Does HID cause headlight lens death?

[rmcknight]

I have heard that the UV radiation put out by the HIDs will cause the polymer lens to cloud up. How many hours would that take? Is there any way to avoid it?

Glass wouldn’t have this issue - but we don’t have glass - we have cheap polymer, thanks ford!

Has this happened to anyone?

 

[WhiteLimited]

I have heard that the UV radiation put out by the HIDs will cause the polymer lens to cloud up. How many hours would that take? Is there any way to avoid it?

Glass wouldn’t have this issue - but we don’t have glass - we have cheap polymer, thanks ford!

Has this happened to anyone?

Haha? HIDs? Cloud up? Iv ran with mine on who hours and hours on end...Very long drives and have NEVER got a clouding effect...Haha?

 

[justin146]

I have had HID's in my stock housings for about 3 years and my lenses still look great.

 

[Bill Kemp]

Do you remember where you heard about the UV radition clouding? Be intresting to read that.

 

[Jason94sport]

Yes, because it's not true. Now there may be some other factor involved, but it's not the HID's themselves.

 

[bigapple]

all an HID system(edit) is made of is a ballast, and a glass gas-filled capsule... the glass capsule creates an arc from xenon gas but i dont think it puts out UV radiation... they actually put out much less heat than halogens (incandescents) and have much more light output with less voltage... all around a greater bulb

 

[Andy96XLT]

i have been running hids since ive been driving on all sorts of cars and never had an issue.

 

[foamerdave]

HIDs do put off uv rays,alot at that. any light sourse puts off uv just a fact of lighting.

 

[bigapple]

HIDs do put off uv rays,alot at that. any light sourse puts off uv just a fact of lighting.

well yea thats true but im saying it doesnt put off enough to have any bearing on the housings becoming fogged

 

[gijoecam]

I have had an issue with the HIDs on my F-150 clouding... but it's a manufacturer issue... Not sure what happened, but they're OEM-replacement Sylvania Xenarc headlamps. Occasionally, especially when driving in the rain, I get a build-up of slime that solidifies on the lens, making them appear cloudy. It takes a lot of elbow grease to get 'em clean again.

And I know HIDs put out less heat... In the winter, I have issues with ice building up on the lens because they don't put out enough heat to keep them clear. if I stop for 5 minutes, they're fine.