Now that I've got the new CKP sensors in and I'm confident the car runs as it should, I decided to tackle the other glaring (or lack, thereof) issue I have: forward lighting. The headlights on the old girl have seen better days, as have most 15 year old plastic lenses after living their entire life in the Midwest. Tonight after work I decided to invest a few minutes up front and see what could be done.
My Seville is equipped with the optional HID lamps, which I am THRILLED with. Partly because it was a rare option, partly because... well Xenon lights are just plain better. My night vision is not very good (although my eyes check just fine), and I can not stand halogen lighting.
Anyways, I ordered some (cheap) D2S capsules and some (also cheap) 3157 white LED bulbs to replace the "cornering lamps" that illuminate when you use the turn signals at night. Since I planned to restore the lenses, I felt it fitting to restore the bulbs as well.
As luck would have it, I screwed up. I knew in my mind that I needed D1S bulbs, yet ordered D2S by mistake. All is not lost, though, as I discovered that after restoring the lenses the headlights looked better than I thought they would, from an output standpoint. I knew the lenses were bad, but I was almost positive the bulbs were dying as well. Now, considering the low mileage on the car and the lack of flicker, I think they're just fine. Looks like the Amazon specials will be going back.
As for the rest of the bulbs, I replaced both 194 side marker bulbs with 168's, just a smidge brighter. I also replaced the 3157na turn/running bubs with 3457na's, again for just a bit more brightness on the turn filament.
All in all I'm happy with the results. The low beams look much better down road, and the fresh bulbs really spruce up the front end, which was looking quite dull before. I regrettably forgot to snap a picture of the finished product, but I'll get one tomorrow. The headlight lenses themselves were revived nicely, but there's still some significant heat cracking. They won't be getting any better than they did today, at this point.
For reference, the first picture is my car before and I threw in an "OE" looking lamp for reference. They ended up a solid 50/50 in between, with the added benefit of an LED cornering bulb.
My Seville is equipped with the optional HID lamps, which I am THRILLED with. Partly because it was a rare option, partly because... well Xenon lights are just plain better. My night vision is not very good (although my eyes check just fine), and I can not stand halogen lighting.
Anyways, I ordered some (cheap) D2S capsules and some (also cheap) 3157 white LED bulbs to replace the "cornering lamps" that illuminate when you use the turn signals at night. Since I planned to restore the lenses, I felt it fitting to restore the bulbs as well.
As luck would have it, I screwed up. I knew in my mind that I needed D1S bulbs, yet ordered D2S by mistake. All is not lost, though, as I discovered that after restoring the lenses the headlights looked better than I thought they would, from an output standpoint. I knew the lenses were bad, but I was almost positive the bulbs were dying as well. Now, considering the low mileage on the car and the lack of flicker, I think they're just fine. Looks like the Amazon specials will be going back.
As for the rest of the bulbs, I replaced both 194 side marker bulbs with 168's, just a smidge brighter. I also replaced the 3157na turn/running bubs with 3457na's, again for just a bit more brightness on the turn filament.
All in all I'm happy with the results. The low beams look much better down road, and the fresh bulbs really spruce up the front end, which was looking quite dull before. I regrettably forgot to snap a picture of the finished product, but I'll get one tomorrow. The headlight lenses themselves were revived nicely, but there's still some significant heat cracking. They won't be getting any better than they did today, at this point.
For reference, the first picture is my car before and I threw in an "OE" looking lamp for reference. They ended up a solid 50/50 in between, with the added benefit of an LED cornering bulb.
