novice with question

[chh]

My 1998 Camry has very dull headlights making driving at night difficult. Should I replace bulbs or have alternator checked first? Plastic covers are clear still. Thanks.

[Mike Gerber]

If your car is starting on cold mornings, your alternator is probably OK. I would still have it checked out since places like Autozone will check the battery and charging system for free. Since you say both headlights are dull, and bulbs usually just burn out rather than go dim, I would suspect a grounding problem. Check all grounds that lead to the headlights for corrosion.

Mike

[LynchburgCSI]

I doubt it's any electrical problem. The headlights on these generations of camry SUCK. In a perfect world, i'd suggest a projector retrofit. But that costs hundreds of dollars. So, as a cheap fix, look into getting HIR bulbs. NOT NOT NOT HID BULBS. Search around the forum for more info on them. You might also want to insure that's there's zero yellowing on the headlight lens as well.

[71Corolla]

I polished up the lenses to remove the clouding, then put in some Sylvania Silverstar halogens. It improved the headlights a lot, made them acceptable. I agree, the factory headlamps on these cars are terrible.

[pmesfun]

+1
Before:


After:


Wetsand (with soft grit) and polish the headlights.