fog light is really dirty. When I look at it it looks like its almost black compared to the other one. I tried taking it off and then cleaning it out with water and then rubbing alcohol and it didnt work. It didnt even seem to make a dent in the dirt. Is there any other cleaners out there that will work to make it clean again that wont ruin the plastic? I was thinking maybe like acetone, krud kutter, paint thinner or goof off...maybe along those lines. Has anyone ever tried these to clean the lenses?

 

[Zulu95]

Sound just like my OEM's. I found the "black" light to be broken. I replaced them with Catz MSP fogs for $50 less than OEM per pair amd they are soo much better.
My 2c worth.

 

[corvetterules42]

Are those catZ foglights a direct bolt in/wiring match up? also... if they are $50 less than OEM, how much are they? (I dont know what OEM ones cost, assuming lot$$.

 

[Jester1994]

I have had the same issue, but I just haven't dropped the money to replace those. You can search on ebay and find OEM replacements for $40-50 per side.

 

[Mneofreek]

I might just experiment around with a few different cleaners and hopefully it will work.

 

[James135]

I had the same problem on both my fog lights (97 xlt) i took them both out and used a tooth brush with a head that can be angled and scrubbed them out. took a little while but they look ten times better. the reason they look so dark is because they are not sealed anymore. theirs moisture and grime getting inside. I sealed mine up with some plumbers puddy after cleaning and they've looked great since.

 

[ash98fordexp]

i replaced mine with a cheap set from wally world for 20 bucks then mounted them higher up.. they work better then the oem ones

 

[Joe Dirt]

The other reason they can turn "black" is that the bulb breaks, then the glass shards roll around in there and scrape up the chrome coating on the reflector, leaving the black plastic showing which makes the lens appear black.

If it's just dirt, you can try the toothbrush thing, and anti-freeze seems to remofe fog as well, we used to clean the inside of Mustang headlights like that. Swish around for 30 seconds then rinse out well...